Low cost Android Serial Terminal

[Technical]

This setup works very well as a cheap and easy Android Serial terminal.
Tested with AXE027 cable, but should work with any FTDI or prolific adapter.
No driver install or rooting required, simply just download the terminal app.
We'd be interested to hear what other Android tablets/phones work.

1) Budget low cost 'Versus 7' Android Tablet (Ice Cream Sandwich)

http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/product_detail/13161/Versus-Touchpad-7-Android-4-0-Icecream-Sandwich-Multitouch-Screen/
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/kms-compon-touchpad-7-tablet-pc-8-gb-13828789-pdt.html?srcid=369&xtor=AL-1&cmpid=aff~Skimbit



Plug AXE027 into the (included) USB adapter cable.


2) 'Slick USB 2 Terminal' app (demo download from Android Play store)

3) 28X2 looping a 'hello' sertxd message

Set baud to 9600, hit connect button, select FTDI, then the messages appear - very simple!

 

[lbenson]

Works for me on my Acer Iconia 500 tablet with a generic PL2303 usb/serial adaptor.

With an USB010 (also Prolific), it said "No device available", but actually connected ok and received data.

Thanks for the link.

I don't suppose it would be a surprise to Rev-Ed if the next question would be, "When can I program PICAXEs with my tablet?". (Admittedly, programming without a real keyboard would not be my first choice.)

 

[mrburnette]

<...>
"When can I program PICAXEs with my tablet?". (Admittedly, programming without a real keyboard would not be my first choice.)

Interesting question and definitely solvable in a Web'ish world by having the application code and compiler(s) running on a virtual instance somewhere out in the Ethernet. Really, the tablet only needs to run HTML5 and no custom application is required. To address the table lack of keyboard, a program like Logicator could be update to support drag 'n drop. Could be fun. But, hard to imagine it would be truly useful beyond the challenge of building the environment; although, with virtual classrooms and such, such a project may be attractive.

- Ray

 

[beb101]

I am now on my second 7" tablet (to be returned ) trying to achieve Technical's feat. The first was a $99 Special from Walmart (Visual Land Connect, rebranded Chinese). The second was a Lenovo A1 ($150 from COSTCO). The reasons for return: the first had ICS (4.0.3) and Usb host, but no Google Play (Market). I installed Google Play and registered. The registration called it an unknown device. I could install a few wothless free apps, but not Slick 2 USB, whoever produced the tablet didn't bother to buy a license for the Google the Play App. The Lenovo (approved device) has the Play App installed and is imminently going to provide an upgrade to ICs, but USB host is not implemented in hardware (as I discovered after purchase).

As near as I can tell, the Requirements to do what Technical did are:

1. Must run ICS or higher than 3.1

2. USB Host must be enabled

3. The Google Play APP must be installed (not certain it needs to be an approved device)

I just came across this $70 tablet on slickdeals (satisfies all three, but doesn't show up on the approved device list)

http://www.mcbub.com/item/7-Inch-AllWinner-A13-1-5GHz-Android-4-0-Tablet-PC-512MB-RAM-4GB-McPad-F1-Capacitance-screen-WIFI-Camera-Black--CP147739--147995/

Slickdeals comments (not very germane to serial interfacing, but offers some comments on the seller),

http://slickdeals.net/f/4746264-7-Tablet-Android-4-0-Capacitive-Screen-1-2Ghz-CPU-Supports-Skype-Supports-Google-Play-Market-Free-Shipping-69-99?

It's hard to resist the $70 tablet, but I am reluctant to go through the buy/return hassle again until I learn some of the details of Technical's experiences with this. Also, as as near as I can tell, Slick 2 USB is the only credible serial Android app and it is only avaiable on Google Play (Market)

Baxter

 

[Darwin303]

Just getting back to picaxe after using it to build a complete home lighting control system in 2006.
Android seems like a good option to upgrade my lighting control.
I previously wrote vb on a PC to give on/off control of lights but never took the final step to interface it to the rs485 bus I implemented for the project.
I would be keen to achieve a similar interface (effectively using a tablet/phone) as a remote control.
The real challenge will ce the comms via wifi back to the home Ethernet network then across to the rs485 lighting control.

Any ideas out there?

- Daryl

 

[lbenson]

@darwin30303

Where do your foresee the problem? A web page viewed on a phone or tablet can provide all the control you need--if you have a web-server link somewhere to the picaxe, e.g., via serial from a PC, or (my preference) a little ethernet- or wifi-enabled linux device like the WL-520gU, TP-Link WR703N (using openWrt), or Raspberry Pi (using any available distribution).

 

[Technical]

1. Must run ICS or higher than 3.1
2. USB Host must be enabled
3. The Google Play APP must be installed (not certain it needs to be an approved device)

Yes to all three, but we would not recommed Android 3.1, go for 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or later.
The thing to look for is a 'USB adapter cable' listed as one of the included accessories, as with the unit we used in post #1.
Or even a full size normal USB port, some tablets do have them.
This is a clear indicator that USB host mode is supported.

 

[beb101]

Hi Technical,

My tablet #1 had two USB cables, one regular and one OTG cable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_On-The-Go

When I first attached the tablet to the computer with the regular cable, the USB drivers loaded, but I recall a red warning saying that the Android driver was not installed and I ignored it. This may be the root problem. Some further searching has turned up this discussion about loading drivers,

http://arpandeb.com/01/2012/tech-guides/how-to-transfer-files-from-your-android-tablet-to-computer-or-vice-versa.html

So, I should have pursued this further. I now suspect that Google Play was looking for some functionality relative to the Android driver that Slick 2 USB needs to function properly.

To give this one more try, I ordered the $70 tablet from the link that I posted. It is virtually identical to the products that you originally wrote about.

Baxter

 

[beb101]

I finally got an Android tablet to work as a serial terminal; the Archos 80 G9. This is a fairly full featured 8" tablet that I purchased at Staples for $195. it has a full size USB port (will accept a 3G dongle) and additionally a micro USB port. I upgraded the tablet software to ICS 4.0.3 and installed the USB drivers from the Archos site. I tnen installed the two free versions of "Slick USB 2 Terminal' from the Google Play store. I plugged a FTDI adapter into an OTG USB cable (regular to micro) and then plugged it in to the tablet. The slick terminal popped up asking me if I wanted to use it as a default program. Clicking, yes, brought up the terminal. The default settings were ok and after clicking the connect button, the tablet connected to the Picaxe (20X2). The Picaxe was running a program which simply reads a 24LC256 EEPROM and a DS3232mz+ clock and writes to the hardware serial port. In short, the experience was almost like plug-n-play.

Assuming your tablet supports USB host, I think the key to gettimg all of this to work is proper installation of the Android USB drivers. I was never able to install the drivers on a Vista machine, but could on a Windows 7 box. I also installed the Google Android SDK, but the SDK drivers do not have the proper VID/PID entries unless you have a tablet/phone on Google's list. It is therefore important to get the USB drivers for your tablet or otherwise find the manufacturer's VID/PID and modify the android_winusb.inf file. Beware of sub-$100 Chinese tablets that are not likely to have any form of support.

Baxter