Help mounting a tablet over existing switch

Great work keep us posted. I have been watching this thread in extreme interest.

Great job! Can’t wait to see the final setup

Thanks for the encouragement! Is there anyone out there with a 7" Fire tablet and a 3D printer that would like to test the fit of my brackets? My tablet won’t be here until the 30th. I can forward the STL file if interested. Thanks!

Mission (mostly) Accomplished! Th tablet arrived early, so I was able to test out the brackets and tweak them a bit. Now that I know everything fits, I’ll be reprinting the brackets at a higher quality, as the current set is very rough. They’re mounted with command strips, so they’re very easy to swap out. I also have some security cameras on the tablet, along with a Ring doorbell, so when someone rings the doorbell, a popup appears over the dashboard that takes you to live video. Thank you SO much to everyone who helped me out with this project. If anyone wants the STL file for the brackets I made, just let me know.

Here are some pictures of the finished project!

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Very nice and clean looking. Thank you for sharing your project. One thing I would do with the switch is flip it upside down. That way you don’t have to remove the tablet to get to the light switch.

Thanks! I thought about flipping the switch, but the way the USB cable I got is aligned, it would be facing in the wrong direction if I flipped it. Then I thought about doing it anyway and flipping the tablet as well, but that puts the power cord on the top-left corner, making it really visible.

Good news is that there is enough space behind the tablet that the switch can be reached without removing it. It’s not perfect, but it works fine as a backup that I’ll hopefully rarely have to touch.

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is that LAMP CORD you used between the switch and the module??? That’s a no-no.

It’s not lamp cord, it’s just some small-gauge wire I had lying around. You need 18 AWG wire for the signal connection between the controller and the switch. I’m pretty sure it’s just a little DC circuit that just tells the controller if the switch is on. You think that’s a concern?

Great Post,

I have been trying to figure out how to do this for awhile now. I have a similar light switch with the USB ports on it. Any idea how complex it would be to replace 3 switches (2 are 3 pole)? The spot where I want to put my tablet has three switches in its place. I planned on replacing the switches with Z-wave switches, but virtual switches would be fine.

Any help would be great!

Thanks!

If I’m understanding you right, you’ve currently got 3 switches in a 3-gang box on the wall, and would like to put a tablet over it. I don’t see a reason why you couldn’t replace all 3 switches with the same controller that I used, and then install a blank over the 2 now-unused slots.

That said, as I posted above, I like to have a switch there for backup, so you could just use something like this: http://amzn.com/B000U3HZZK . That would allow you to put your usb/switch in the decora slot, and keep regular light switches on the right.

Are you planning on putting it at an angle like mine, or just mounting it flush on the wall? If mounting flush on the wall, you 're probably better off with a 3-gang blank, and using something like @beckwith suggested above.

Fantastic idea. So those AEON micro switches can replace light switches if you no longer need manual control? I’m fairly new to all this, and know just enough to be dangerous.

So to sum things up, this is what I want to do:

  1. Provide power to a tablet. (What would be the cleanest way if I don’t need switches?)
  2. Be able to turn all 3 lights on and off individually(2 of the 3 are 3way lights). Manual switch not needed.
  3. Have it look nice when all done.:smile:

One more question, where did you get that light switch with the usb outlet?

Also, I read that you can use those micro switches when replacing 3way and 4way switches, instead of buying dummy switches… How does that work?

That’s correct, the AEON micro controllers work with or without a manually-controlled light switch.

  1. If you’re mounting it flat on the wall, I still think @beckwith’s idea is awesome and super-clean. If you want to mount it at an angle, or don’t like the idea of wireless charging, then you can use just replace one of the light switches with a USB outlet, and put a blank over the other two. If you’re using a 2015 Fire tablet and have access to a 3D printer, I’d be happy to send you my bracket design files.

  2. You’d need a separate micro controller for each switch you’re replacing.

  3. See above.

I got the light switch with the USB outlet from the link I posted on Amazon. I’ve since seen them a bit cheaper, so it’s worth shopping around.

I’m not positive about how they would work in a 3-way or 4-way configuration, because I’ve never used them in that way. As long as there’s a way to connect the traveller wire, it should work though.

I’ve created a separate thread with more details:

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sorry if this has already been posted in here (REALLY sorry if it was me), but wher ethe Amazon Fire 7" Tablet is concerned…

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How do you get the pop up for your Ring Door Bell to overlay over your dashboards?

@OdinTheDog Hi any chance you share the stl file for this mount I have been looking for one to print. thanks

Just install the Ring app on the tablet, log in, and it should just work!

No problem, I’ve just uploaded it here! https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2722101

Perfect thanks

I just realized that when I uploaded it, I accidentally put up 2 versions of the right-side mount. I’ve corrected it now, so the most recent version of both are up there.