[linux] Getting iMon device to work with Ubuntu

[agc93]

Hi all,

I understand that the iMon Manager software is Windows Only, but I've been trying to get some skerrick of functionality out of my brand-new iMon UltraBay and the best I can manage after hours of work is to show a clock.

To be honest, it doesnt seem like it should really ever be this hard. Has anyone managed to get a recent iMon (preferably LCD) product working with a vaguely recent Linux distribution? The newest comprehensive instructions I can find are for a 4 year old version of Ubuntu with a kernel several generations out of date.

More specifically, if anyone has a working copy of the imon_lcd.ko module for linux-3.0.x I would be forever indebted.

Has anyone had any luck getting any sort of Linux support out of an iMon LCD product?

[johnny.hur]

Dear agc93,

First of all, iMON officially supports Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7, not Linux. But some users have used iMON HW with Linux because 3rd party developers hacked our protocol and made Linux driver. If you really want to use iMON with Linux, please check the following link but we don’t recommend this.
http://venky.ws/projects/imon/
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=40290
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Imon

Regards,
Johnny Hur

[Vir]

You make it sound like you'd rather not have your hardware work with Linux. As I'm currently looking for hardware for a new HTPC this is important information. Thanks, I'll avoid buying iMON products if possible.

PS: Do you really think Windows-only is the right choice for staying relevant in the future? My decision for an HTPC is because of the flexibility it brings... guess what OS I'm looking at when I want flexibility.

[agc93]

Vir, it's not impossible. It's been a while since I updated it, but I have a short tutorial on getting iMon devices to work with Linux 3.0.16 (later versions should be capable also) up at this page.

It should be enough to get it going, and LIRC works a treat with the iMOn.

I still wholeheartedly agree with you that Soundgraph are really probably not thinking this through by not supporting Linux AT ALL. Even without iMon Manager/iMedian, just providing some working drivers would open up a whole new market for them.

[su_root]

Originally Posted by agc93

Vir, it's not impossible. It's been a while since I updated it, but I have a short tutorial on getting iMon devices to work with Linux 3.0.16 (later versions should be capable also) up at this page.

Great work, thanks!

I completely agree with you, it is a shame that there is no Linux support and they have not think it through at all. Many HTPC builders are geeks at some degree and many use Linux as a OS. And I suppose that OpenELEC will be the new standard since it boot fast and at least in my case, everything worked out of the box (installation took about 5minutes!).

I'm very tempted at buying the Ultrabay but I don't know should I since I WILL NOT change OpenELEC / Linux with XBMC for OS.

[agc93]

No problem. I will try and update it at some point, but that should be enough to start from.

I have only had a little bit of experience with OpenELEC, but I will have to look into it.

I've got an Ultrabay and really like it. You can get most functions working, but just never as well as Windows (no audio graph, for example). But that's on conventional Linux, so YMMV.

[AngeloOdom]

I will try and update it at some point, but that should be enough to start from.