Can anyone recommend a starting point to get a motorcycle controller built? I have been playing with Xbox/PS3 controllers and they provide basic system controls of up, down, left, right, back, select capability and I would like at least these basics on a controller that is thumb accessible on a motorcycle. I would also like to add volume up and down. Since the usb drivers are built into android, Could the board be easily created? Once the board is created, building the enclosure would be relatively simple. I use my phone on the dash of my bike for GPS/Phone/Music through my bluetooth helmet.
Personally, I'd use a Teensy (ATMega32u4 USB board),
but that's because I've already used it for a project and it would be easy to get this one done.
If you wanted to be cheesy, you could gut an old USB keyboard and take out the board.
Figure out what cross connections give you the keyboard commands that you want.
has anyone had any luck (or ideas) on using a universal remote (i.e. logitech harmony family) to replace the stock nexus player remote?
in my view the remote that ships with the nexus player is the weakest link in the product. with no volume controls i am forced to hold two remotes while i use this unit. and i am constantly hitting the "home" button accidentally, which boots me out of whatever i was doing. i expect that replacing the mic/speech capability on a universal remote won't be possible, but am really hoping that there is at least a way to get the d-pad + home + back buttons mapped to a universal remote for basic use cases.
in particular, i am wondering if the bluetooth support that logitech harmony remotes can somehow be made to learn those buttons? or, worst case, perhaps a USB IR receiver dongle -- but i've already went looking for android USB IR receiver dongle support and am yet to find anything.
jaypm said:
has anyone had any luck (or ideas) on using a universal remote (i.e. logitech harmony family) to replace the stock nexus player remote?
in my view the remote that ships with the nexus player is the weakest link in the product. with no volume controls i am forced to hold two remotes while i use this unit. and i am constantly hitting the "home" button accidentally, which boots me out of whatever i was doing. i expect that replacing the mic/speech capability on a universal remote won't be possible, but am really hoping that there is at least a way to get the d-pad + home + back buttons mapped to a universal remote for basic use cases.
in particular, i am wondering if the bluetooth support that logitech harmony remotes can somehow be made to learn those buttons? or, worst case, perhaps a USB IR receiver dongle -- but i've already went looking for android USB IR receiver dongle support and am yet to find anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't agree more about needing to integrate the Nexus into the livingroom. I don't know about using the bluetooth support for the harmony, but I use a Flirc USB IR receiver (its currently on a Black Friday sale for $15) that plugs in to the Nexus Player (via OTG cable and, in my case, a powered hub). There's a bit of setup required on both the pc for the Flirc and, of course, adding a new remote to your Harmony profile, but it works great. The only issue remaining is finding the correct key to have Flirc send for the Home button, but that'll be solved within a day or two. My Harmony 650 is setup not just for the Nexus Player, but also XBMC/kodi, so it controls both completely.
As for speech, I use the android tv remote app from my phone since I almost always have that with me. Works a treat.
i can confirm this approach as i have it all working now. elrondolio provided links with all the necessary information, but as someone that was new to flirc there were still a few things i had to figure out to put it all together. here is a distillation of what you need to know if you want to use flirc for IR control of the nexus player via a logitech harmony remote (in my case, the old but trusty harmony 650):
1) buy the flirc USB IR receiver dongle, still on sale for $14.95, not sure how much longer this will last.
2) buy a micro-USB adapter for flirc. this one works great and fits next to my HDMI cable, but be mindful that some HDMI cables with fat heads might crowd the adpater. costs $2 plus shipping.
3) add the nexus player to your harmony remote as a "Media Center PC > Flirc > XBMC" device as per these instructions. setup button mappings (as you prefer) that you will use for nexus player "back" and "home" buttons. in my case, i assigned the XBMC "back" command to the "previous channel" button on my remote. harmony remotes don't have "home" buttons and neither does the XBMC profile, so you need to pick something arbitrary here. i decided to assign the "PageUp" command to my harmony's "Menu" button, with the intention of mapping that command to the the corresponding keyboard combo for nexus player's "home" command in flirc (more on this in step 6). save and update your harmony remote with the new config.
4) plug your flirc+adapter into the nexus player and you should see partial functionality start working immediately. arrow keys and selection will work, back and home will not.
5) install the flirc desktop app for windows/mac/linux using these instructions.
6) plug flirc into your desktop computer and start the app to reprogram keys. reprogram as follows:
- switch to keyboard view by selecting Controllers > Full Keyboard.
- un-map the "back" button, since we need to re-map it. do this by clicking "erase" and then pressing the "back" button on your harmony remote (probably mapped to your "previous" button; check your harmony button mappings to confirm).
- map your harmony "previous" button to the "escape" key. do this by clicking on the "escape" key on the flirc keyboard image, and then pressing your "previous" button on the harmony remote (which sends the "back" command). the flirc app should say that the key was successfully mapped.
- map your harmony "menu" button to the "alt+escape" key. do this by first clicking the "alt" key on the flirc keyboard image, then clicking the "escape" key (both should now be highlighted), and then pressing your "menu" button on the harmony remote (which sends the "PageUp" command). the flirc app should say that the key was successfully mapped.
7) plug flirc back into your nexus player and you should now be able to fully navigate the nexus player UI.
there is one significant caveat that i have still not yet resolved, which is that the back and home button mappings do not necessarily work as expected under all apps. for example, the "back" button did not behave as expected in the TED app, and the "home" button doesn't work in XBMC. if/when i am able to resolve these minor issues i will post more updates here.
Nice write-up @jaypm. Mapping "esc" to the button on the harmony you want for back works fine as it makes "back" work in most Nexus apps. For kodi, however, you'll need to swap what "esc" and "backspace" do. You can do so in kodi by going in to "Programs", "Program Add-ons", "Get More..." then choose to install "Keymap Editor". Go back a level and click "Keymap Editor" to open it. Click the "Edit" option then "Global" and finally "Navigation". Scroll down to "Back" and, with a keyboard attached to your Nexus, map the "esc" key. Next click the "Previous Menu" and map the "backspace" key from your keyboard.
Now your chosen "Back" button on the remote works everywhere, not only for other Nexus apps, but kodi as well.
Menu has yet to be solved properly but as you say, "alt-esc" does work in some situations. Hopefully more eyes in the flirc forums will get a solution sooner rather than later. I'd suggest all those with a Flirc visit and post there.
I was able to get my Harmony Hub setup using the method at this link...
http://forums.logitech.com/t5/Harmo...and-Harmony/m-p/1337271/highlight/true#M16174
Seems to be that the NP and activity needs to be added from the phone app for the Bluetooth sync to initialize on the hub? I first tried adding everything from myharmony.com and then couldn't figure out how to start the Bluetooth sync. The instructions at that link did get me working 100% though. Oh and as a side note, the "Media Center" command acts as the "home" button on the NP.
Thank you. Worked perfectly. Now I can control the Nexus Player with my Harmony 550. I mapped the Back to Exit on the remote, and Home to Menu on the remote. Also set these two buttons on the programmable softkeys so they are visible.
I have no idea how or why, but my Sony Bravia remote controls the Nexus Player.
Did you ever figure out why back and home work in some apps but not others? Once I go into Netflix, I'm stuck.
jaypm said:
i can confirm this approach as i have it all working now. elrondolio provided links with all the necessary information, but as someone that was new to flirc there were still a few things i had to figure out to put it all together. here is a distillation of what you need to know if you want to use flirc for IR control of the nexus player via a logitech harmony remote (in my case, the old but trusty harmony 650):
1) buy the flirc USB IR receiver dongle, still on sale for $14.95, not sure how much longer this will last.
2) buy a micro-USB adapter for flirc. this one works great and fits next to my HDMI cable, but be mindful that some HDMI cables with fat heads might crowd the adpater. costs $2 plus shipping.
3) add the nexus player to your harmony remote as a "Media Center PC > Flirc > XBMC" device as per these instructions. setup button mappings (as you prefer) that you will use for nexus player "back" and "home" buttons. in my case, i assigned the XBMC "back" command to the "previous channel" button on my remote. harmony remotes don't have "home" buttons and neither does the XBMC profile, so you need to pick something arbitrary here. i decided to assign the "PageUp" command to my harmony's "Menu" button, with the intention of mapping that command to the the corresponding keyboard combo for nexus player's "home" command in flirc (more on this in step 6). save and update your harmony remote with the new config.
4) plug your flirc+adapter into the nexus player and you should see partial functionality start working immediately. arrow keys and selection will work, back and home will not.
5) install the flirc desktop app for windows/mac/linux using these instructions.
6) plug flirc into your desktop computer and start the app to reprogram keys. reprogram as follows:
- switch to keyboard view by selecting Controllers > Full Keyboard.
- un-map the "back" button, since we need to re-map it. do this by clicking "erase" and then pressing the "back" button on your harmony remote (probably mapped to your "previous" button; check your harmony button mappings to confirm).
- map your harmony "previous" button to the "escape" key. do this by clicking on the "escape" key on the flirc keyboard image, and then pressing your "previous" button on the harmony remote (which sends the "back" command). the flirc app should say that the key was successfully mapped.
- map your harmony "menu" button to the "alt+escape" key. do this by first clicking the "alt" key on the flirc keyboard image, then clicking the "escape" key (both should now be highlighted), and then pressing your "menu" button on the harmony remote (which sends the "PageUp" command). the flirc app should say that the key was successfully mapped.
7) plug flirc back into your nexus player and you should now be able to fully navigate the nexus player UI.
there is one significant caveat that i have still not yet resolved, which is that the back and home button mappings do not necessarily work as expected under all apps. for example, the "back" button did not behave as expected in the TED app, and the "home" button doesn't work in XBMC. if/when i am able to resolve these minor issues i will post more updates here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jaypm said:
has anyone had any luck (or ideas) on using a universal remote (i.e. logitech harmony family) to replace the stock nexus player remote?
in my view the remote that ships with the nexus player is the weakest link in the product. with no volume controls i am forced to hold two remotes while i use this unit. and i am constantly hitting the "home" button accidentally, which boots me out of whatever i was doing. i expect that replacing the mic/speech capability on a universal remote won't be possible, but am really hoping that there is at least a way to get the d-pad + home + back buttons mapped to a universal remote for basic use cases.
in particular, i am wondering if the bluetooth support that logitech harmony remotes can somehow be made to learn those buttons? or, worst case, perhaps a USB IR receiver dongle -- but i've already went looking for android USB IR receiver dongle support and am yet to find anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to get the Logitech Harmony Smart Remote/Hub mostly working using this method (only key not working is the menu button):
http://forums.logitech.com/t5/Harmony-Hub-Based-Remotes/Asus-Nexus-Player-and-Harmony/td-p/1337271
Using this route, you don't need FLIRC
jaypm said:
has anyone had any luck (or ideas) on using a universal remote (i.e. logitech harmony family) to replace the stock nexus player remote?
in my view the remote that ships with the nexus player is the weakest link in the product. with no volume controls i am forced to hold two remotes while i use this unit. and i am constantly hitting the "home" button accidentally, which boots me out of whatever i was doing. i expect that replacing the mic/speech capability on a universal remote won't be possible, but am really hoping that there is at least a way to get the d-pad + home + back buttons mapped to a universal remote for basic use cases.
in particular, i am wondering if the bluetooth support that logitech harmony remotes can somehow be made to learn those buttons? or, worst case, perhaps a USB IR receiver dongle -- but i've already went looking for android USB IR receiver dongle support and am yet to find anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using the Logitech Harmony Smart remote control.
This does work with the Nexus Player, and it works pretty well. It doesn't do the voice recognition, but I haven't found I use that feature. The smart remote is a pretty solid addition to the living room. I have it set up to switch between my DirectTV DVR, FireStick and Nexus Player. The DirectTV and Firestick route through the AMP, but the Nexus has to go straight to the TV, due to issues with HDCP when routed through the Amp.
Hope that helps.
Shoot, it would be nice to have a bluetooth connection to the NP. Unfortunately, I use iRule and the iTach so Infrared is how I would get it to work. Maybe I will look into the Harmony ultimate home though . . .
xaudiblex said:
I was able to get the Logitech Harmony Smart Remote/Hub mostly working using this method (only key not working is the menu button):
http://forums.logitech.com/t5/Harmony-Hub-Based-Remotes/Asus-Nexus-Player-and-Harmony/td-p/1337271
Using this route, you don't need FLIRC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
e_rocm said:
Did you ever figure out why back and home work in some apps but not others? Once I go into Netflix, I'm stuck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ALT + ESC was the key combination I was using before to act as the HOME button but it didn't work inside of all apps. I recently found out that ALT + TAB works in all cases so that's the ideal key combination to use.
I just picked this thing up and it's pretty amazing, kind of impressed by how well everything works.
I'm not able to get it to pair via Bluetooth or the shield accessory pairing but it comes with a USB dongle that works.
I've been able to program the volume up and volume down buttons to work with my soundbar and the home button is programmable but I can't seem to program it.
I've got the 2017 pro model and have tried using the home button on the game controller and the regular remote to program it. There's also no back button but there are plenty of programmable buttons I could program that one too.
Anyone got any ideas? I'd hate to have to return this thing since the air mouse and voice search buttons both work really well.
Azulle A-1068-AL Lynk Multifunctional Remote Control, Backlit QWERTY, Air Mouse, AI Learn Buttons, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1PD7BG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_tklYyb7D0G0DW
Hello there,
I was trying these days to get the Shield TV to do some home automation stuff for me based on the buttons I pressed on my universal IR remote. And, since the IR remote (a OneFor All 7980) has a device definition copied from a Logitech Harmony (I think this is the only way to get hold of an official definition for the Shield) I thought that all the mapped buttons would work. Well, I was proved the contrary. Things like the number keys, colored keys, ABXY and bumper key are not recognized by the Shield. I've put Tasker to good use (great automation software, by the way) to show me what keys are pressed, tried two other software remotes (AnyMote and Sure, both having the Shield TV in their respective databases), but nothing. An interesting find is that the Shield recognizes the ABXY and bumper keys from the game controller. But not from IR.
In this case I thought of trying to interact with the community and find out if these commands ever worked on the Shield TV. I assume they did, since all remote commands sets have them. But how do I bring them back? Or how do I work around this limitation?
Thanks!
Hi all,
So I'm trying to build my own Pip-Boy from Fallout (specifically a Model 2000 Mk. VI) and was going to just use the Bethesda Pip-Boy app so it would have functionality. However, since I don't have any other use for the phone I want to more permanently integrate it into the Pip-Boy and use external hardware controls as opposed to just the touchscreen. What apps/hardware would you recommend to use knobs to control onscreen elements? I know there are hardware mapping apps for game controllers, but I'd like to custom wire 2 stepped knobs with selector switches for switching between tabs and scrolling through items, and then a small 3ds-type joystick to scroll around the map. Also, if I had these controls wired up via USB, could I also input power through this system or would I be better wiring into the Qi charging circuit? Thanks for the input!