Dedicated Tablet for OmniLogic

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dhannifin

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May 30, 2018
3
Trophy Club/Texas
Hi there... I'm new to the forums and hoping to find some advice/answers regarding a dedicated tablet for a control to Hayward OmniLogic. I just put in a new pool and had an OmniLogic system installed for automation. I've been able to spend some time with the system I'm learning about some of the limitations. I have an android tablet mounted on the wall just inside the back door and had hoped I could load the OmniLogic App and leave it loaded at all times for a "build your own controller". After loading the app (and contacting Hayward support) I learned the app does not support landscape view (horrible UI design). I then switched to the web interface via Chrome and oddly enough landscape view is supported however the website times out after so many minutes of inactivity and I'm required to logon again. Not an ideal solution either. :( Has anyone else attempted to create dedicated controllers using Android or Apple tablets? If so any best practices or things you found out that worked well?

Thanks!
 
Ya u r stuck at the mercy of the developer pretty much.

I use android tablets now for my keypads for my nuvo audio throughout my outside zones. It can also run other apps so I loaded up the pentair screen logic app. Only problem it’s the old version still for android. Not the nice new iOS version.

So im stuck using he old version.

So using chrome. Yes it will time out cause it’s a safety feature so u don’t have an open port forever into ur home for attack.

Ya stupid that he developer doesn’t have a landscape mode.

So ur only options. Outside app control. Meaning another automation system that can control the Hayward equipment. Example. Micasa Vera. They can control pentair equipment through their plugin with a piece of hardware hooked up to the easytouch but again u don’t get the same control u get with pentair equipment.

You can check to see to see if Micasa Vera has a plug-in for urs. Maybe it’s better.

Homesteer. U can check with them.

Crestron. Will be more expensive.

Control4. Will have to go through a dealer.

So secndary automation will be ur option.

On a side note. How u powering ur android tablet. Power over Ethernet? How is it mounted. Just wondering. The android tablet I’m using from nuvo is fine bitcthe resolution isn’t iPad quality. I wanted something higher end but I want it to be powered over Ethernet with no battery and want the lan control over wired vs wireless card.

What about positioning the tablet in the wall in portrait? Russound is doing that with their new android tablet controllers for their app.
 
Hi Jim,

I currently leverage SmartThings for my Home Automation platform and using ActionTiles for my tablet interface. I have a simple tile I click that opens the OmniLogic Admin website in a new frame. I'm also using Fully Kiosk Browser which lets me lock down the tablet to only show the ActionTiles interface. Just need to figure out how to do an autorefresh of OmniLogic page to ensure it doesn't time out. I'm hoping to find out more details on the APIs and Web Services and I'll just build my own UI for the thing.

In regards to power, I'm just using a standard USB power cable for the Samsung tablet. I'm working on a way to hide the cable. I also use my standard Wifi network for connectivity.
 
i got nothing for you. smartthings doesn't support a plugin for omnilogic so that's out. i didn't know u could do that to a wedpage so it doesn't time out. i figured for security reasons u could not, but i never use web based controllers since there are so many automation platforms out there.
 
There are plug-ins for Chrome to help prevent web pages from timing out. Basically just refreshes the page every so often however I'm using a different browser so gotta figure that one out. If I can figure out access to the Web APIs I can write my own SmartThings integration for OmniLogic but gotta see if I can even get access to those.
 
Dhannifin,

In the same boat as you. I am a Smartthings user, but I am recently starting to look at Home Assistant. It is very robust, but a steep learning curve to program. It is entirely possibly we could use some of the Hayward APIs to get them to interface. Between the horrid app UI and the timeout on the website, options are limited. If you have Amazon Alexa, there is a skill for Omnilogic now so that she can control the system and it works fairly well.

One thought, you may be able to use some type of session keep alive app to keep the site from timing out. While it is a security hole, it is a super, super minor one.
 
Any updates to this? Just installed a new pool/spa combi with omnilogic pl. My dream scenario would be to mount a waterproof ipad outside on a wall on a wireless charger that i could just take off the wall and bring over to the spa to control spa settings, denon heos and surf the web. I don’t think ipads do wireless charging so I’d be open to other solutions that help me accomplish my dream scenario, but I am heavily invested in Apple products.
 

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Danimal92Sport said:
Why not the iPhone app and just keep your phone by you? I’ve got the OmniPL system and have only used the panel like twice…
Click to expand...

That's pretty much what I do but would like a waterproof tablet dedicated to the task that is always charged and ready to go. That way anyone can use it, meaning the kids don't need to steal my phone and get it close to the water. :giggle:
 
brimorga said:
That's pretty much what I do but would like a waterproof tablet dedicated to the task that is always charged and ready to go. That way anyone can use it, meaning the kids don't need to steal my phone and get it close to the water. :giggle:
Click to expand...

Gotcha, yes that makes total sense. I’ve moved my OmniPL panel to a location that’s easy for my kids to get to, but they still ask me to make changes on my phone if I’m outside with them.
 
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brimorga said:
Good idea. I can get them trained on that and then if they REALLY want to change something they can do it themselves!
Click to expand...
The cord is not very long, and supposedly there’s an expensive extended cord available from Hayward. I plan to make a longer one myself out of direct bury cable so I can mount it near the pool instead of the current awkward position behind a tree.
 
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