[Q] G-Tablet hacking without screen - G Tablet Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi all,
The backlight on my G-Tablet failed today, the LCD itself still works but without the backlight its pretty much useless as a tablet.
So I am trying to figure out if I can salvage it for other uses, mainly 'headless' (no screen) ARM Linux development. Tegra 2 should still pack a punch, without having to buy a Beagleboard or similar.
So, I want to know:
1. Will a HDMI cable/dock display everything on screen from bootup onwards? (i.e does CWM work with HDMI-out). Are there any kernel-level dependencies on having HDMI out working?
2. Are there any serial, jtag or the like pads on the PCB? Serial would be very useful, but it seems no one has looked for either..

Tremere said:
2. Are there any serial, jtag or the like pads on the PCB? Serial would be very useful, but it seems no one has looked for either..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you just want to do development--ie. you just want to use the gTab as a headless computer--you can setup and use ADB and/or a ssh/telnet server on the tablet.

True, I would be looking to natively boot a Linux distribution rather than use Android, I would have to put ADB support into the system ( at least we have a capable kernel already). That probably won't give me any kernel boot messages.
I'll just order the HDMI cable and see if that does the trick.

Tremere said:
True, I would be looking to natively boot a Linux distribution rather than use Android, I would have to put ADB support into the system ( at least we have a capable kernel already). That probably won't give me any kernel boot messages.
I'll just order the HDMI cable and see if that does the trick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any updates on this? My backlight went out as well and would like to know if you got the hdmi to display on a monitor or TV?

truvoo said:
Any updates on this? My backlight went out as well and would like to know if you got the hdmi to display on a monitor or TV?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Have you checked the cable(s) to the LCD?
2. HDMI via the dock should work, not certain if only the cable alone will do the job on all ROMs.
3. If the HDMI cable does not work, then running a VNC server on the gTablet (after install using: adb install ... ) should work too.

Related

[Q] Genius maxfire pandora pro joystick

anyone happen to know if the GTab is able to use USB joysticks? I'm looking at this as a potentially awesome portable joystick to use with my gtab for emulation:
http://www.amazon.com/Genius-Pandor...07AA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296412959&sr=8-1
It looks great, but I fear there are no drivers for the standard gamepad. Anyway, if anyone has any ideas on this, let me know. For the meager 12 bucks, I think Ill buy one anyway. Looks like it would make a nice joystick for my laptop anyway.
that thing is awesome! let me know if it works
I haven't tried a gamepad with my tablet yet, however if it doesn't work for you, take a look at loading Clemsyn's kernel. According to the thread, it has gamepad support compiled into it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=895825
BigJohn
I have one and it doesn't work with the G-Tab. I would love it but it doesn't. Even with the new kernel. I tried all the usual emulators and it wont map the keys.
sixvoltsystem said:
I have one and it doesn't work with the G-Tab. I would love it but it doesn't. Even with the new kernel. I tried all the usual emulators and it wont map the keys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bummer
Would have been fun
sixvoltsystem said:
I have one and it doesn't work with the G-Tab. I would love it but it doesn't. Even with the new kernel. I tried all the usual emulators and it wont map the keys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
total bummer. If there is gamepad support, writing a joystick to keyboard wrapper wouldn't be impossible... and that would allow it to at least work on any game/emulator that supports keyboard emulation. I just ordered one tonight to start working on it if the gamepad is supported by the kernel. it would be really helpful if you're using clemsyn's kernel, if you could paste the lower portion of your kernel logs immediately after plugging in your gamepad using "adb shell dmesg" . Of course you'll need teh sdk for that. Or if you don't have the SDK installed, you can always do "dmesg > /sdcard/kernel.log" from a root shell, and then either attach the kernel.log file from your internal memory or just paste the contents.
Thanks!
This is mini USB (which is th Host port) though. Have you tried a full sized USB Gamepad in the Slave port. I think this is more likely to work.
If there is an adapter like this one would work.
Prof-KOS said:
This is mini USB (which is th Host port) though. Have you tried a full sized USB Gamepad in the Slave port. I think this is more likely to work.
If there is an adapter like this one would work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bro, the "mini" in "mini usb gamepad" is representative of the size of the gamepad, not its port. Here's a better picture for you to visualize with:
http://benchmarkreviews.com/images/reviews/accessories/pandora/genius_maxfire_pandora-pro_case.jpg

[Q] Use Android Tablet as USB, touch screen, monitor

I have been searching lately and haven't found anything . Is
there a way to use a 7" Android Tablet (rooted Nook Color
running CM7 ) as a graphics tablet for pc? Such as the ones
made by Wacom where you can see what you are drawing
on the tablet and on the pc screen. I know you could
technically use a remote desktop program but that's awfully
laggy. I was hoping there may be a way to use the usb cable
to plug up the tablet to the computer and simply use it as a
editable surface to draw on .
If this is obvious, I 'm sorry. I have just been thinking about
this a lot as I currently own a Bamboo Fun tablet as well but
I' d like to see more detail on the tablet itself.
I tried iDisplay and it 's too laggy. A usb method would
be optimal and I figured since I'm rooted someone may
have figured something out ...
Also, I have USB hosting active on the tablet if thats
necessary.
I know it has come up before (about 6 months ago from my searches) and was wondering if anything has happened at all. I would prefer that I have the option of extending my screen (for entertainment) or duplicating it (for art work)
Me too
I wish I was bringing you an answers but instead, I'm asking the same question. Every few weeks I scour the web for an alternative to iDisplay, specifically something that is wired for speed. I travel over half the year and I'm in the habit of lugging a small monitor with me so I can work efficiently. I know Toshiba has a portable usb monitor...isn't there a way to make our tablet's function this way as well?
If there is anything out there to try/buy or support? I'm in. Any guidance would be appreciated.
Thanks for putting your name on the list! I have been looking everywhere for something that could work with no luck. It doesn't seem like it should be hard to tap into the screen of a tablet through usb. Especially seeing as we have the drivers and what not.
Tapping into the monitor would be nice but to take it a step further, integration would be optimal. Such as the integration of the two touchscreens in the acer notebook. Your android device could be used as a virtual navigation device, you could use it to hold windows or play media, or you could even use it in art related programs as a drawing tablet.
It seems like there should be a bigger demand for this. I'm surprised there isn't
I've been interested in developing stuff like this for a while now, but unfortunately, I just haven't found the time to devote to such Android development.
For this to work, your PC would be acting as the USB host. The tablet would still just be a USB device connected to your PC like it always is (you would not be using your tablet as a hosting device for this). The PC would need the proper driver software (which, as noted, already exists). But software on the tablet would also have to advertise and implement additional usb profiles/protocols in order to inform the host that it has additional USB monitor/touchscreen functionality. This is the part that to my knowledge, does not yet exist. (if it does, let me know, ya'll may have done more research on this than I have)
In other words, yeah, there are drivers for a PC that know how to talk to a usb monitor/touchscreen. But on the other end there needs to be software that knows how to act as a usb monitor/touchscreen and fulfill the other half of that conversation. When you buy a usb monitor/touchscreen from Wacom or Toshiba, they're providing a device which already knows how to act and talk as a usb monitor/touchscreen. But that software is running on their device, so unless they've made some libraries available somewhere or there are some standard libraries available somewhere for this, it isn't as easy as one might think.
This might make more sense if you consider a simpler device like a usb keyboard. Your PC knows how to receive keystrokes from a usb keyboard because it has the appropriate driver software. However, if you wanted your tablet to act as a usb keyboard, you would need software on the tablet that knows how to send keystrokes over USB using the standard usb protocols/profiles.
Hope that makes sense.
~Troop
WM8505 Generic Chinese Android Tablet
CPU VIA WM8505 400MHZ ARM926EJ-S
Memory DDR2 128MB
HDD 2GB
Screen Size 7 inch TFT High Clear DigitalScreen
Resolution 800*480; 262,114 colors
It's running a modded Android 1.6. I'm just wonderign if anyone knows if it's possible to use this as a USB monitor. Or even remove the screen to mod it to be used as a USB monitor. I don't care if it's touchscreen or not.

[Q] External Touchscreen Display

For the past few days I have been racking my brain and searching multiple forums for the answer(s) and I finally turn to XDA to hopefully help answer.
The thought: I would love to be able to take my DroidX connect it via HDMI to a 7" monitor in my car to have a nice view of the navigation, access to my music and all of the other items that the phone has to offer (which include data connection and accurate GPS). Sure I can buy an android based headunit or build a carPC but why when I have what all of that has to offer in my pocket? Then I got to thinking, to take it a step further, why not use a 7" touchscreen monitor so that I am not just passing video and sound via the HDMI but that the monitor registers touches to the phone.
WebTop is a great middle of the road solution as it would output the HDMI and allow the user to utilize the phone as the mouse touchpad on the screen. Sadly it is only offered for a select few phones. So on to my questions.
1. Did I some how miss a WebTop project being worked on that would do what I am talking about?
2. Am I wrong in thinking that drivers need to be worked out depending on the phone AND which 7" TS was used?
3. Most, if not all, android phones have video out capabilities, so outputting to the screen would be workable, but is there a better way to get the input hurdle worked out.. not a question just an open suggestion box.
Looks like a few more days or looking would have helped. Customgadz has what I need.
so what did you find? I searched for Customgadz, with no results. did you use hdmi mirroring with Android, or does this work with webtop?
Looks like the australian website has a solution to control an android device with a 4 wire external touchscreen using a module.
search for "customgadz remote touch"
Only pre-order now and the website states they start delivering end of januari

Using an external camera with 4.0

Basically, I want to connect a Microsoft webcam to my SGP 4.0, and probably using a custom made .apk, just record the video from the webcam. No preview display or anything.
My plan so far is to wait until TeamSuperNova finishes their ICS for the 4.0
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1712668
And I already have the webcam and I ordered a USB host-mode cable from Amazon (not sure if I would still need that with ICS though).
So the plan is to connect the webcam to the 4.0 with the cable, but I'm just curious if you guys think it'll work, or if any experiments have already been done in this field. I have seen the video of a webcam running on the Nexus, but I really dont care about a preview, just recording. Imagine the most ghetto Go-Pro possible, that's what I'm shooting for.
Thanks guys
no suggestions/ tips/ etc?
Frogman9 said:
no suggestions/ tips/ etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure you can get it working with desktop Linux. That'll give you the added benefit of knowing what driver it needs. From there you can find/port a program that'll read your /dev/video* devices, something like gstreamer, ffmpeg, mencoder, or an Andriod app.
jlyo said:
Make sure you can get it working with desktop Linux. That'll give you the added benefit of knowing what driver it needs. From there you can find/port a program that'll read your /dev/video* devices, something like gstreamer, ffmpeg, mencoder, or an Andriod app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the help bro, also, why do i need a linux system? how does that show me what driver it uses?
Frogman9 said:
thanks for the help bro, also, why do i need a linux system? how does that show me what driver it uses?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because Android is a Linux system, though the userspace is mostly different. You don't necessarily need to have a Linux system, but I imagine it'd be harder to do Android work on another system. Though chances are good that you'd be able to do it on another kind of UNIX, such as Mac OS X being the most popular.
jlyo said:
Because Android is a Linux system, though the userspace is mostly different. You don't necessarily need to have a Linux system, but I imagine it'd be harder to do Android work on another system. Though chances are good that you'd be able to do it on another kind of UNIX, such as Mac OS X being the most popular.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
okay, this makes sense, but what about using eclipse? that can handle android development and all, so would i be able to determine the driver using windows/ eclipse? and also do those terminal commands and such you also posted?
ps: sorry for my ignorance, the best ive done in android so far is a fallout soundboard....
Frogman9 said:
Basically, I want to connect a Microsoft webcam to my SGP 4.0, and probably using a custom made .apk, just record the video from the webcam. No preview display or anything.
My plan so far is to wait until TeamSuperNova finishes their ICS for the 4.0
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1712668
And I already have the webcam and I ordered a USB host-mode cable from Amazon (not sure if I would still need that with ICS though).
So the plan is to connect the webcam to the 4.0 with the cable, but I'm just curious if you guys think it'll work, or if any experiments have already been done in this field. I have seen the video of a webcam running on the Nexus, but I really dont care about a preview, just recording. Imagine the most ghetto Go-Pro possible, that's what I'm shooting for.
Thanks guys
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought a USB OTG cable for my Nexus and it worked perfectly. I then tried it on my 5.0 and it didn't work. I think USB host mode is not compatible with the player range (the 5.0 anyway) as the micro USB port is not powered. But who knows, maybe it works on the 4.0
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
Frogman9 said:
okay, this makes sense, but what about using eclipse? that can handle android development and all, so would i be able to determine the driver using windows/ eclipse? and also do those terminal commands and such you also posted?
ps: sorry for my ignorance, the best ive done in android so far is a fallout soundboard....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can find out what driver you need (if it exists) from the camera's datasheet and some Googling. If you want to test it on a more well known platform before you test it on the device, that platform would be an x86_64 linux. It's just a good refernce is all, and would come in handy in case the plug and pray method doesn't work.
Those commands only coincidentally take the name of their project, of which I was referring. See:
* http://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/
* http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/news.html
* http://ffmpeg.org/
Supermaster34 said:
I bought a USB OTG cable for my Nexus and it worked perfectly. I then tried it on my 5.0 and it didn't work. I think USB host mode is not compatible with the player range (the 5.0 anyway) as the micro USB port is not powered. But who knows, maybe it works on the 4.0
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah i got the OTG cable too, and it didnt work with the 4.0, but I believe thats because its not getting powered due to the 4.0 not having true 4.0 host mode, which powers the usb, so either i splice in the required 3-5v in the usb line or i wait for Team SuperNova to complete their port of CM9 (4.0.4) for my player (the 5.0 actually already has it so you should be good to go).
Frogman9 said:
yeah i got the OTG cable too, and it didnt work with the 4.0, but I believe thats because its not getting powered due to the 4.0 not having true 4.0 host mode, which powers the usb, so either i splice in the required 3-5v in the usb line or i wait for Team SuperNova to complete their port of CM9 (4.0.4) for my player (the 5.0 actually already has it so you should be good to go).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried it on my 5.0 running my CM9 rom, but no luck. I'm not sure if the player series supports USB Host seeing as the GT-I9000 does not have this feature. As far as I'm aware, USB Host started appearing on devices in the same generation as the GT-I9100 so about a year later.
EDIT:
USB Host appears to be a kernel feature:
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/samsung-galaxy-s-i9000-gains-usb-host-functionality/
Supermaster34 said:
I tried it on my 5.0 running my CM9 rom, but no luck. I'm not sure if the player series supports USB Host seeing as the GT-I9000 does not have this feature. As far as I'm aware, USB Host started appearing on devices in the same generation as the GT-I9100 so about a year later.
EDIT:
USB Host appears to be a kernel feature:
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/samsung-galaxy-s-i9000-gains-usb-host-functionality/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
damn, i wonder if we need usb host mode, i mean if its powered externally with 3-5v, and then the proper drivers are installed in a custom app, wouldnt we be able to at least display what the camera sees?
Frogman9 said:
damn, i wonder if we need usb host mode, i mean if its powered externally with 3-5v, and then the proper drivers are installed in a custom app, wouldnt we be able to at least display what the camera sees?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
kinda a side question, but do you guys think this app would work with a galaxy player 4.0?http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=22884164&postcount=3
i dont know much about android, but as far as i know, as long as its android, it might be able to run, right? does the transformer use jellybean? < thats probably where my idea would fall flat if it does...

[Q] Android powered Coffee table

So I want to build a coffee table with a touch screen in the top. There are multiple youtube videos showing how to do this, it basically uses a projector that projects up onto something on top of the glass as the display and a camera that can see infrared as an input to register the blobs. There are a couple ways of doing the infrared, I am currently thinking FTIR:
All the guides that I have found require a computer to run the the software, but I am wondering if I can use an android mini pc, similar to this:
I can't post links, but if you googlePQ Labs istick A200 cnx software) it should be the first hit.
the sensor costs $575, and I would just buy a desktop and stick that in if i was going to spend that much. I can't find any software that allows you to run an external camera off of usb on android and use it as an input for multitouch. does this exist? any other ideas for enabling touch on an android stick?
midnightsnacker41 said:
So I want to build a coffee table with a touch screen in the top. There are multiple youtube videos showing how to do this, it basically uses a projector that projects up onto something on top of the glass as the display and a camera that can see infrared as an input to register the blobs. There are a couple ways of doing the infrared, I am currently thinking FTIR:
All the guides that I have found require a computer to run the the software, but I am wondering if I can use an android mini pc, similar to this:
I can't post links, but if you googlePQ Labs istick A200 cnx software) it should be the first hit.
the sensor costs $575, and I would just buy a desktop and stick that in if i was going to spend that much. I can't find any software that allows you to run an external camera off of usb on android and use it as an input for multitouch. does this exist? any other smart solutions for touch enabling and android stick?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just buy one
Or
Look up to this guy as inspiration!

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