Just upgrade to the $99 (when on sale) Fire 10" tablet, since the Belchertown skin really likes the extra screen real estate…
It does indeed. Belchertown on a 10" is spectacular.
Started using a Kindle 8 to display my Tempest station info a few weeks ago. Only problem is that it stops updating after a while (8 to 24 hours) and need to restart the app to get it to update. BTW this is not true for the main page of the app showing current conditions and weather forecast. Only true for the detailed page of data for individual weather station. Any ideas on how to get it to update without restarting the app.?
Hidden “Always on” setting for Amazon Fire tablets - Ideal for VidaMounts
- Go to the SETTINGS area.
- Click on DEVICE OPTIONS.
- Triple-tap the SERIAL NUMBER option, towards the bottom of the screen. Keep tapping!
- The DEVELOPER OPTIONS will now be accessible.
- Find the option labeled STAY AWAKE. Click on it to ENABLE.
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One benefit of FullyKiosk is that it has a much nicer interface for turning the browser on/off and for setting it to start on boot, so if you do a lot of fiddling with your GUI (like I do in Home Assistant) it makes it easier than the horrid Amazon Fire os interface.
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I came upon this thread a bit late and could have saved a bit of time researching the issues.
I think this kinda puts the process all together for the next person.
I got my Tempest a week ago and it setup nicely ( installed on flagpole… to be moved later to stiffer mounting pole ).
I wanted to use an old iPad ( 4th gen ) as a dedicated console but the IOS was too old to use for my purposes. I wanted to use the app BTSTWX and it wouldn’t take the 5 digit station code. Also the Tempest app wouldn’t work in dark theme.
So, I bought an Amazon Fire HD 8” tablet ( generation 8 ) on eBay for $38. And oh by the way WeatherFlow was having a $35 discount on the Tempest so it was almost a wash money-wise.
Two days later I had the Fire in hand and here’s where it gets hairy… Amazon Fires do not come with Google play Store even though they run on Android. So a little research and I found this below.
Turns out you have to download four APK files that are required for your specific Fire tablet generation and size. They have a table with links to the correct APKs but it is a bit confusing. Otherwise if you follow the instructions and obtain the correct APKs, everything works beautifully.
There is also a Youtube tutorial which covers this and you might want to view it first.
Just one last thing… if you want the display to stay awake it takes another bit of research. Turns out that the newer models of Fire do not have “Never” as an option on the display timeout and lock… so I found the following…
On the Fire, go to settings… then tap “Device Options”… then “About Fire Tablet”… then tap on the serial number 3 times… then another 3 times.
Go back to the “Device Options” page and you’ll now see “Developer Options”… tap it. Then toggle the “Stay Awake” switch.
And as they say over the pond, “Bob’s your uncle”
I hope this is a solution that can help you get the dedicated screen you want. Size matters and the Fire comes in several sizes but the 8” was the best for me… the iPad was 9.7” and too big for my location. BTW, love the simple btstWX app and the screen size works well.
A later note, the stay awake function doesn’t work very well… so There’s am App for that in the Google PlayStation… called “Keep Screen On Free”. This works very well and has been running for weeks now without failure.
Good luck.
Ken
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My spouse has really been missing the dedicated display from our previous weather station. I happened upon this thread and went looking for a used Fire in my area, but no go. Bought a new Fire 7 (gen 12) at a discount and did the set-up yesterday. Worked like a charm, with one caveat, already mentioned by someone else in this thread: I had to tap the serial number 3 times, x 4 (not 2), then got the Developer option.
Thanks for this, folks! Spouse is now happy.
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Amazon has great Black Friday deals now on Fire tablets. Stock up and save.
They are very popular as wall-hanging touch interfaces in home automation circles, and the Fully Kiosk Browser can be installed natively on a Fire from a link on Fully’s web site as the killer app for Android HA and PWS displays…
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Kindle Fire 7" for $40 tomorrow (Monday) on Amazon. Mine works ‘great’ running Home Assistant under Fully Kiosk Browser.
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