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I have a lot of experience programming (largely in python) but absolutely none with the raspberry pi. I have purchased one, but I would like to know if what I am wanting to attempt is even feasible before I start.

I would like to connect up the pi to a monitor, and a keyboard, and have an onscreen conversation with someone who is typing at the keyboard, via my phone. (It's for a mystery escape room situation).

The location has no internet, so Bluetooth would be the obvious solution.

I want the screen to be entirely blank other than whatever is being typed.

If anyone has any useful tips on where to start, or whether this is even possible, I'd be very grateful.

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    "The location has no internet, so Bluetooth would be the obvious solution." -> Either of the devices can be set up as a hotspot and connect to each other there, with or without internet available.
    – goldilocks ♦
    Jul 5, 2017 at 14:22

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Yes this is possible.

You will need a Bluetooth controller which has a serial port (Such as an RN42), or if you have a RasPi 3 you should be able to do this with the built in Bluetooth controller, but I have never worked with that myself. And a terminal program for the Raspberry Pi (Such as Minicom) and one for your phone (I use Blueterm for android).

It is possible to set this up so that everything that is typed onto one terminal appears at the other terminal.

If you are an experienced programmer I am sure you have the skills necessary to make this work and there are plenty of examples of doing similar things with these components.

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Bluetooth is the obvious solution.

That might be a tempting idea, but no, bluetooth will not work well here. Bluetooth transmission is really slow. You're just not going to get the bandwidth you need for a proper video chat. Secondly, the range of bluetooth is probably not going to meet your requirements. You need a fairly clear line of sight if you want bluetooth to go very far.

You're much better off using WiFi (through adhoc networking) or running an ethernet cable.

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  • It is a text conversation, not a video call. You are semi right about the range although any decent Bluetooth controller can penetrate through a wall into the next room. Adding WiFi into this may over complicate what he is trying to do which is essentially echo ASCII characters onto a terminal program which is very easy to set up using the Pi's UART.
    – pfl
    Jul 6, 2017 at 8:47
  • @pfl... Oh I misunderstood... I guess it very much depends how far away the devices will be.
    – Jacobm001
    Jul 6, 2017 at 14:27
  • Infrastucture WiFi would be even easier.
    – flakeshake
    Jul 7, 2017 at 14:02

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