Tablet Suggestions

Suggestions, Problems, Availability, etc. Everything is up for discussion.
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oakbarn
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Tablet Suggestions

Post by oakbarn »

I am thinking about getting a small tablet to run my brewery. I know that I can use an IPhone OS 11 but that screen is too small. What tablet do you use? Anybody use an Amazon Fire? Would I be better with a Chomebook?
JonW
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Re: Tablet Suggestions

Post by JonW »

I personally don't think tablets are the right device for a brewery. A tablet is meant to hold - are you holding it while you're brewing? You need something you can see from across the room or at least several feet away. I think a touch monitor is more practical. It has a much larger display, can be wall mounted and you can run it off either a mini-pc, an Intel compute stick or a Raspberry Pi or even as a second display of your laptop.
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Re: Tablet Suggestions

Post by oakbarn »

I have a Large Screen TV that I cast the Main Control Panel. I have two DINs that I use to manipulate the State to Next State when I need a manual switch rather than a Temp or Timer, But sometimes I want to restart a State or change the Temperature without running to my computer. I also have a water valve that I turn on either for a set time or to exit on a DIN (Float Switch). That is the one that I use the most manually by clicking the correct State.
firehose.jpg
firehose.jpg (110.01 KiB) Viewed 6839 times
A Din can activate a 15 second flow (green line). I use this for minor adjustments to volumes and also in cleaning. I have the Kent QDs on the Valve and Hose end and it is a nice stream that I can rinse my vessels without help. The red ones I need to click on the State to activate.

The other thing I do is use the Temp Setpoint Adjustment during Mash a fair amount. Some of my Processes' last State is "Take Readings" where I review what happened in the Brew. This last State must also be closed by clicking the Process to turn it off. I was just thinking of something larger than my 6+ Iphone as I am "elderly"

With my Large Screen and Medium Screen, I can see my Mash Timer and Temp from across the Room. I can see the Processes and States good on the Large Screen , but the Timers and Temps are on a different cast Medium screen. I either have to go to my computer or use the Iphone to manipulate the UI.

I rewrote my Processes to use with the Recipe Utli and added a new Process just for Hops. I use DINs, Timers and Temperatures to Exit States (and Sometimes ASSERT a new Process). For example, When my Brew Kettle reaches 210, I start the Boil Timer and upon my "Wait For Boil" State, I assert my Hop Process and Start the Hop Timer. So I do not need to manually mess with the UI much, but when filling Vessels and Exiting Processes, I do. That was why I was thinking more of a hand held device rather than a Laptop. My brew buddy had your thoughts exactly but about building a stand for the Laptop, but I would prefer a simpler solution with something like a tablet. In the past I did move one of the laptops into the brewery and still might build a Laptop Stand as I need to change the Javascript HTML file when I go from Mash to Boil Timer. I was really wondering if a Kindle Fire or Galaxy type device would work for simple items like I am doing. The IPhone is OK, but my fat fingers sometimes do not hit the "correct" item.
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Re: Tablet Suggestions

Post by losco70 »

I use a old galaxy note 10.1 with a support linked to my control panel

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B16TJ ... UlYVlVEMlE
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Re: Tablet Suggestions

Post by brahn »

The difference between a tablet and an all in one touch screen PC is pretty arbitrary. I would call the 21.5" Acer Media All In One that I sometimes use for brewing a "Tablet" since it runs Android.

More often than not, I do all my brewing on my iPhone.

In your situation a small tablet seems like it would be a good fit. I know the BCS interface works well using Mobile Safari or Chrome. So any tablet that can use one of those browsers should be fine.
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Re: Tablet Suggestions

Post by Sparkologist »

I use an android tablet attached to the front of my control panel. i mostly use it to view the processes and gauges and I use my laptop to change configurations or edit a process.
The process editor is weak on the Android tablet.

Oh.. Yeah... I use my phone to start my strike water while I am lying in bed enjoying a cup of coffee.
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Re: Tablet Suggestions

Post by wyowolf »

I use a giant Samsung Tablet... cant remember what its called... but it has its own stand, so i dont hold it, about the size of a PC monitor...it was free when we switched to worthless ATT...
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Re: Tablet Suggestions

Post by oakbarn »

I got a deal on a Kindle Fire 8.9" and it looks like it will do the trick. It opens the BCS UI good in its native silk browser. When I get the Alexa Voice Control working, that will be a backup!

BTW: The Screen Resolution is not good enough for bbralley's HMI GUI.
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Re: Tablet Suggestions

Post by dtfeld »

I used the desktop running on a Raspberry Pi 2 with a 27" monitor. It doesn't have all the features I would like, but works very well for my use. I would like to add a touch overlay to the screen at some point, but a $2 mouse works just fine, even with Brew gloves on.

I posted a picture of my desktop over on HBT under Automated Brewing Forum->Control Panel Porn. Pi Screen shots are to large to post here.
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Re: Tablet Suggestions

Post by oakbarn »

oakbarn wrote:
Fri Mar 17, 2017 8:46 am
I got a deal on a Kindle Fire 8.9" and it looks like it will do the trick. It opens the BCS UI good in its native silk browser. When I get the Alexa Voice Control working, that will be a backup!

BTW: The Screen Resolution is not good enough for bbralley's HMI GUI.
Hitting CRTL and using the mouse scroll. I cam make the HMI work fine. The Kindle Works fine.
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