Most people by now have seen the iPad Kegbot on you tube. Has anyone found a cheap touch screen pc that has worked for this project? I have found one for about $150 already running Ubuntu that might fit the bill.

I will be starting my Kegbot project in the very near future but feel very overwhelmed when reading the parts lists or seeing the Kegbot Milwaukee build photos. Step by step instructions on these builds would be helpful

goitz
Most people by now have seen the iPad Kegbot on you tube. Has anyone found a cheap touch screen pc that has worked for this project? I have found one for about $150 already running Ubuntu that might fit the bill.

I've been looking for a while. My ideal platform would be a cheap Android-capable device -- eg a discontinued phone in the $100 (or less) range. Here's the favorite I've seen so far: O2 joggler.

Other candidates include the "FriendlyARM" development boards, which can be found on eBay for about ~$100. This includes a ~400MHz arm processor, ethernet, and a touchscreen. It has nowhere near the specs of an iPad/iPhone in terms of speed/resolution, but the price is more attractive.

I'm guessing that in another 6 months, the number of available platforms will be much greater. (I'm betting on Android, because I have a good deal of experience hacking them & it would be much easier to distribute an all-in-one, custom kegbot image for such a device.)

mike

(oops, I forgot to respond to this part)

goitz
I will be starting my Kegbot project in the very near future but feel very overwhelmed when reading the parts lists or seeing the Kegbot Milwaukee build photos. Step by step instructions on these builds would be helpful

Simplifying the build & software is a major goal for me, since it seems to be the biggest blocker for new users. The kegboard shield is one step in that direction, some changes to the software architecture are another.

A step-by-step guide is within reach, it is just a matter of time.. Until then, if you need help, you can usually find geoff or myself here or IRC most nights.

cheers..

Thanks Mike i am sure i will be calling on you for your expertise.

Electronic boards is not my forte but if it has a db or needs coding then we are talking

Yes this seems daunting at the moment but the cool thing is that it seems to be upgradeable as you go so you can start with the basic flow and temp then move into solenoid valves and RFID or other login features. (i am looking into a usb drivers licence scanner).

For now i am reading the current doc and posts for supplies needed just to get something working to boost my confidence

Picking up cheap, already existing hardware is the way to go, especially old phones.

My in-progress build will be using an iPhone permanently mounted in each tap handle. I'm picking up a windows phone in a few months, and a few of my co-workers are abandoning the iphone platform as well leaving a lot of hardware around that nobody is using and I can buy cheaply.

Definitely not as great as an Android device (for one thing, I don't have a Mac, so I have to but a 3rd party toolchain), but it works for what I'm planning. I'll post a bit more once I have something together, right now I've just got a couple jail-broken phones, my arduino, and some software written up. Flow-meters (swissflow) and temp sensors (ds18b20 from sparkfun) should be here by next week, so we'll see how it comes together.

I'll try to throw instructions together for what I am doing, but this is a one-off from the actual Kegbot build (I'll be using my windows server as the backend and I'm writing my own reading and frontend software).

very cool. i am digging up old laptops from the back of my closet to start with until something better can be found. Please post what your planning and your steps. I have started looking for the hardware and hopefully can build out a flow control and temp sensors in the first pass.

opqdan
My in-progress build will be using an iPhone permanently mounted in each tap handle. I'm picking up a windows phone in a few months, and a few of my co-workers are abandoning the iphone platform as well leaving a lot of hardware around that nobody is using and I can buy cheaply.

Heh, I wasn't going to say anything, but I'm working on something very similar for kegbot. The tap handle is the perfect place for a display/interface (always-up-to-date beer artwork, among other cool things w/ touch). I'll share progress as my prototype gets further along; maybe you can end up using the same app.

I'm really eager for a good iPhone-like device with a front-facing camera for another reason: insta-post-pour-drunk-pics! (iPhone4 may have to do in the meantime, but pricey...)