First test of Android CNC app

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  • May 21, 2012 at 10:18 am #1162
    Riley
    Keymaster

    Very cool. The junk sr stuff happens on tgFX too. Its a factor I think of yoru $si set too low and having MANY little lines.

    Btw what version of TinyG firmware are you running?

    Love to see a video soon.

    Riley

    May 21, 2012 at 11:28 pm #1163
    greyhound716
    Member

    I managed to get a fair amount done tonight. See http://randommusicdesign.blogspot.com/2012/05/new-tinyg-for-android-app-demo.html for a summary of the features and a new video of both USB and network connectivity. I’ve also published the main app to Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.csgeeks.TinyG. I’ll do the USB one soon, but both are up on github with all of the code anyway.

    Riley/Alden, I used some of your photo and icon materials in the app. I figured it would be helpful to keep a consistent style. If you’d rather I put something else together, please let me know.

    May 22, 2012 at 4:37 am #1164
    lpdc
    Member

    Great Demo Matt ! The video really shows it well.
    I installed your app on my ICS tablet but I can’t test it yet as I still have not received my TinyG (last update on the USPS tracking website dates from May 17th, I suspect that all those bank holidays in France are delaying the whole thing).

    May 23, 2012 at 12:12 pm #1165
    lpdc
    Member

    I received my TinyG today.
    Plugged it into my PC for a quick “$s”. Everything was fine.
    Plugged it into my ICS tablet and found the FTDI chip was detected by the “USB Device Info” application but there seems to be no drivers for it that my kernel can use(no serial port detected by either pyserial or Matt’s TinyG for Android).

    I will have to investigate how I can get the driver before I can help you beta test Matt.

    I am leaving tomorrow for a business trip so this will probably take a while.

    Cheers,

    Fabrice

    May 23, 2012 at 12:23 pm #1166
    greyhound716
    Member

    Fabrice,

    I saw this during my lunch break, so maybe you still have time to play around before you have to leave town.

    If you see it with USB device info, you’ll probably be ok.

    USB support for the app is done via another helper app “TinyG for Android USB Service”. It’s not up on Google Play as yet, but you can download it from github at https://github.com/mattstock/android-tinyg-usb/TinyG USB Service.apk. I suspect you’re getting an error like “can’t start service” because it’s not installed.

    Once the app is installed (it won’t show up on the default app list), you connect as follows:

    1. Bring up TinyG for Android, press menu and choose Settings.
    2. Option 3, choose USB as the driver type.
    3. Exit the app.
    4. Connect your USB cable.
    5. Start the app, press connect.

    You should get the permissions prompt at this point.

    If it still doesn’t work, let me know and I might give you a test program to try out.
    -Matt

    May 23, 2012 at 5:20 pm #1167
    lpdc
    Member

    Ok Matt, so I gave it a quick try.
    I installed USB service and followed your procedure.
    When I plug in the USB cable, both LEDs near the mini USB connector blink twice and turn back off.
    Then when I open TinyG for Android, no values are displayed and if press “refresh” then I get a message saying that “Unfortunately. TinyG USB Service has stopped”. If I try to press on refresh one more time, then it is TinyG for android itself that crashes and quits.

    I hope I can be of more assistance when I come back.

    Cheers,

    Fabrice

    May 24, 2012 at 9:38 am #1168
    greyhound716
    Member

    Fabrice,

    I think I know what’s going on. I didn’t put up any guard rails in the app, telling you when certain options are/aren’t available. I’m going to spend some time doing that and I’ll probably have a test release for you to try when you have some time to look at it. You’ve already pointed out a couple of weak points there, so thanks.
    -Matt

    May 29, 2012 at 8:34 am #1169
    greyhound716
    Member

    I’m putting some final touches on a version that is much more robust – doesn’t crash when the device isn’t attached, provides helpful warning messages, etc. The code is up on github, and I’ll put up new apk’s tonight for eval.

    I have some rudimentary gcode file upload code working, but it’s not ready for prime time.
    -Matt

    June 3, 2012 at 12:02 am #1170
    greyhound716
    Member

    New versions (v1.3) of both the USB service and the TinyG app are up on Google Play. It’s still a work in progress, but I believe the gcode upload is working well, and it should be a bit easier to use now. Please give it a try and let me know if you run into any problems. I was able to put it through several dry runs of a 660 line gcode file without any apparent problems on USB. I have also tested the network version, but not as extensively.

    Time permitting, I’m going to do a live test tomorrow.
    -Matt

    June 3, 2012 at 3:53 am #1171
    lpdc
    Member

    Hi Matt.
    It is great that you managed to get gcode streaming working.
    On my side, I update TinyG for android through google play store and then I downloaded the USB service from your Github (version 1.0 it would seem)
    now, when I plug in the board and try to connect through TinyG for Android, the service does not crash anymore but I get a window message telling me that no TinyG board could be could be found (do not recall the exact wording).
    For the records, here is a screen shot of the USB diagnostic tool.

    <img src=”http://www.freeimagehosting.net/t/d6pke.jpg”&gt;
    http://www.freeimagehosting.net/d6pke

    Do you think I am missing some drivers or is your USB service supposed to replace the drivers ? I doubt that it matters but when I tried this, although the board was fully powered, no motor was actually plugged in.
    Do not hesitate to tell me if I can help you diagnose the issue in any way.

    great work,

    Fabrice

    June 3, 2012 at 6:55 am #1172
    greyhound716
    Member

    Fabrice,

    We’re getting closer. 🙂 If you can see the TinyG in the USB diagnostic tool, you will be able to use the app.

    I think the current problem is that you’re running older versions of the at least one of the apps. Last night I updated Google Play so that it had v1.3, but not github.

    You can get them from Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.csgeeks.TinyG and https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.csgeeks.TinyG.USB.

    You can also download the apks you need directly from github: https://github.com/mattstock/android-tinyg/downloads.

    Install BOTH of the apks. Then give it a try.
    -Matt

    June 3, 2012 at 8:27 am #1173
    lpdc
    Member

    Matt,
    I installed the USB service from Github and now I have both apps at V1.3.
    When I tried connecting to the board I got the “No TinyG USB devices attached” message.
    There is however something that looks wrong :
    I can find TinyG for android on Google Play but not the USB service. Until now I always used the .apk files that you uploaded on github but I just noticed that if I followed the link you provided above for the USB service on google play, I don’t get an “install” button. Instead, I get a message that says “your device isn’t compatible with this version”
    Would it be possible that the .apk from github installed only partially due to some silent incompatibilities ?

    Maybe we could try to work on this through email in order to avoid filling up this thread. What do you think ?

    Cheers,

    Fabrice

    June 3, 2012 at 10:00 am #1174
    greyhound716
    Member

    I think you might be on to something with the version levels, etc.

    Unless Alden or Riley object, let’s keep this in the thread – if you’re having the problem, chances are someone else is as well.

    The only requirements for the USB app are Android 3.1 or greater. In theory, if you were able to install the USB diagnostic app from Google Play, you should be able to do the same for the TinyG app.

    Can you send me details on your device (name, version of android)? I’ll see if I can put together a diagnostic app to see what’s going on.

    June 3, 2012 at 10:14 am #1175
    greyhound716
    Member

    I think I see part of the issue. The USB diagnostic tool does not “declare” that it uses the USB host features and I do – that means that Google Play can filter based on that and the reported capabilities of your device/Android version. For some reason, your device doesn’t think it has USB host support, but it appears that it supports at least some of the API.

    I looked back in the thread and found your system info. Since you have ICS and clearly the other app works, I suspect the problem is somewhere in my code.

    I’ll put together an app later today to see if we can track it down.

    June 3, 2012 at 10:15 am #1176
    lpdc
    Member

    Here you go Matt:
    http://www.freeimagehosting.net/tgy3x
    all the required info should be on the screen grab.
    One last thing that may or may not be relevant, when I first boot the tablet and plug in TinyG, it does not show in the USB diagnostic tool. If I plug in a mouse for instance, then after it is unplugged and replaced by the TinyG board, it shows up in the diagnostic tool. Not sure if I put this clearly, basically, tinyG will only show up after another USB device was plugged at least
    once in the port before.

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