Hello! I am new to this forum, I figured you guys may be able to provide some input on a project I want to undertake.
I would like to use an Android phone (Probably an unlocked Chinese model running 2.2) as the brains for a remote control project. Since the phone has a GPS, Camera, and GSM connectivity all built in (and low power consumption) it seems it would be the perfect solution. To control the device, I was hoping connect a serial/usb servo controller (Pololu Micro Maestro) to the phone. However, I am having trouble finding any information on the viability of connecting a serial device to the phone – can this be *reasonably* done?
I appreciate any information you can provide!
try a google search for bluetooth to serial adapter. that will be the quickest/easiest/most likely to be workable hack.
next up would involve USB-Serial adapter(choppin wires to attach your necessary connector), generics are dirt cheap, but you would need kernel support. drivers/usb/serial/ is most likely where you would be looking, most of the generics use prolific chips. quick check would be to lsusb in a terminal and see if something pops up.
yea id go with bluetooth - serial adapter.
That is a good idea... I will do some checking. Thank you!
Related
Hey everyone, small question about how to do serial communication (send/receive basic commands) between android and a microcontroller.
Basically trying to do some simple RxTx serial communication from my Galaxy S, simply send/receive hexadecimal commands.
After some pretty intense googling, it seems the more likely option for serial communication would be over bluetooth, as apparently using the single external COM port will involve a lot of custom code/hacking/drivers. Plan on creating hopefully a simple program.
Wondering if anyone is aware of any custom applications that allow me to do simple send/receive commands over BT? or even the COM port...
Overall my project will be to read the water temperature of my car from my ECU (over the consult port), which involves sending simple hexadecimal commands to the ECU, getting a response and converting the response to a decimal number, which i intend to display on my phone so i can monitor the water temp (will get the value to constantly update). So my main hurdle is getting Android to communicate to the consult port. Initially would have plugged the phone directly to the consult port, but using a bluetooth connection will be equivalent at the end of the day.
Thanks, any help is appreciated!
Josh.
Any help appreciated. Thanks
I have a piece of old equipment at work that i use a DOS program and a USB to serial adapter with a null modem cable to back up files off of the equipment. I installed DOS box and it runs my equipments program perfectly. Is it possible to communicate through the XOOM's USB port to my equipment using a USB to Serial adapter and null modem cable to do this with? Any help or advice would be great.
Thank You,
-Nathan
I guess I should take that as a NO!!!. I will pay to make this happen though!!
Bump
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
those usb to serial adapters use a Prolific chipset. Linux requires a kernel module to work with them. I suspect you'll need to build the kernel module and add a script to insmod it.
My boss will gladly pay someone to get this to work. If there are any Devs that want this project contact me and we can get this going. I know i can approve 1K to make this happen.
It can be done.
I have currently got my xoom setup so that I have a usb serial adapter connected to it for debugging purposes.
Do you know what chipset your usb to serial adaptor uses? I can then check if it is supported by the linux kernel.
evonate said:
My boss will gladly pay someone to get this to work. If there are any Devs that want this project contact me and we can get this going. I know i can approve 1K to make this happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in. We'll start research. Sounds like fun.
Sign me up too. I would love to serial into Cisco devices with my xoom.
The following pieces of information i have already:
My usb2serial Adapter uses the prolific pl-2303 chipset
it is driven by the pl2303 kernel module.
the module depends on the usbserial module, which is already in tiamat as well as stock (its needed for the 3g modem i think)
So if i am correct we need the pl-2303 kernel module and a piece of software (minicom, cu) to use the serial (as far as i know there is no software in the market for this)
ok, i took a quick look at the tiamat git repository and it contains the pl2303 driver.
Now i am going to try to compile my own tiamat kernel
First time compiling linux for an android device
I would love to see this happen. I have tons of Cisco swithes and routers that I always have to configure on the fly. I know I can buy a bluetooth adapter but still have to power that :-( Would love to be able to hookup my otg cable, then my usb to serial, then to my console cable to configure everything.
Just not sure how to get the usb serial drivers installed on android :-(
If this ever gets working then my IT dept. will be getting a Xoom as well.
Thanks,
Ken~
Any updated news on getting this to work? Really don't want to spend $60 for a bluetooth serial adapter.
Ken~
I can try and include a few optional modules for the next tiamat release for usb serial devices
This is an old thread but in case ...
I also have to do serial communication with an old printer.
For now, I'm trying to prototype with an arduino mega using a trendnet usb to serial adapter.
I'm using the sample app on the market of this lib :
http://slickdevlabs.com/slick-usb-2-serial-library/
I actually can send and receive bytes on the xoom.
The only problem for now is that characters receive or send are not correct. I Don't understnd but still searching.
Any way, it should work ...
Mike
install bt5 and then install minicom under bt5. The pl2303 module with the pl2303 usb serial adapter does this very well.
bt5 you mean "backtrack 5" ?
I must use default rom ... My customer doesn't wan't to loose it's warranty ...
And usage of Motorola xoom is sure.
It might be another tablet.
Using capabilities that only requre Android 3.1 (without root) and a USB Host allow to change of device easily.
Hi. At the company I work for, we are looking for a tablet pc to use as point of sale on small stores. The idea is to stop using desktop pcs, and use tablets instead.
The exact requirement is a tablet that is:
1. Cheap (US$ 500 max)
2. Has USB Host ports or USB OTG. USB accesories to be connected include keyboard, USB to Serial, USB to Parallel converter, or USB Dot Matrix Ticket printer(Epson TMU), and a USB Wired network adapter.
3. If possible, one that has Wired network conectivity(RJ-45)
4. Has unlockable bootloader. It's best if it's provided by the manufacturer, but as long as it works, it's okay.
5. Tha manufacturer provides kernel source code.
Other conectivity options, such as WiFi or 3G really don't matter, as those will be disabled, because they are not needed.
The tablet would go inside a specially designed case, together with the ticket printer, the power adapters for both, and maybe the keyboard.
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance
I just bought a TF700. I've never written a single line of code for an Android device. I've done some Linux development.
I want to build an app to control a Zoom HDZ300 AM/FM radio. It can be controlled remotely by simple messages sent to its serial port, but apparently the sending device does need to handle flow control.
The sound output is regular analog stereo. That will go into an amplifier, not my Android.
Does the Android operating system (Ice Cream Sandwich or Jelly Bean) allow programmers direct access to the USB or Bluetooth stacks so that one can enumerate devices and send/receive raw data to/from them ?
I am hoping to use the ASUS stand alone USB adapter, a USB hub and a USB serial port adapter to interface to the radio. I'd put a link here to the device, but I'm a newb and newbs are prevented from linking in their first 10 posts.
Does anyone see a problem with doing this ?
How would a Bluetooth Serial adapter work instead ? From the OS point of view, which would be easier/better to use ?
Thanks
I'd also like to connect and use an external USB sound "card". What are the issues with doing that ?
Thanks
Hi,
I'm trying to learn about serial communication with devices from an Android tablet via USB host mode. I have a tablet, I have the devices, I have the apps... they just won't talk. It's most likely something to do with the firmware on my odd tablet, or maybe I'm just missing something stupid.
The tablet:
SUPERPAD FLYTOUCH
10.2" >24GB< ANDROID 4.0 TABLET A10 1.5Ghz CPU | 1GB RAM
"About this Tablet" says:
Model: BC1003
Android 4.04
Baseband ver 1.5rc4
Kernel 3.0.8 [email protected] #2 Mon Aug 6 15:23:31 CST 2012
There are 2 USB-A ports on this device. One has a physical switch that goes from device to host mode, comes with a male-male cable for attaching to a PC. The other port is host only. I can connect a USB thumb drive and it mounts just fine, shows up in the file manager, no problems. Same for a USB keyboard. It powers any USB device I've plugged into it.
The problem:
It works well enough for most things. But, I've now run into two applications that won't use the host USB port on the thing. Both seem to want to do basic serial communication. At this point, those 2 apps are about the only things I actually want to do with it, so I'm willing to experiment.
I have a USB oscilloscope that comes with an Android app. The app installs and runs fine, but it won't recognize the hardware usb device I've plugged in. Annoying, but I don't really need it. I've recently purchased some digital scales(DROs) for my lathe/mill. There's an Android app that interfaces these scales to an Arduino device via USB. Installs fine, won't connect to the Arduino. Okay, now this is starting to get annoying. Also, for what it's worth, the Android app for doing general Arduino stuff didn't work either.
So, the USB hardware works enough to connect a USB thumb drive or keyboard but the firmware won't use said hardware to do what I want.
The questions:
Am I doing something wrong? Is there an app I can install that enables serial communication over USB host mode? Am I missing something stupid?
Is there any other firmware I can run that will allow this communication? I think I've got the Windows utility that will allow me to flash the rom. I've watched the youtube vids on dis-assembly so I can pull the internal tf/sdcard and make a full dd backup. I'm assuming it contains the roms and everything else. Actually, I'm thinking about just pulling said card and replacing it with a smaller one for experimenting. Will I still be able to flash it using the windows LiveSuite utility even with a blank card inserted?
At this point, I'm willing to play. I mean, it's still useful enough to be careful, but I'm willing to take some chances and put a little work into it. If I can get it running with the DRO software while talking over USB to the Arduino, I'd sacrifice everything else. GPS, battery life, wifi, screen rotation, sound, whatever. I'd just bolt the thing next to the mill and that's that. Failing that, I'll put it back to stock and stick it on the fridge for my wife to look up recipes, Yeah, poor tablet... motor oil and metal swarf or cooking oil and flour. No happy retirement for this tablet, sitting in a drawer gathering dust.
Any hints, links, recommendations, or directions appreciated.
David...