Dual boot tablets Android/Windows for tracking

[ksaves2]

Hey, Just a comment on trying to use a dual boot tablet for tracking rockets. Ostensibly, an Android/Windows tablet would allow
one to use the Android side for tracking software and the Windows side for 'doze tracking software. Here's the kicker:

I sprung for a $50.00 Teclast X80 Pro Dual boot tablet. It doesn't have an onboard GPS chipset. I thought I could pair an outboard
B/T GPS (which I did) but surprise, surpise I couldn't download any GPS apps like AltosDroid or GPS Rocket Locator. Google said
my device was not compatible. It also is darn near impossible to root these dual boot devices anyways. That comes into play because
one cannot store and run apps on a micro SD card. Makes me wonder why the heck they even have a micro SD card on these devices
anyways. That's on the Android side.

Sooooooooo...............No go with the Android side on a dual boot tablet for tracking. Now last year I picked up two different dual boot
Chinese tablets that "do" have an onboard GPS chipset. The Android side recognizes it but the Windoze side didn't directly. Saw some online posts and found the necessary two free programs to get the GPS recognized and utilized under Windoze.

One tablet was a Cube I6 the other was an 11" no-name Chinese tablet from Tiny Deal. Both are not available anymore and I've looked
but don't see any dual boot tablets with an onboard GPS currently out there. Anyone finds one, post the link.

Now with a Nexus 7 can be unlocked and rooted for better utility but some models don't have a micro SD slot. Custom ROMs can
be specifically installed that have greater utility than native Android versions. That can be a challenge and helps if one gets
the necessary free adb software to reload the OS if one bricks their device.

I was tooting my horn about dual boot devices in prior posts but after this experience I had with a cut rate dual boot, I wanted to get
this information out there so one doesn't run out and buy one with the thought both sides will work as advertised. Until another dual boot
is released with an onboard GPS chipset the prospect is zero.

Of course Windows tracking software will work like the ham radio APRS stuff and the Altus Metrum Windows software should work too.

Addendum: I just spent some time looking for a dual boot tablet with a GPS chipset. Here's the link: https://www.geekbuying.com/item/PIP...S-1920-1200-GPS-HDMI-WiFi---Black-349751.html

It may be NOS and I looked at several sites that confirmed it has a GPS chipset. I don't need another tablet but this one looks like it would work. There was an Onda tablet from another provider but I couldn't confirm it had a native GPS chipset.
If one ever ventures into a dual boot with and native GPS chipset, you'll likely need this link to get the GPS usable with tracking software in Windows. The Android side will recognize the GPS but 'doze likely will not.
https://gis.stackexchange.com/quest...et-integrated-gnss-gps-on-windows-8-with-qgis

Scroll down and it will talk about com0com program and GNSS Datainterface. Both are free programs one can install on the Windows side. https://support.black-it.eu/en/products/gnss data interface/download.htm
https://www.reactos.org/wiki/Com0com


Kurt

 

[ksaves2]

I hate crossword puzzles but this script kiddie likes a challenge. I manged to get the Android side paired with an outboard B/T dongle. I put the Android side in developer mode and selected "Allow Mock GPS locations" I downloaded B/T GPS:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=googoo.android.btgps and fired that program up. Confirmed it was working and then minimized it. I loaded a version of the GPS navigation app iGO Primo and the program tracks my local position
on a maps fine. I loaded an APRS tracking app (which is beta) APRSISDR which is an Android counterpart to APRSIS32 tracking program. It seemed to track locally too.

I suspect APRS Droid will work too. Unless I can find the code for GPS Rocket Locator, I can't get it from Google Play as it says the device is "not compatible". Even tried it with the GPS paired and operating to see if I could "fool"
Google Play I had a GPS "inside". I can download APRSDroid from an outside site.

The only problem with a $50.00 Teclast X80 Pro https://www.tinydeal.com/teclast-x80-plus-8-win-10-android-51-z8300-2gb-32gb-tablet-pc-p-156748.html. Is the Android side only has 4Gb of memory available and the Windows side has a more
manageable 19Gb. On Android can't run apps from the microsimm slot unless I can figure a way to root the device. Android has been hamstrung by this for years. Stupid.

To get a graphical tracking station for $50.00 would be pretty nice. The Windows side should hold APRS tracking aps fine so anything there should run nominally. Stay tuned. Kurt

 

[ksaves2]

Ok, Having some down time recovering from surgery I played around with this $50.00 dual boot Teclast x80 tablet some more.

I got GPS Rocket Locator working by lifting the raw .apk executable off my unlocked and rooted Nexus 7 2013. It hides in /data/app/com.frankdev.rocketlocator-1.
One will only find this in a rooted device. Google Play won't let one download a GPS app into a device without a native GPS chipset onboard which is a shame.

One just activates "developer mode" on their device by going to "about tablet" in settings and click 5 times. Under "developer options" select allow GPS mock locations.

So with the x80 I bond a B/T GPS dongle, I've installed B/T GPS at the link in the above post. I fire up B/T GPS and connect it to the "seen" dongle. OK so we're all set
for local location. One can see the location strings coming in over the app and can scroll and move to a map of their location if they have an internet connection. Exit out and you'll see B/T GPS is running minimized in the upper left corner of the screen.

Now I installed GPS Rocket Locator by hacking it out of my Nexus 7. I then fire it up and tell it to restart the blue GPS in the pulldown and viola', the local position is seen on GPSRocket Locator! After getting the HC-06 bonded from the EggFinder receiver/LCD, I can see both points on the map.
So it is possible to have a tracking solution in a cheap Android device that doesn't have an onboard GPS chipset. The x80 is dual boot Android 5.1/Windows10 so a flier could have access to both operating systems out in the field.

The Windows side can "see" a 128Gb microSD card in the slot but there is a BIOS error that one must live with in order to see the slot. Android turns this
ability off in the BIOS so when booting one must select "Windows" on the boot screen with a micro USB keyboard attached, when it starts to boot to Win,
hit "esc" several times to get to the BIOS. In BIOS-Advanced-System Component-MS Custom Sdbus Driver I changed to enable and it will boot to Windows and use the microSD card. Mine will see 128Gb card.

So here it is. Dual boot Android/Windows with tracking on a $50.00 tablet. The potential is there to run all ones apps out in the field. Kurt

 

[Steve Shannon]

I'm always impressed by your techxploits, Kurt.


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