Best touch screen to use with NR dashboard?

General
1

Hi

Currently I’m using my iPad to interact with my dashboard, but as that’s also used for work and so many other things, I’m wondering if there is a better (lower cost and more permanent) option I could use ? I’d love to have something like a ‘console’ or large remote control set up in the living room, or maybe on a wall somewhere ?

What are others using ?

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2

I dont have a "control" or something, but the other day I found these 5.7" chinese android phones for like $50 to $70, they have a nice full screen, and you only have to run a browser in kiosk mode with wifi to make a nice control center/dashboard. You can hang them on the wall with a magnet or something. I might go that route one day.

3

If a person goes this route, then I'd suggest using one of the many MQTT dashboard type apps in the play store. Simple to make custom pages for multiple users on multiple devices.

4

There are loads of relatively cheap Android tablets including the Amazon Fire (recently on sale, not sure if they still are).

You might even still be able to pick up a cheap 10" Windows 10 tablet, I have a Linx which works very well.

As Steve points out, on Android, you also have the option to use a more dedicated app rather than relying purely on Dashboard.

If you are feeling adventurous, you could also build an offline capable web app using uibuilder :wink:

5

Thanks all

Julian - what app are you referring to ?

I did actually have a look at uibuilder a while ago, but it looked too complicated for some like me - with little to no programming experience.

6

Thanks @bakman2

I’d ideally like something bigger, but that looks interesting.
Do you know/recommend - https://m.banggood.com/ ?

It could be great to have another screen in the house set up, that is more fixed and to be powered/connected using PoE (something like these - https://www.geekland.co/101-Android-PoE-wall-mount-inwall-or-flush-tablet-with-NFC-GK-1066-POE.htm)

7

There are various Android apps designed to support home automation and that let you build mobile (touch) apps. Typically, as Steve mentions, they talk to MQTT so you can use that as the message broker between Node-RED and your app rather than having to rely on websockets and/or REST calls.

I think that HomeRemote might be available on Android though I use it (occasionally) on iOS.

Well that would make it a little more challenging that is true :smile: but it depends whether you are wanting to be challenged.

uibuilder lets you build up your own custom web app bit-by-bit while taking care of the hard bits (comms between the web app and Node-RED) for you. You do need to learn how to build web apps though. If you do go down that route, check out the examples on the WIKI. I would recommend using bootstrap and vue as a newcomer. But yes, certainly a fairly steep learning curve.

8

I have a 50" plasma doing nothing. I have actually run up the NR dashboard on it. Sort of blows the mind.

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9

Don't go touching a plasma though :exploding_head: :slight_smile:

10

Hi folks,
Would like to start building a big floorplan (of my house and garden) with the new node-red-contrib-ui-svg node. But as long as I don't have a wall-mounted touch screen, it doesn't have much added value (for me...) to do that. Don't want to see cables, should be powered via wires (don't want use batteries) and preferrable wired ethernet. And it should be affordable, so I can convince my wife to install a few of those across the house. Until now I only think a rasberry with screen and wall mount case comes close. But screen might be a bit larger (but not too large). Does anybody have found something like that?
Thanks!!
Bart

11

Hi Bart, you might want to move this to the Hardware category.

If you have an old Android tablet, that might also work.

Also, if you have an old laptop, it isn't that hard I think to separate the screen.

A non-working laptop with a working screen is also another way to get a decent sized screen onto a Pi, there are various YouTube videos that take you through the process.

The control and the display don't actually need to be the same do they. But you will need an OS capable of running a fully graphical modern browser.

If you use a laptop screen, you will want to mount it neatly and perhaps a picture frame would work well.

You will need to hide the wires either by drilling into the wall or maybe you have a picture rail as our Victorian house does, perhaps you could route via that.

12

It's an oddity of the modern world that tiny screens (touch or otherwise) say up to about 10", and anything 22" and up are cheap as chips. But try looking for a 15" screen, and you'll find it costs stupid money. It's all about volume I guess. One market segment that uses plenty of 12-17" touchscreens, is "Electronic Point of Sales" or POS (unforunate acronym) - you might have some luck on eBay if you search for a "POS monitor"...

Edit: Another option, if you want to buy new is https://www.liymo.com

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Nice! 17" £89 on eBay UK

I hadn't twigged to the reason for the weird pricing structure so thanks for that. When I last wanted a better electronic photo frame I actually ended up buying a small Linx tablet PC for about £90 which was far cheaper than a photo frame of the same size and better screen quality too.

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14

Here is the updated version of the Linx 10" for £95 (used).

15

Sorry, you got me going now :slight_smile:

https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/raspberry-pi-lcd.html

16

I have trust issues with Alibaba. On many levels.

17

I used an old ipad mini as a display. But im not entirely happy with the responsiveness.

18

Are you using it with Dashboard? Because that uses Angular v1 with jQuery and other things that make it a beast, it wouldn't work at all with older browsers. Dave did some excellent work to speed it up but it is still a beast so not surprising it struggles.

Far be it for me to blow my own trumpet ... but you can use uibuilder to build something that is much more mobile friendly. Even the default combination of VueJS, bootstrap-vue/bootstrap is lighter and faster than Angular v1.

19

Another source for cheap-ish mid-size touchscreens is http://store.lcdparts.net in the US. They are also the "cheapest" source of sunlight readable displays I've been able to find (they retrofit panels with high-brightness LEDs).

20

Well, I've brought loads of stuff from AliExpress and very rarely had any issues. You do need to read the descriptions very carefully of course and check for a decent reputation. I've also found them to be responsive to issues and I've had no problems with refunds on the odd occasion I've needed to complain.

That said, I know that many people do have issues. But I'd have to say that I've saved sooo much money buying components that way that the occasional problem would still be worth it. Well, I suppose I should be honest and say that I've not really saved money, but I wouldn't have done half the projects I have if I had to pay the prices UK based stores charge.

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