Amazon Fire Tablets to replace keypad

Smart Home Integrations SmartThings
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First post so be kind :) Fun project getting this up and going. Have 2 tablets, 18 zone, lannoucer, bigtalk, SHMDelay, actiontiles working etc.


My question with the tablet is I have K7 Fire working fine but it's mounted in the bedroom. I set the screen delay to 10 seconds and it goes off great. I don't want to use motion detection to wake because frankly I don't like a camera staring at my bed all night long. So I'm left with pressing the power button, then swiping up to get actiontiles back front and center within FullyK. Any ideas here on how to wake without those two steps? I've read most of the apps that allow you to wake by double tapping the screen are no good.  Kindle is too bright to leave on at night even at dim setting. Thanks for any thoughts here. 

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Hi, all I'm trying to power a tablet.  I have the 12v to 5v converter.  My question is what port on the Konnected board do I connect the other end to.  I thought I had it right but I don't have any power at the tablet end.

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You will want a Y splitter from the power cord. The board is powered from 12v.

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 I bought one of these to install in my alarm cabinet, an will route power to the box where my tablet will be installed.


https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RDTOSFE


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Be aware that motion won't work at night in a dark environment. However, I set my Fire HD 10 running Fully Kiosk Browser (Pro) to a high sensitivity for the accelerometer and that does the trick better than anything. A tap to the screen wakes it and only SOMETIMES does it light up otherwise, but not in any annoying way -- like when the door next to it closes. Not a bad thing actually.


The cool thing I'm doing with mine is that it uses Tasker and a couple plugins to handle the bulk of security (along with webcore) on the tablet. For example, when the alarm is on and someone comes in I wanted reliable audio to trigger to let that person know they need to disable the alarm. Webcore wasn't reliable for this so now the tablet instead plays the Mission Impossible theme song whenever someone comes in and if they take long enough they get a warning that there's only 10 seconds left before Armageddon. 


I also am running ActionTiles, but really wish it was much farther along in development. Great guy behind it, but it seems really limited in so many ways. Time will fix that, but darn it, I'm impatient! hehe.


The biggest thing I ran into was being able to root and getting decent performance. The 10 has the performance we need. The 8's are not all that snappy and they can't be rooted any longer. That's a real shame as I have two other doors I need these for and I really would prefer that they also not be 10" displays. That would be MASSIVE overkill, but anything smaller is just woefully slow.


I also looked at frames, but decent ones cost MORE than the darned tablet (on Prime Day) and that just isn't going to go over here.


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Also, for anyone that has used both Fully Kiosk Browser and ActionTiles, I'd love to get the ActionTiles guy to note the amazing difference between their pinpads. FKB has one that takes up half the screen and always works. The pinpad on AT, even on a 10" device, is extremely prone to input errors. I also want to find a way to support user-pins and such instead of just one global pin. 


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For those of you who have your own 3D printers, I came across this on thingiverse:  


 https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3006724 .  


I'll be printing it myself over the next week or so and will post again with the results. I just couldn't pay the $35 price for the already-created frame - especially since I need two.  $35 seems to be the going price online though, so no disrespect to Jason Thomas.

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 ApexDestroyer13,

I really like your setup. I want to do what you are doing with the Fire pad. I bought an HD 8 hoping I could root it. Of course, Amazon has updated the OS even of the 2017 pads so I cannot root.......yet. Can I do what you have done without begin rooted?


Which case are you using? Which converter are you using? Which USB charging cable are you using? I will be getting the 12V power from my Konnected board. I want to use the flat USB charging cable. I am currently setting up my ActionTiles. I have not set up anything with Fully yet, but I would like your help with that.

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 I like this mount : this mount

All comments welcome!!


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Does anyone have experience setting up a more pleasant chime (other than the piezo) through Lanouncer and BigTalker2?  The instructions on this are pretty minimal and I need pretty detailed instructions as a noob.  For instance, after installing Lanouncer, step 2 has you creating a virtual device in ST for Lanouncer.  I don't know how to do that.  Please help.  Thank you!

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@Todd,

Yes, you can do this without rooting. You will need to go into the settings and find "allow unknown apps" and enable it. Next, you will need to download the Google APKs (Account Manager, Services Framework, Play Services, Play Store). You will need to do this in the correct order. (If it does not work, try a previous version of the Play Services and Play Store APKs.) Mine is an HD 8 and It works well.

I bought the flat cable and the wall mount from Nate here on Konnected. I'm not sure if the person is making them anymore.

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@Todd,

I have changed my setup again but I haven't had time to post anything.

I have tried a ton of options and finally settled on DAKboard with FullyKiosk............ but I have so much more WebCore stuff to do that I may evolve it again.

I have some Nest cams and a Nest Doorbell that I would like to display on the screen but the only way to accomplish this is to make my cameras public. (I don't want to do that!)

Google just released the Google Home Hub that works directly with Nest. I pre-ordered 1 and I will see home much smart control it has. Basically, they are now selling what I have created and what I was trying to accomplish.


My end goal is to have screens around the house with the capabilities of the Home Hub.

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@Mike Gommi,

I set up Lanouncer and Big talker but I found a better option. I can't remember how I configured that combo but I'll see if I can find some more info to help you out.


Now I am using The Google Assistant APK to announce through my Google Home's speakers. It uses the Google assistant's voice so that I don't have 2 different "Smart Home Voices". (That was my problem with Lanouncer)

The Google Assistant works great and I can have Google say anything I want at any time I want. ie when I get home, my Nest Hello recognizes me and announces across all of my Google Homes "Daddy's Home". When my brother comes over, she announces "James, the nerd, has arrived". I can also give Google custom commands with custom responses and actions. ie "Hey Google, scan James for analysis" She responds with "Scanning James....... scan analysis reveals James to be a nerd" OR "Hey Google,  it's bedtime" She responds with "Ok, all of the doors and windows are closed and locked. I am now setting the alarm to night mode."


It's really cool to do but it gets pretty complicated and you will need to learn WebCore and a few other things. I am no expert and I figured it out. If your up for it, then give it a shot. 

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@ Todd,

Here is a link to the basics. 

Google Play on Fire Tablet

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Thank you for all the info @Apexdestroyer13. Sounds like you have a very cool set up.

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Agreed. Thanks ApexDestroyer13. I will have future questions.

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@ApexDestroyer13,


I am very interested in this Google Assistant APK setup you have for announcement.  

Please let us know what you did.



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@ApexDestroyer13

I am ready to install my Fire HD 8. I REALLY wish I could root it. I installed an "Old-work" box and put the converter and buzzer in it. I purchased this CONVERTER and this USB CHARGING CABLE. I power the converter with 2 wires and the buzzer with 2 wires from the 4 wires left from my original controller. They are wired to the Konnected board. I purchased this WALL MOUNT. I am using ActionTiles and Fully browser. I am using Smart Home Monitor. I am having trouble with the buzzer delay. I have installed SHM Delay Version 2.0 but I am not getting an Exit delay. I am using very basic ActionTiles as my wife did not want all of the "goodies" that I like on the screen.



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@ApexDestroyer13
How do I set my HD 8 screen to dim at night? It is too bright in the bedroom. Can it dim to black? I do not use motion to wake the screen.