To date, I've never managed to figure out how to connect my HelpTech Activator with a RaspBerry Pi via Bluetooth; Even with Blueman, I can initially pair, but then the device disconnects and shows an input/output error. It's 3 meter USB wires for me now :p
For what it's worth, I found Userland on Android to be quite capable. Didn't even need to root the phone, and I still could run everything I wanted on there. I didn't test running BRLTTY there, mind--I suspect that might become gnarly. You can run BRLTTY on Android itself, of course--whether that results in the desired UX when paired with Userland is somewhat dubious, however. -- Tim Böttcher, BSc Mathematical-technical software developer Email: [email protected] Website: https://tim-boettcher.online > Am 29.12.2025 um 09:49 schrieb Sébastien Hinderer > <[email protected]>: > > Tim Böttcher (2025/12/28 23:19 +0100): >> As for portable Linux setups, I'm with Nicolas on the RaspBerry Pi. >> >> The main issue is that you also need a power bank or similar mobile >> power source capable of sustaining the RaspBerry Pi and any attached >> devices. Those power banks exist, but aren't exactly tiny. So it's >> somewhat portable, certainly less bulky than a laptop, but you still >> needat least your Braille display, RaspBerry Pi and a power bank for a >> minimal setup. Also note that the video dummy necessary to make Orca >> think there's a screen attached is, as far as I know, only available >> on Xorg, not Wayland. So if you want a GUI, that limits you to Xorg >> for now. > > Regarding the source of energy, that was actually the beauty of Mario's > solution based on Handy Tech's Active Star. That device has a > compartment inside of it which hadoriginally been conceived for you to > put a phone inside of it. The use-case is that the phone connects to the > braille display through bluetooth, and in addition this compartment had > a small wire through which you could plug your phone to the braille > device's battery. And so Mario's idea was to put a raspberry pi into it. > I know another list memberwho does or at least did the same with > success. On my side, I did want to do the same but always had issues in > peering the RPi with the braille device, which I found quite a pity. > > Coming to what Nicolas says about braille devices running Linux, I think > that this is the case e.g. for Eurobraille's last device whose name I > can't remember right now. Linux also seems popular among portable > digital book players, as I am sure Nicolas knows. ;-) > > But it seems that nowadays Android has become a serious concurrent for > Linux in that field. Maybe one way out would be to look into Linux-based > phones? > > Seb. > _______________________________________________ > This message was sent via the BRLTTY mailing list. > To post a message, send an e-mail to: [email protected] > For general information, go to: http://brltty.app/mailman/listinfo/brltty _______________________________________________ This message was sent via the BRLTTY mailing list. To post a message, send an e-mail to: [email protected] For general information, go to: http://brltty.app/mailman/listinfo/brltty
