Which tablet?

jwmay

jwmay

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I've been considering this setup. I'm certain it's somewhere, but in all my browsing I failed to see it spelled out for me. I don't have any Samsung products. Never have actually. I wanted to know if a person were buying a tablet, just for this, what old used tablet is recommended?
 
My old Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8" is perfect for my TouchDRO. It is old enough that you should be able to find a used one for a song. I made a slip-in holder on an articulated arm so it can be positioned over a wide range. I like it best low so I don't have to look up from the work to see it. If I'm slinging chips it is easily moved out of the way.
 
I've used both a 2013 Nexus 7 and a 2015 Gen5 Fire 7, which are what I had around. Both work just fine with TouchDRO, though the lower resolution of that Fire tablet doesn't do very well with the preview screen if you're looking to see a graphic representation of bolt circles and such. Also for the Fires you'll need to jump through some hoops to get the Google Play Store installed, but it's pretty simple and well documented at this point and they can often be had super cheap.
 
Thank you all. The truth of it is that I don't even know how to find out what Android OS a tablet has. And I'm just guessing that OS is the proper term for what you're talking about. Six or seven years ago I bought a smartphone, and I'm still using it. I did have a used Blackberry before that for awhile because younger people insisted on only communicating through text message and I needed the QWERTY keyboard to keep up. Me and TouchDRO is an attempt at challenging myself at something I'm completely uncomfortable with. Lol
Anyways don't tell me. I'll figure the next part out on my own. Thanks again!
 
Frankly, my suggestion would be to get a new tablet from your local Best Buy or other big box store.
I think the 7" Samsung tablet sells for about $100 +/- $10. On Amazon there is this tablet: https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Lite...keywords=samsung+tablet&qid=1632869261&sr=8-4. A bit more expensive, but larger screen and more capable.

The difference between a new tabled (with warranty, new OS, new guts etc) and a decent used one isn't worth the hassle, unless you "live and breathe" this stuff.
 
I've used old Samsung phones (S4 and Note 5), a 7" WalMart ONN tablet and most recently an Amazon FireHD8. The Fire works great and is normally $90 but goes on sale for $50-$60 many times a year.

The first three are Android but the Fire uses a bastardized Android version. No problem, there's a free software tool available on XDA-developers called Fire Toolbox that essentially turns the Fire into a regular Android setup, complete with Google Play store and also removes all the Amazon junk. It's available here.... Fire Toolbox
 
I bought the cheapest larger Samsung tablet I could find and it works perfectly for my needs.
PXL_20210619_125907539.jpg
 
I'm using an Amazon Fire 7 5th Gen with no issues. I have X,Y and the quill installed and working great. a 4th scale and z-axis summing will be up and running as soon as I get home from work in 3 weeks.

I have zero issues with the 5th Gen fire tablet despite it being at least 5yrs old. Perfect for my mill since I have another on as a spare if anything happens to this one. :D
 
i have recently joined this forum just to learn a few tricks. i run across this discussion and have been seeing what everyone is doing for the display. i have since sold my rf45 milling machine. but before i sold it i setup diy dro. what i did was found and old touch screen laptop and with a little trickery i installed Android on it. it was a great system with huge numbers and an attached keyboard. the touch screen worked as well as a tablet.
 
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