[General Questions and Answers] fixerdave:
Hi,

I'm trying to learn about serial communication with devices from an Android tablet via USB host mode. I have a tablet, I have the devices, I have the apps... they just won't talk. It's most likely something to do with the firmware on my odd tablet, or maybe I'm just missing something stupid.

The tablet:

SUPERPAD FLYTOUCH

10.2" >24GB< ANDROID 4.0 TABLET A10 1.5Ghz CPU | 1GB RAM

"About this Tablet" says:

Model: BC1003

Android 4.04

Baseband ver 1.5rc4

Kernel 3.0.8 jackie@ubuntu #2 Mon Aug 6 15:23:31 CST 2012

There are 2 USB-A ports on this device. One has a physical switch that goes from device to host mode, comes with a male-male cable for attaching to a PC. The other port is host only. I can connect a USB thumb drive and it mounts just fine, shows up in the file manager, no problems. Same for a USB keyboard. It powers any USB device I've plugged into it.

The problem:

It works well enough for most things. But, I've now run into two applications that won't use the host USB port on the thing. Both seem to want to do basic serial communication. At this point, those 2 apps are about the only things I actually want to do with it, so I'm willing to experiment.

I have a USB oscilloscope that comes with an Android app. The app installs and runs fine, but it won't recognize the hardware usb device I've plugged in. Annoying, but I don't really need it. I've recently purchased some digital scales(DROs) for my lathe/mill. There's an Android app that interfaces these scales to an Arduino device via USB. Installs fine, won't connect to the Arduino. Okay, now this is starting to get annoying. Also, for what it's worth, the Android app for doing general Arduino stuff didn't work either.

So, the USB hardware works enough to connect a USB thumb drive or keyboard but the firmware won't use said hardware to do what I want.

The questions:

Am I doing something wrong? Is there an app I can install that enables serial communication over USB host mode? Am I missing something stupid?

Is there any other firmware I can run that will allow this communication? I think I've got the Windows utility that will allow me to flash the rom. I've watched the youtube vids on dis-assembly so I can pull the internal tf/sdcard and make a full dd backup. I'm assuming it contains the roms and everything else. Actually, I'm thinking about just pulling said card and replacing it with a smaller one for experimenting. Will I still be able to flash it using the windows LiveSuite utility even with a blank card inserted?

At this point, I'm willing to play. I mean, it's still useful enough to be careful, but I'm willing to take some chances and put a little work into it. If I can get it running with the DRO software while talking over USB to the Arduino, I'd sacrifice everything else. GPS, battery life, wifi, screen rotation, sound, whatever. I'd just bolt the thing next to the mill and that's that. Failing that, I'll put it back to stock and stick it on the fridge for my wife to look up recipes, Yeah, poor tablet... motor oil and metal swarf or cooking oil and flour. No happy retirement for this tablet, sitting in a drawer gathering dust.

Any hints, links, recommendations, or directions appreciated.

David...