On Amzn, there are nicely framed, wall-mounted control panels for proprietary home automation systems. What are people using for HA? Iβm leaning toward trying to wall mount tablets, but Iβd need 3, and cost starts to factor in. Mounts are a problem; I want it to look as built in as possible, but most mounts arenβt picture-frame style. The ones that Iβve found that are, are designed for specific tablets, and not the low end cheap ones. I donβt have a 3D printer, so Iβm limited to mounts I can buy.
I like some projects here Iβve seen using eInk - thatβs the ideal solution! Is there a source for pre-fab Android eInk wall mounted control panels, or are what Iβve seen bespoke projects?
Iβm not opposed to gross wiring, and am not afraid of cutting holes in dry-wallβ¦ itβs really the mounting that Iβm stuck at. Android 7-10" tablets sufficient to run the UI would probably work, and I can probably even figure out wiring the charger, if I could just get some nice picture-frame style mounts.
What are your solutions that you think is pretty neat? Or products that I may have missed?
What a great video! Iβm going to try it.
In your video, you mention the horrible Nextion Editor. That was a year and a half ago - have you tried GUIslice? Iβm utterly unfamiliar with every component of this, but it seems to write the same TFT display driver needed by that hardware.
What I loved the most: when checking out the product on Amazon after watching your video (on NewPiped and over VPN, so low chance of tracking), was this beautiful recommendation:
I guess a lot of people are using it with non-SONOFF software. It absolutely restores my faith in humanity.
I havenβt seen that software, but it doesnβt look like it can be used with Nextion screens, which are totally proprietary.
Isnβt the Nextion an ESP32 display? The list of devices in the readme doesnβt mention Nextion.
Well, Iβll let you know how it goes. I donβt have access to a Windows computer, and I havenβt had a need to install Wine in over a decade, but thatβs what Iβll have to resort to if Nextion is mandatory. I came across a post where Nextion outright said theyβd given up on a cross-platform solution.
Itβs a little confusing. Nextion makes βHMI displaysβ. Itβs an integrated module that runs its own software, draws the UI, processes events, etc. Itβs a black box that just reports back to the processor βbutton 3 on page 1 has been pressedβ. You design the interface with that ugly Windows app and upload it to the display, but there is no direct access to the screen.
To make use of the Nextion display, you need something connected to it, and thatβs where the ESP32 comes in. It receives those βbutton 3 pressedβ events and handles them, but crucially, it does not have raw access to the screen, so you canβt just draw your own widgets on it like youβd be able to do on an ordinary display.
There are other projects to build your own controller with a touch screen and a microcontroller; the appeal of the NSPanel is that itβs basically an ESP32 and a Nextion display conveniently prebuilt, has decent hardware and aesthetics, and it isnβt hard to reflash it with ESPHome. Replacing the Sonoff firmware on the ESP32 doesnβt change the limitations of the Nextion display.
