NicolasD

after searching the internets for a while, we're going to try some Alibaba vendor: https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/10-1-inch-IP65-N2930-industrial_60755870118.html with an upgraded screen that is 800nits (1000nits peak), it should be good for our purpose. off course, that all depends on how much we can trust them, which is always the problem on such sites... but we'll know were we're at for about 1000$ CAD

yeah, i know that it's a lot to ask from consumer-ish models... that's why i'm asking for help ^_^

cheap is relative, for us 800-1000$CAD is pretty cheap compared to what we have to pay for the touch panel interfaces for the control panels we make. we tried an android kiosk tablet(no battery, with a stand) and never managed to make a webpage full screen, there was always something that would pop us out when we would do some swipe... our clutch move for a tradeshow control panel was using a Pi4 with a touch screen that we had in stock, it simply let us put it in full screen and didn't try to get us back to the main interface all the time. but that's also probably because we're not used to using such devices for that purpose...

modifying a tablet is not something that would be viable for us... we're looking for something that we can simply configure(maybe dress it up with our logo) and give away to the client. eink wouldn't be usable, we need color to display status on the equipment and animations to inform that the equipment has received the signal to operate. we need to be operational under 0c, the system has to be operated during winter.

full screen on android keeps the address bar available, we're using a webserver on site that sends directly the information, the client doesn't(and shouldn't) use it to browse the web. we use a Panasonic Toughbook FZ-M1 with our surveying machine, its 650 nits peak brightness is not enough for sunlight, i'm always hunting for shade to be able to see clearly what is being displayed on the screen.

Hi, one of our customers needs to use a tablet to control his grain storage plant. the interface is all web based, we simply need to have a webpage that is full screen at all times, it connects to the system through wifi. the problem is that we need a low-spec rugged machine that can survive the Canadian environment(-20c to 40c operating) on a farm... while we're trying to be as cheap as possible. a screen that is easily readable in sunlight, that is protected from dust and water ingress(at least IP63), that can survive drops in mud, on concrete and steel... we've had problem with the supply of our control panel screens and confirmed that an android based tablet won't work, because a full screen browser window is not supported. i was thinking of chromebook tablets, but they seem to all be for inside use only... the windows-based are multi-thousand dollars usually, so we're looking for something cheaper. any ideas? thanks edit: we're not looking to make a custom solution for a once in a lifetime request, we need a tablet that we can buy new today with all the accessories needed and that can be bought again in the future that will give the same experience for all clients that may request the same thing(when you sell the option once, many more might want it)

so.. add another router and have it use a different subnet? modem -> switch -> apartment router -> router with different subnet ?

Hi, so i was wondering what the best way to have networked printers on an apartment provided internet. the building has its modem, then probably a switch and it goes to each apartment who has their own router to provide wifi and wired internet. what would be the best setup to have a small office in one of those apartments (3 to 5 computers) and share printers(a wide format plotter and a color multifunction printer) through their network, without letting other apartments seeing them? since we can't remove the landlord's equipment or bypass them, I ask if you guys can show me the way that it can be done. thank you.

I had a user who was extremely frustrated that his computer would restart randomly multiple times a day... i spent 10 mins with him and saw that when he was moving his keyboard tray, it would happen. the problem was a USB iphone charger cable that was placed so that he could charge his phone while working, the sliding tray wore out the sleeving through and was shorting the wires. the computer shut down everytime it detected a short circuit on the USB and that was it... we removed the cable, told him to charge his phone on the desk instead and it never happened again!

the thing is that it is not going in any room, it's going to project on a part of a kiosk at a trade show... we can't hang a projector screen, it would need to be tied to a part of our kiosk... and probably be destroyed by the goons(you wouldn't believe what they break every year) who build it, so we would need to replace it after every show. i think i'll vote against it, as I highly doubt that it would save any hassle or money in the long term... making another TV wall will be cheaper, more reliable and will have a better impact for the well-lit area that will be the trade show...

Hi, my colleague, who takes care of the marketing at work, thinks that a short throw laser projector such at this: https://www.vava.com/products/4k-ultra-short-throw-laser-projector-1 would be a great idea to use instead of making a TV wall, he would project on to some foam core sheet that has a matte finish... my biggest doubt is that those places are pretty well lit and that it won't give a good enough image to be useful, what do you guys think? any experience or recommendation on something that would give us a desired effect.

so i've used HDD raw copy tool from hddguru and, after the multiple hours it took to copy the disks, i got most of the success i wanted! we managed to get into the Windows XP machine interface and we got only one error message: Raid error as there was 2 disks, i would think that it would be Raid 1... would anyone know why it wouldn't have worked with the Raid? thanks for your help guys, at least we got new disks that aren't telling us that they are dieing now...

it doesn't look for the same size, as the one quoted for 1000$ each is 320gb while the ones installed are 250gb, as for the speed.... who knows... i couldn't do the operation today, as there was a repairman who was working on part of the machine and needed it to be powered up.... and the computer is inside the power panel, i'm not trying to unscrew drives next to powered high amperage stuff.

they are SATA i highly doubt that much data is being stored on those drives, cloning the drives took 5-7mins a piece. the work files are being pulled from our network, but i would guess that it's being stored afterwards on the drive... i'll search how to do that tomorrow, looks like i'll need to setup a linux computer and stuff... thanks

Hi, our industrial machine is telling us that its hard drivea are dieing, we checked with the machine supplier and they are quoting us 1077$ USD per drive, here is what is in the machine now: they told us that we only needed to clone them after we receive them(if we order the). i've tried using drives that i had in stock: HGST 500gb 7200RPM 2.5" but after cloning them both with Acronis True Image(tried both extending the partitions and keeping them the same), it would boot to an OS selector with a countdown(maintenance mode or normal mode) and the countdown would go from 5 to 0, then restart at 5, selecting manually an OS didn't do anything. I made sure that they were both placed in the exact same order that they were in the enclosure. would anyone know what i could have missed? what would stop the OS(some kind of embedded NT4/XP) from being able to boot? would it be that an industrial machine would care about the RPM of the drives? it can't be encoded to the machine, if the supplier tells me that i only need to clone the drive... in the end, i've put back the original drives and the machine is working again, so I know didn't screw up anything and the data is still there... any insight on this? thanks edit: got the copy to work by using a HDD raw copy tool, the system works, but is giving me a Raid error... still looking for insight and ideas!