Dashboard Theming (Custom CSS) and Mounting Hardware Ideas

I also found this tablet PoE injector kit. Looks very useful for charging any wall mounted tablet. I might buy one and see how it is.

Not sure why this is useful in this scenario… Tablets are usually WiFi, not Ethernet.
Are you implying that folks are more likely to have an ethernet drop close to a wall mounted tablet than a power outlet? … Hmmm… that’s actually true in a couple of my rooms, but a lot of homes are fully WiFi with no ethernet throughout.

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I went this route on my set up. Picked up exactly same PoE on Amazon. Ran Ethernet through the wall from the basement. It has no issue keeping my iPad charged with the screen on for over a month now.

Paired it up with a basic wall mount and came up with this

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PoE primary benefits include:

Cost savings - PoE significantly reduces the need for electricians to install conduit, electrical wiring, and outlets throughout the residence. With PoE only one cable – a simple CAT-5 Ethernet – is required.

Flexibility - A PoE appliance or device can be located anywhere without the need for AC outlets. .

Reliability - Because PoE networks have fewer wires, there is less likelihood of an inadvertent power disruption (accidental shut off, etc). With an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) power to the devices is assured during a power failure.

Safety - Power mains are eliminated. Since only 48v DC is used, PoE conforms to Underwriter’s Laboratories (UL) Safety Extra Low Voltage (SELV) classification.

Some other benefits come to mind. -

Easier routing of the network cable through the wall.

No need to run the network cable through a wall box as it is only 48 volts DC and not mains voltage. * Different Counties have Different Electrical codes- always check local county electrical guidelines. *

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But a tablet only requires 5v (not 24v or 48v) and is WiFi… In other words, PoE is great for assuring great connectivity to IP cameras and a few other remote device types… media players?.. But seems like overkill for a tablet based controller.

Why not just run 5v over plenum rated speaker wire?

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Sure one could convert the output (end that plugs into the device) on the Plenum Speaker wire by soldering on a connector that plugs into an Ipad, Android Tablet, or other proprietary interface for power /charging.

Its not beyond my technical abilities or time available. Others like the ease of plug and play connectors. i.e. USB to Apple large connector or Lightning, Android Micro USB,etc.

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Hello. I don’t think it is possible to supply internet to an iPad with Ethernet. The kit is to power the iPad over a long distance. For example, you can plug the iPad in in the basement, run an Ethernet cable to the iPad, connect the charger to the iPad, and the iPad is powered from the basement. You still need to connect the iPad over WiFi. This is useful for hiding wires.

That looks nice! What kind of in wall mount is that?

@jcommisso Got it from Amazon. It is nothing fancy as the other mounts - I couldn’t justify spending $200+ on a mount. This does the job just fine.

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But a tablet only requires 5v (not 24v or 48v) and is WiFi… In other words, PoE is great for assuring great connectivity to IP cameras and a few other remote device types… media players?.. But seems like overkill for a tablet based controller.

Why not just run 5v over plenum rated speaker wire?

The PoE is simply just for supplying the tablet with power and nothing more. Mine still connects to the house via wifi. As others stated, it is a less intrusive and does not break any electrical codes since it provides a slow/trickle charge to the device. You mentioned the voltage being high - when you have about 100 ft of cable from the power source to the device, the voltage (5v) will be too low to travel the entire length of the cable. Therefore, voltage is amplified to 24v+ and injected in the Ethernet line. This ensures constant power delivery. As long as the amperage of the power supplied is within spec of the device you’re charging, voltage should not be too much of a concern as long as it is nothing outrageous.

Simply, PoE makes it a dream supplying power to in wall devices - especially if your house is already pre-wired.

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The other nice thing about PoE is that you have some degree of control over the power delivery if you are using PoE switches. For example, my home router supplies 48v PoE to my access points and pings them regularly. If they start dropping repeated pings, it will momentarily pull power from the AP to force a reboot. It’s nice having an out-of-band way to deal with fixed-position DC-powered devices around your house. PoE is super convenient.

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Also the PoE injector kit Amazon PoE Injector kit is 22 dollars. I think its a good move to not spend the time to create a custom spliced together speaker cord / USB solution and just spend the 22 dollars instead.

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One thing to keep in mind is standard 802.3af PoE is 48V and the Amazon device is passive 24V PoE. I would suggest you label each end 24V.

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Has anyone found a way to make a tile with a pop up menu? For example I have a device type home theater controller that controls two TV’s. I would like to be able to click a tile for the TV and have a pop up menu that lets me power on or adjust volume. Same method that Routines and Mode changes uses. Any help is appreciated!

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Routines and Modes Tiles are “hard coded” in SmartTiles V5. We hope that after V6 is released, we can consider various ways to make user managed customization easier.

You can’t really add a pop-up at the moment … though you could use a Link Tile (URL) to jump to a web page with some TV controls on it. Would be easy if your TV supplied a web page and/or at least a REST-API.

The primary focus for SmartTiles development is to get V6 platform ready, and we also have to focus on supporting the most popular device types and capabilities. “TV Control” is an official SmartThings Capability, though, so if you build a Device Type Handler that is compliant, then we have more incentive to add in a special Tile Type; since we know it will work with every SmartThings Device that is compliant with the Capability definition.

Ah… see… SmartThings has really great foresight when they built “Capabilities” into the architecture. It means things can be interchangeable for different vendors, etc., without affecting the SmartApps like SmartTiles.

Thank you for the reply! I’ll try to find a work around for now then, should be fairly easy. I guess I love SmartTiles so much that it’s all I want on my screen! I look forward to seeing what’s in V6.

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Did some playing around in google developer tools from the browser. It’s coming along…I just want to get it looking nice enough for me to frame:grinning:

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Looks fabulous! We might just have to add this to our gallery on http://SmartTiles.click ; though we’d have to publish your CSS effort too!

@BD0G Do you know how many times this can be split to supply PoE to how many devices? Like, can I split it just once for 2 devices, or can I split it up to the max of a multiple of 5v to handle 4 devices?

Lifeswitch (https://vimeo.com/134763808) seems like a pretty good solution for people who don’t want to make any holes — it lets you mount an iPod in your switchplate and power it from the light switches. Unfortunately I can’t figure out when it’s shipping.

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