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usernamepasswordbs asked

Tablet for VRM and Node-Red

Does anyone have a touch-screen tablet that works with the VRM and Node-Red that is ideally able to have them both on the screen side by side or easily swiped from one to the other ? I would buy a Touch 70 but the Cerbo is far away and not certain to work with extensions. Also I'm not sure if it can access Node-Red but even if it can, then it may need several click-and-wait operations to switch between the two and I want something that I can easily glance at in passing and adjust if necessary.

Thanks,

Node-RED
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12 Answers
matt1309 avatar image
matt1309 answered ·

Hi @usernamepasswordbs

I dont have any great suggestions, just a bit of a brain dump.

For me it would just be a tablet with as big a screen as possible, especially for node red.

From my experience multi-tasking where you have two windows open at once on a tablet has never felt flawless. Especially on the more affordable tablets that im familiar with. Maybe more modern ones are fine.


I was going to suggest a cheap tablet and just have two tabs open in a browser, however then you'd need to find an android browser that doesn't pause background tabs, that's assuming you need access very quickly without even a page refresh.


Could a raspberry pi work? Maybe running a browser in full screen mode? I imagine then you'd have a better chance of enabling background processing so whichever browser tab isn't in focus wouldn't be throttled. The touch interface would probably be worse than a tablet though.

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usernamepasswordbs answered ·

Thanks for the input. I do want it to be always active but switching between tabs would be ok I think, even with a small delay. I basically want to know how the various automated loads are going with regard to solar production, and then adjust if necessary. The Node-Red page would be less visited than the VRM as it all should be running automatically (but of course sometimes it does not !). Node-red is currently running well on the Cerbo so I would rather avoid adding/replacing for another processor like a RaspberryPi if possible. I'll probably try a reasonably priced tablet and see how it goes, although in some of the similar threads on here one or two people have spoken highly of older iPads for a touchscreen so maybe that is a better bet than an android tab.

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usernamepasswordbs answered ·

@matt1309 I'm coming round to thinking that a Raspberry Pi might be what I need. Would it be too much for a bit of a newb to set up ? Could it run another project at the same time, like an Alexa type project (basically to be a household intercom and music player) ?

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matt1309 avatar image
matt1309 answered ·

If you plan to run venus os on the raspberry pi then it might be a bit more difficult as venus os is embedded linux. However if you mean you'll have the raspberry pi just for viewing VRM and node red. Then it should be much easier as it runs a Debian based operating system (easier to install apps for newer users).


Installing/setting up touch screens might be a bit involved if you've not messed with one before but there's plenty of guides online. And then once that's setup it'll just be messing around with software/automating windows browser windows to show the websites you want. (There was an app called full screen browser or something like that, that was popular for that type of thing).


If you're running a pi (not as a cerbo), then install additional services to run in the background then yes very easy. In terms of Alexa integration (I prefer running a full home automation software then integrating that into alexa) that can run on a pi, home assistant is very popular for this (however I prefer openhab), both can run on pi.


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usernamepasswordbs answered ·

Thank-you for that input. I think I will cancel the Samsung tab that I ordered and get a Raspberry Pi.

Yes, I will keep the Venus on the Cerbo as it runs fine and I suppose the Node-Red as well although the Raspberry Pi would be displaying a Node-Red dash.

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ojack avatar image
ojack answered ·

You could design a node red dashboard which displays the needed informations and buttons for your node red settings together on one page. You can display it for example with the app "remote red" at a tablet.

These are examples from my smartphone but this works on tablets as well and its scalable for different screen sizes. I have two pages for informations and settings but you could mix that depending on your needs.

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usernamepasswordbs answered ·

That looks pretty good. Can that app work on a Raspberry Pi ?

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ojack avatar image ojack commented ·
I don't know. I have it on Android Smartphone and Android Tablet.
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matt1309 avatar image matt1309 ojack commented ·
You can access node red dashboards via browser normally http://ip:1880/ui. So yes raspberry pi can open them.
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usernamepasswordbs avatar image
usernamepasswordbs answered ·

Thanks everyone. I have been shopping and ordered a Raspberry 4B and a screen. I will have a go at setting up next week.

I am not planning on running Venus on the Raspberry so I wonder if a simple Ethernet cable connection from the Raspberry to my router, which is also where the Cerbo is connected, will allow me to display the VRM/Remote console with touchscreen capability or not ?

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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
VRM/remote console go via internet. So this will work if your ethernet lan has an internet connection.
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usernamepasswordbs avatar image usernamepasswordbs kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
Thanks @kevgermany, what do you think about the touchscreen, that will have a HDMI connection to the Raspberry but then ethernet to the router. Will that have any chance of working like that or will I need to connect the screen directly to the Cerbo ?
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matt1309 avatar image matt1309 usernamepasswordbs commented ·

The default raspberry pi touch screen doesnt work over HDMI so that wouldnt work.

However im pretty sure there do exist screens for raspi that work over hdmi however i think the touch element of them use USB. So if your aim is to route connections over ethernet/lan rather than via HDMI/USB then you miight be able to get it to work assuming the hdmi and usb to ethernet conversion doesnt mess with anything.

And assuming you can find a raspi touch screen that uses usb and hdmi that works in venus os.



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usernamepasswordbs answered ·

@matt1309 I don't fully understand how this all works but I suppose I wanted the generic screen to have the abilities of a Touch50 plus Node-Red dashboard available via a browser over LAN or Wifi. The Raspi is there so I can have a browser (plus eventually other projects as well) but I wanted to keep Venus separate if possible.

If none of that works I will install Venus on the Raspi and get some USB to V.E.direct converters and run everything from the Raspi (I think ?).

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matt1309 avatar image matt1309 commented ·

Sorry @usernamepasswordbs


Forgot you were keeping venus os seperate to the raspi.

You're right raspi with touch screen will be able to access cerbo is they're on the same lan (connected to same router by wifi or ethernet.

Youd just open a browser on the pi and go to the cerbo ip or venus.local


There are apps for raspi that let you setup full screen browsers applications that stay open etc but equally you could just open the bowser manually by clicking on it/add favourites for node red, venus os and vrm like you would on a normal computer.


Have a search for kiosk mode apps for raspi or

FullPageOS

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usernamepasswordbs answered ·

I will have at look at Kiosk, should have all the bits tomorrow or friday, looking forward to giving it a go! It's amazing how many times per day I am opening my laptop or phone to look at the VRM. To be able to see it at a glance will be great.

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usernamepasswordbs avatar image usernamepasswordbs commented ·
Need a mini hdmi adpater now so will be next week.
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usernamepasswordbs avatar image usernamepasswordbs usernamepasswordbs commented ·
Got my Pi bits but now I'm wishing that I had ordered a USB keyboard as I'm wasting a lot of time trying to type an IP address into a chromium browser to display VRM or Remote Console (I think that's all I need to get me started). I have tried a couple of virtual keyboards but to no avail.


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matt1309 avatar image matt1309 usernamepasswordbs commented ·

You got a laptop with you, or even your phone? Could maybe use VNC/remote desktop into the machine to open browser.
You might need to vnc into display:0 that's what you used to do back in the day.

But an easier option might be to SSH in just to create a desktop shortcut/bookmark to the webpages you want to access so you can easily access via touch screen

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usernamepasswordbs avatar image usernamepasswordbs matt1309 commented ·
I dunno exactly what you mean.. I am SSH'ing in for installing stuff but then I have opened a Chromium browser page via the Pi touch screen and I was hoping that I could type in the IP of the Remote Console and I would be up and running but I am unable to type anything anywhere.
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nickdb avatar image nickdb ♦♦ usernamepasswordbs commented ·
Iirc venus is fussy about what screens it is happy with. Do some searching, there have been a few topics on the subject:
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usernamepasswordbs avatar image usernamepasswordbs nickdb ♦♦ commented ·
I'll cross that bridge when I come to it... at the moment I'm not able to type in the IP address due to virtual keyboard problems.
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usernamepasswordbs avatar image usernamepasswordbs usernamepasswordbs commented ·
I mean that I don't have Venus installed on the Raspberry, I am just trying to view the Remote Console via a browser but I am up against a brick wall because I can't type anything.
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matt1309 avatar image matt1309 usernamepasswordbs commented ·
Can you use vnc to "remote desktop" to the pi. Then use an external phone/laptop with vnc client to type from. Even if it's just to set a bookmark. As not sure if vnc will use a virtual screen of the physcal one (you can probably make it use physicsl one in vnc settings on pi by setting dislay:0)
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usernamepasswordbs avatar image usernamepasswordbs matt1309 commented ·
i will try that tomorrow after I have educated myself a bit more..
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nickdb avatar image nickdb ♦♦ usernamepasswordbs commented ·
Personally I would have stuck to the Android tab..
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usernamepasswordbs avatar image usernamepasswordbs nickdb ♦♦ commented ·

I have probably bitten off more than I should have by going with the Pi rather than Android but hopefully in the end it will be worth it. I never expected to come across such a major obstacle which is seemingly so simple to overcome, if only I had a keyboard ! I will order one before the weekend is over but I am surprised that there is nothing on the internet anywhere about this particular problem and I just want to get started !

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matt1309 avatar image matt1309 usernamepasswordbs commented ·
I'm surprised there's not a virtual keyboard by default. I did have a quick search and matchbox keyboard was suggested guessing that didnt work?
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usernamepasswordbs answered ·

Yes i've got Matchbox and Onboard but neither will allow me to type where I need to type. The focus shifts away from the text box as soon as I touch the keyboard letters.

I tried the VNC idea but came up against another brick wall when I was required to sign in on the pi screen and of course couldn't type the email and password.

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usernamepasswordbs avatar image usernamepasswordbs commented ·
Got hold of a USB keyboard today and simply typed in the IP address and I have the Remote Console on screen which is enough for now. Can't believe the hours I've wasted trying to find a solution to the virtual keyboard problem....

I will give a bit of feedback once I catch up on all the other stuff.

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usernamepasswordbs avatar image usernamepasswordbs usernamepasswordbs commented ·

So I can keep an eye on things just by using chromium or firefox. I've got the Remote Console, VRM and Node-Red open in different tabs and everything is working Ok by that method.

However, I can't seem to make kiosk work I think that's because I have a "wayfire.ini" that doesn't correspond to the tutorials I've found plus I can't seem to get rid of the system title bar so in total about a quarter of the screen heightwise is lost. Also still no fix for the virtual keyboard but that shouldn't matter too much once everything is up and working the way I want.

Is there a Pi OS that should be better for kiosk ? Or for easily changing the screen layout ?

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matt1309 avatar image matt1309 usernamepasswordbs commented ·

Sounds like you've had a rough time with the pi. I heard of FullPageOS awhile back but havent tested it. Not sure how good it'll be with multiPages.

GitHub - guysoft/FullPageOS: A raspberrypi distro to display a full page browser on boot


I thought the default Kiosk mode would be the best shout. I know the default one lets you flick between tabs but not 100% on fullpageOS

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usernamepasswordbs answered ·

Default kiosk mode with flicking between tabs is what I want. I will look it up.

This is what I've go20240501-200659.jpgt at the moment and I can switch tabs to use Node-red. I managed to get rid of the system title bar in Firefox so I've got a bit more screen now.


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matt1309 avatar image matt1309 commented ·
Looks good. I think in default kiosk settings i saw mention of hiding menu bars if you manage to get that working



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