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Touch Panel = Android Tablet!
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One of the tasks, which since the beginning has been on the 'to-do' list, was installing a touch panel to control the more complex functions. At this point I would like to emphasize that a 'touch' control is not necessary. The majority of tasks can be triggered by the regular wall switches. Until now I use long/short switch recognition and it works flawlessly. The more complex functions (timers, heating) are set via the CoDeSys visualization.
Nevertheless, the touch panel still is the dreamed-off gadget and as it is with the gadgets, they must come no matter the usability.
Touch panels (from which the most interesting I found were offered by Weintek) seemed to be too expensive and their programming (SCADA) looked as too complicated. I looked with hope at the exploding tablet market expecting that in the near future controlling the home could fully by handled by sucha an device. When I solved the communication with PLC with SSI scripts, htm pages and finally an Android Application (written with html and javascript, using PhoneGap'a), I bought the cheapest tablet i cound find: Leader v70 for PLN 280.
At the beginning the pages, which perfectly worked on HTC Desire did not function in the standard web browser shipped with Android 2.2. Finally I found the problem to be a syntax I used to dynamically create div's:
$('<div>', {id: 'Button'+i, class:'Button'}).appendTo(CurrentContent);
It was neccessary to remove the 'class' and the code works great as below:
var CurrentButton = $('<div>', {id: 'Button'+i}).appendTo(CurrentContent);
CurrentButton.addClass('Button');
Please see below the move, which shows how the tablet works. I need now to find a way how to hang in on the wall and (maybe) how to fix the plugs to move them from the bottom to the back.
UPDATE: After a few days of playing with the tablet I must mention two important flaws: 1. The WIFI range is terrible, c.a. 1/3 of what is sufficient for HTC Desire, 2. The battery is... weak. Obviously I expected nothing more from a toy at the price I paid but it might be that other users find those parameters to be critical....