USB OTG Adapter for TouchPad - to connect Thumb Drive, Kbd etc..

[Wheel_nut]

I am starting this thread because we seem to have found an ideal solution to the 25 page discussion thread running here:
Functional USB Host on Touchpad

The solution was first suggested by AstroTep in post #456 in that thread and references a previous post which I have not managed to find.

The solution requires:

1) A DTech Solar powered USB Hub eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

2) A MicroUSB OTG Cable eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

a) Simply plug the Thumb Drive into one of the four ports on the Hub

b) Plug the Hub into the OTG Cable using the MiniUSB Cable provided

c) Switch on the Hub

d) Plug the OTG Cable into the TouchPad MicroUSB Port

e) Now the “Soft” part:

BEFORE YOU START, ENSURE THAT YOUR INTERNALZ PRO TEXT EDITOR PREFERENCES HAVE NEWLINE FORMAT SET TO LINUX.

...... i. Using Internalz Pro, create a new directory in /media/internal called usb. Set Internalz Pro Preferences to show Hidden Files.

...... ii. From Preware, install Xecutah. This will automatically install Xserver and Xterm

...... iii. webOS does not automatically mount drives when seen on an otg cable. So:

...... iv. Open Xecutah/ Xterm and type: mount /dev/sda1 /media/internal/usb
...... Then type: ls /media/internal/usb to make sure it shows the files on the drive.

...... v. Then fire up internalz pro and go to settings and click on show hidden files and apply that.

...... vi. You should now be able to see the Thumb Drive Files under the /media/internal/usb Directory

CAVEAT! Be sure to use Xecutah/XServer/XTerm to "umount /dev/sda1" when you are done with a drive. (umount is the unmount command)



OR, IF YOU WANT TO USE MY otg SCRIPT, INSTEAD OF INSTRUCTION e) then:

NOTE: I have replaced the mountusb and dismountusb scripts with a single Script called otg incorporating the following additional functions:

* Automatically detect up to four attached OTG Devices on the Solar Hub
* Automatically Mount all detected OTG devices
* Automatically create Folders in /media/internal/ to load each detected OTG device into
* The option of loading either FAT or NTFS Drives
* Unmount ALL previously attached OTG Drives and remove the Folders created in /media/internal/

Download the otg.txt file, DO NOT try to edit it using a Windows Text Editor.

RENAME otg DROPPING THE .txt Extension and place it in your /usr/bin/ directory.

Make sure that you have Internalz Pro (with Preferences set to show Hidden Files), Xecutah, Xserver and Xterm installed from Preware; also, ENSURE THAT YOUR INTERNALZ PRO TEXT EDITOR PREFERENCES HAVE NEWLINE FORMAT SET TO LINUX.

Open an Xterm window;

chmod a+x /usr/bin/otg

otg will now be executable from Xecutah/Xterm.

To get usage syntax help, type:

otg --help

- or -

otg h

The Help Text is below:
This is a program to mount USB OTG Drives on the HP TouchPad
otg with no argument defaults to mount FAT Drives

Options:

-h or --help Display this help message and exit.
-u Unmount all already mounted Drives
-n Mount NTFS Devices using a program called ntfs-3g
You can download it at:
[HOW TO] USB OTG - Read and write on NTFS
See attachment to message #1

e.g. If no arguments are specified, Program defaults to FAT File System and seeks and loads:
Device sda1 and Destination Directory /media/internal/otga
Device sdb1 and Destination Directory /media/internal/otgb
Device sdc1 and Destination Directory /media/internal/otgc
Device sdd1 and Destination Directory /media/internal/otgd

[Pilotovef]

Originally Posted by Wheel_nut

2) A MicroUSB OTG Cable eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

Unfortunately, access to this particular item has been blocked due to legal restrictions in some countries. We are blocking your viewing in an effort to prevent restricted items from being displayed. Regrettably, in some cases, we may prevent users from accessing items that are not within the scope of said restrictions because of limitations of existing technology. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause, and we hope you may find other items of interest on eBay.

This is a correct link:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/270823070399

[noseph]

Just google micro usb otg cable they are everywhere from $0.99 to $12.00 and more.

[amkaos]

hi:
ty and im glad that whole thread + solution has been condensed and posted..
i have couple questions.
if we buy the hub and follow your directions, why do we need the cable.

2. the executable we create:: that makes it so we can click on a file to mount or unmount? -- no remembering and typing everytime we wanna attach a usb device?

i dont really know what this means::

To get usage syntax help, type:

mountusb --help

- or -

dismountusb --help

thanx again

[veerona]

1. you need the otg-cable to switch the TP into usbmode.
2. the scripts allow you to mount or dismount usb devices in xterm,
you only have to type "mountusb" or "dismountusb" without quotations in xterm.

syntax help is not really nessecary.

[jlbwcu]

okay
Quick question.
how can we get the TP to recognize an NTFS HDD?
It seems to recognize all my flash drive , but they are fat 32.


Thanks

[Wheel_nut]

See Hakkinen's Post #418 in the other thread Functional USB Host on Touchpad

He appears to have cracked the problem. You may need to PM him to get the solution.

[jlbwcu]

Originally Posted by Wheel_nut

See Hakkinen's Post #418 in the other thread Functional USB Host on Touchpad

He appears to have cracked the problem. You may need to PM him to get the solution.

awesome. Will do

[gizmo21]

could this work on phones too?

[heliokz]

Originally Posted by Wheel_nut

See Hakkinen's Post #418 in the other thread Functional USB Host on Touchpad

He appears to have cracked the problem. You may need to PM him to get the solution.

No need to PM him . He's posted a nice "howto" here:
[HOW TO] USB OTG - Read and write on NTFS
My feedback on this exact setup:
-I tried a few FAT32 USB keys --> OK
-"single cable" FAT32 and NTFS USB Drive --> NOT OK (not enough power from usb hub)
-mains powered NTFS USB Drive --> need to try the above Howto
-my compact camera (Olympus XZ-1) with it's USB cable ("Storage" mode, not "MTP" mode --> OK . woot!

[jlbwcu]

Originally Posted by heliokz

No need to PM him . He's posted a nice "howto" here:
[HOW TO] USB OTG - Read and write on NTFS
My feedback on this exact setup:
-I tried a few FAT32 USB keys --> OK
-"single cable" FAT32 and NTFS USB Drive --> NOT OK (not enough power from usb hub)
-mains powered NTFS USB Drive --> need to try the above Howto
-my compact camera (Olympus XZ-1) with it's USB cable ("Storage" mode, not "MTP" mode --> OK . woot!

awesome! will check this out.

[mc_wardy]

Just thought I'd post my experience for the record.
I've successfully manged to mount my SD Card reader and USB pen dive with the following configs.

1. USB Hub with Y Cable and power monkey.
Data (Female) - Y cable into USB Hub.
Data (Male) = Y Cable into OTG Adapter into touchpad
Power (Male) - connect to Power Monkey
WEBOS - Mounts SD reader and PenDrive using mount command. Still to try Wheel_nuts scripts (Wife has been Ill and I've been baby sitting)
CM7 - Auto Mounts Pendrive and SD Reader.

2. Y Cable and Power Monkey.
Data (Felmale) - Y Cable into Device (Pendrive)
Data (Male) - Y Cable into OTG Adapter into touchpad
Power (Male) - connect to Power Monkey
Mouning works as per 1, but could not get the SD reader to be recognised.

This is a few notes as per my experience, I don't want to start a debate between Android and WebOS, I use both equal amounts, this is just my experience.
- For WebOS it would be good to get Auto mount. Can this be patched or an app built.
- What are the consequences of not Unmounting? Are they permanent are cleared after a reboot.
- I have be experimenting with files from my Digital SLR so quite large 8-10mb. Android seems to handle these much better, no leg etc.
- Android also seems to give better flexibility when viewing, deeper zoom and clearer image.

My main aim to view and copy images from the SLR to the TP. I'm going to order one the solar hubs as it's then a few less things to cary in the bag.

So in summary I have a solution that works for me, still some more experimenting to do, but all good fun.

[patdufo]

what do you think of one of these to power on the go?
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

it has a usb female conector and other conectors also.I have one of these but need a cable to try( ordered)

[mc_wardy]

Originally Posted by patdufo

what do you think of one of these to power on the go?
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

it has a usb female conector and other conectors also.I have one of these but need a cable to try( ordered)

I'm not buying the solar hub because I want to save the planet more because it has a battery in it. If you combine the hub and battery its less connections and cables, no need for the y cable, you can also connect multiple devices.

My general experience with solar gadgets is that they don't really work unless you have days to charge them (before anyone else says it that maybe because I'm in the UK and we don't get that much sun). If you can charge it by other means and will deliver enough current then it should be OK, which it looks like it will. You'll then have a similar setup to what I list above but sub this for the power monkey.

[Wheel_nut]

Patdufo,

The problem is NOT how to power the Hub. The issue is that the TouchPad is very fussy about which Hub or USB Device it will work with. Using a known compatible Hub allows it to work with most USB Keys and SD Adapters.

As Mc_wardy says, the Solar part is just a gimmick ... but having a battery built in makes it a neat and portable solution.

[fp30]

sorry if this has been asked but is it possible to connect a digital camera and copy photos across to the TP using this method?

[Wheel_nut]

Only if your Camera appears as a USB Drive when connected to a PC, without the need for any specific Drivers. Some do and some don't.

[urq20v]

I have finally received my replacement OTG cable and it is OTG this time.I have connected everything up correctly,plugging the OTG into the TP last.I have made a directory "usb" in internalz pro.Opening xterm, I have typed in the correct mount line.For the first and second attempts at entering the mount line,I got the message "no such file or directory".On the third attempt,the entry was accepted and all the photos on the usb memory stick appeared in media/internal/usb.
I then tried to unmount the drive using the unmount /dev/sd1...... line and got the message "no such unmount file or directory".I tried a few more times but got the same message so I just disconnected the OTG cable from the TP.
Now,I can not mount the usb drive again.I have tried 20 times but now always get the message "no such file or directory".
It seem the TP can not find the usb directory even though it is there in /media/internal.
Have I caused a problem disconnecting the OTG cable without using the unmount line?

[Wheel_nut]

That's because the unmount command is "umount" not unmount.

[urq20v]

Doh! Its amazing how the mind see what it expects to see.
I still have to figure out why it connected once and not again though.