hanvon-linux
2024 Jul 26 (E: 2025 Sep 10)
View 5 comment(s).A userspace driver for old Hanvon pen tablets.
If you build it, run
sudo hvlusb(The driver can’t control the cursor without
sudo.)
Story
I was stuck inside during the pandemic and got the idea to draw something. I had an old pen tablet laying around that I haven’t been using.
When I first got the tablet, it came with a disc for installing the driver on Windows 7 or earlier. I had stopped using Windows after 7, so I passed the tablet to my friend to see if he could figure something out. However, the driver didn’t work on Windows 8 either.
The device itself still sends packets (10 bytes).
When I got the idea to write a driver for my old tablet, the same friend looked at me and said,
“Just buy a new tablet.”
Considering the limited things a pen tablet does (basically a mouse), which bytes did what were obvious. I also had the original Linux kernel module to base the userspace driver from. (Although the original kernel module compiles, it does not work.)
After a while of getting used to libusb and libevdev, the driver worked on my laptop which had Devuan installed.
Graphicpal 0504, my old pen tablet
This thing probably isn’t on the market anymore. I had gotten this pen tablet from Frys Electronics which no longer exists.
The front side has a crack because I rolled my chair over it once.
Even though the pen tablet is made in China, it is quite durable. A bad habit I have with electronic devices is shifting them on the table such that the rubber feet on the bottoms slide off. For however many years, the feet never wore off. There is also a crack on my tablet which was no effect on the drawing space.
The least durable part is the right-click button on the pen. Mine has fallen off and is kept in place with sometimes tape or sometimes a tiny rubber band. Either the nibs don’t seem to leave scratches or marks on the drawing area, or I don’t draw enough for that to happen.
Drawing
Finally, here is a doodle I made in Krita with the tablet just for this blog post.
Thanks for reading. Members of the species homo sapiens may wiggle their phalanges to leave a comment on my guestbook via e-mail or neocities. Salesmen of “limited time offers” need not respond.
