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    Wall Mount Tablets

    Hello HS Community!

    I've been building out my HS4 Pro environment - running HS4 on a rackmount server (Dell R730) with tons of compute power for some interesting future capabilities. But I'm now looking into what I'll do for wall-mount tablets. I've been doing some searching but haven't found any truly sleek solutions out of the box. Ideally I'd like something that looks clean, can work with a variety of replaceable tablets (as these things tend to need upgrading every few years and may go bad), and can be powered without a ton of work.

    I've seen people put recessed outlets in boxes into the wall where conventional plugs or USB outlets can be used. Others have snaked long USB or conventional plugs down the wall. Just looking for some thoughts on power, as well.

    Would love to see some pics of your solutions along with your recommendations!

    Thanks!

    #2
    I print my own. This is a Fire Tablet 8.
    I put in a 3 gang box, run a cat5 to it from my POE switch, and use this in the box:
    Code:
    [URL="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NAGVVF6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1[/URL]
    The mount is designed to screw into the 3 gang box. Has a removable cover using magnets.

    Click image for larger version

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      #3
      I am using frames from https://makesbymike.com/ He makes new ones when new Fire, IPad, etc are coming out. The nice thing is that you can have them with a small USB cable integrated that has 2 lead wires that you then can hook up to 5V. So if you have a wire going to the place where you want to mount your tablets there is no need to cut the wall and put 1-3 gangs in. That means also no patching walls if you want to move the tablet later on (or get rid of it because you do all via voice).

      In my case I placed my tables where the thermostats used to be and used those wires to get 5V to the tablet as well as wiring up a thermoresistor. Then by the heater/AC I pass in the 5V and mount the thermostat which uses the remote thermoresistor for temperature measurement.

      Comment


        #4
        Demusman what 3d printer do you have? I'm in the market. In the garage, I want to print some holders for shovels, rakes, etc. My kid wants to print small items to paint. I would like to move up to Iron Man/stormtrooper helmets someday though 😎
        HS4Pro on a Raspberry Pi4
        54 Z-Wave Nodes / 21 Zigbee Devices / 108 Events / 767 Devices
        Plugins: Z-Wave / Zigbee Plus / EasyTrigger / AK Weather / OMNI

        HSTouch Clients: 1 Android

        Comment


          #5
          I build my own printers but you can get a decent "base" printer cheap enough on Amazon depending on the build size you want. I say base because you will need to add upgrades to these printers like heated build plates and bed levelers etc.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by ezmaass View Post
            Hello HS Community!

            I've been building out my HS4 Pro environment - running HS4 on a rackmount server (Dell R730) with tons of compute power for some interesting future capabilities. But I'm now looking into what I'll do for wall-mount tablets. I've been doing some searching but haven't found any truly sleek solutions out of the box. Ideally I'd like something that looks clean, can work with a variety of replaceable tablets (as these things tend to need upgrading every few years and may go bad), and can be powered without a ton of work.

            I've seen people put recessed outlets in boxes into the wall where conventional plugs or USB outlets can be used. Others have snaked long USB or conventional plugs down the wall. Just looking for some thoughts on power, as well.

            Would love to see some pics of your solutions along with your recommendations!

            Thanks!
            every once in a while I toy with the idea of mounting some tablets; I'd suggest you decide on your wishlist. Do you want a screen saver/photo frame or always display HStouch? Do you want to dim/sleep in low light conditions. For me I'd want to include wake on lan and wake on motion. I'd want to have a hard wired lan connection optionally with POE. Since you have a rack system you might consider a POE touchscreen with a rack mounted PC. If you want to run the HS speaker client I believe you'll need to go with a windows device. One location I've considered mounting a tablet is my shower so waterproof is also on my list. Several people have replaced thermostats with tablets then created a thermostat screen; you'd need to have a thermostat you can control via HA and move it to a secondary location for that project. I plan to have Homeseer bring up certain screens on HStouch for notification purposes; when this happens playing a chime on that tablet would be helpful to alert the user something has changed.

            depending on your goals there are lots of tablet options. Decide on a size range first and then operating system. Do you want the tablet flush mounted? or are you ok with a surface mount? Android based tablets are popular since they are inexpensive. My impression is that windows based devices will be more expensive but also more flexible when running other software than HSTouch. HSTouch is notoriously buggy; when designing screens keep in mind that the bugs and their workarounds differ from windows to android. I was looking at the microsoft surface go 2 just a couple of days ago. You might also consider using kiosk mode with whatever operating system you settle on.
            HS4 Pro on Shuttle NC10U, Win10; Z-NET
            Number of Devices: 1005
            Number of Events: 293

            Plug-Ins: BLLock, DirecTv, EasyTrigger, Honeywell WiFi Thermostat, Marquis monoprice Amp, MeiHarmonyHub, PHLocation2, Pushover 3P, UltraM1G3, rnbWeather, Worx Landroid, Z-Wave

            External applications: Homebridge-homeseer, Geofency, EgiGeoZone.

            Comment


              #7
              Here's an HP Touchpad mounted in a wooden frame I made, painted to match the trim.

              Click image for larger version

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              HS4Pro on a Raspberry Pi4
              54 Z-Wave Nodes / 21 Zigbee Devices / 108 Events / 767 Devices
              Plugins: Z-Wave / Zigbee Plus / EasyTrigger / AK Weather / OMNI

              HSTouch Clients: 1 Android

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by jmaddox View Post

                If you want to run the HS speaker client I believe you'll need to go with a windows device.
                The HSTouch client is actually a speaker client, so all devices (iOS, Android, Windows) will all participate as a speaker client.
                HS4Pro on a Raspberry Pi4
                54 Z-Wave Nodes / 21 Zigbee Devices / 108 Events / 767 Devices
                Plugins: Z-Wave / Zigbee Plus / EasyTrigger / AK Weather / OMNI

                HSTouch Clients: 1 Android

                Comment


                  #9
                  Ideally I'd like something that looks clean, can work with a variety of replaceable tablets (as these things tend to need upgrading every few years and may go bad), and can be powered without a ton of work.
                  Here using wall mounted Android tablets;
                  my requirements:

                  - Ability to use all units as regular tablets, quick release.
                  - Ease of removal / replacement; making upgrades easy, even if I change tablet model/size.
                  - Ease of installation - No cutting, patching walls. Use of existing gang boxes

                  Click image for larger version  Name:	2020-07-28 18.31.57.jpg Views:	0 Size:	67.2 KB ID:	1407422Click image for larger version  Name:	2020-07-28 18.42.21.jpg Views:	0 Size:	35.9 KB ID:	1407418Click image for larger version  Name:	2020-07-28 18.41.42.jpg Views:	0 Size:	42.6 KB ID:	1407417

                  So I use thin but very strong magnets, USB 120v receptacle, 90 degree adapter and short usb cable; White walls so all white.

                  https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32799687771.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.19b32bb43uEs1b&al go_pvid=0067b47a-b14b-48ab-8a94-e5b83794b465&algo_expid=0067b47a-b14b-48ab-8a94-e5b83794b465-42&btsid=0bb0623d16002015648318839e2f7e&ws_ab_test=searchweb 0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

                  https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3305...27424c4dF8QeIa

                  (will eventually replace the heated floor controllers, but still waiting for a non cloud based wifi unit with HS supported API)


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                  Been using this solution for a few years and I have to say it works great;
                  and in case someone is wondering, absolutely no adverse effect on the tablets.

                  I use wall sockets/screws to attach the discs to the wall instead of the 3M stick-ons provided.
                  2 discs easily keep a 10in tablet strongly attached; you can press all 4 corners with no flex.
                  Someone could hide the power cable in the wall if preferred.

                  You can also add extra magnets in secondary locations;
                  jmaddox : I do have a waterproof unit for the bathroom with extra holder in the shower =)

                  Also have one unit (Sony Xperia, waterproof) with wall mounted docking as an alternative solution.

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                    #10
                    That looks great,
                    HS4Pro on a Raspberry Pi4
                    54 Z-Wave Nodes / 21 Zigbee Devices / 108 Events / 767 Devices
                    Plugins: Z-Wave / Zigbee Plus / EasyTrigger / AK Weather / OMNI

                    HSTouch Clients: 1 Android

                    Comment

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