Sorry, just caught the edit you made to your last post. Lot's of ideas for the wireless IoT there.
I'm leaning towards a system to automate care of my balcony. There are a lot of plants growing out there, they need a watering system.
Then I've always wanted a decent weather monitor. Us English have an obsession with the weather but here it's a serious matter. Underestimating how much clothing you have to pile on before you go out when the temperature gets to -30C and the wind is howling is not just annoying.
Slowly I might end up with a combined weather station / plant minder.
Guys, there seems to be a lull in the action here. Did anyone try out the propeller-load on their router?
Loopy, that TP-LINK you sent me has arrived. Oh boy, I don't know how hard it is to post from Taiwan but it's really hard to collect it here. I got a card through the letter box saying I had a package to pick up. I have since been given the run around by four different post offices as to where it actually was to collect! No wonder national post systems are all going down and people like DHL are taking their business, they are totally incompetent at what they do.
Anyway, that was such a beautiful package with very nice Chinese stamps on it, I did not want to open it!
So now, how do I open that little plastic box without destroying it?....
Guys, there seems to be a lull in the action here. Did anyone try out the propeller-load on their router?
Loopy, that TP-LINK you sent me has arrived. Oh boy, I don't know how hard it is to post from Taiwan but it's really hard to collect it here. I got a card through the letter box saying I had a package to pick up. I have since been given the run around by four different post offices as to where it actually was to collect! No wonder national post systems are all going down and people like DHL are taking their business, they are totally incompetent at what they do.
Anyway, that was such a beautiful package with very nice Chinese stamps on it, I did not want to open it!
So now, how do I open that little plastic box without destroying it?....
Interesting problems on your end...
In Taiwan, I have to go to one of two post offices to pickup international parcels and the only way I know which is by the color of the post card they send me. The white is the main post office, the green is the local post office.
I suppose Zip codes don't mean anything there, or you didn't provide me the whole zip code.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Opening the MR3020.......
Actually, the OpenWrt Mr3020 has a pretty good discussion on how to do it. But first time is likely to be a bit of drama.
I considered using a razor blade (too thin, but very sharp) and a utility knife (but the blades break off in segments). I ended up using a stainless steel pocket knife as it was reasonably sharp and I could pry without fear of snapping the blade.
The main trick is to start on the side where the LAN plug in is (the least glue on this side) and work counter-clockwise. Do the side with the LEDs last.
The idea is to avoid damaging the the plastic that links the LEDs to shine outside. I was successful with doing so as they really are not too near the edge.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Take a good look at the photos and videos. Here is a link of a video that is a bit more brutal that I like to be... but successful.
+++++++++++
Regarding the pi-propeller-loader...
I had intended to try it this past weekend. But I decided to first get my wifi configured the way I desired. That didn't work out and I have had to do a Failsafe recovering twice. There is something I just don't understand about the /etc/config/wireless and /etc/config/network menus. I am still working out what that is.
In the interim, everytime I call up the Failsafe mode, I end up dumping my configuration attempt and just have the squashfs image to start over. So I have to reload your pi-propeller-load and a binary to do testing.
++++++++++
The ONLY reason to open the MR3020 is to get to the Rx, the Tx, and the two GPIO pins. You can load OpenWrt and the FTDI driver without those items. And if you don't ever require a Failsafe recovery via a serial port, the box can remain shut.
In my own case, I manage to shut out the LAN and Wifi and I had turned off the Serial Console to the RS232 as it interfers with the propeller-load. And even after doing all that, the Failsafe mode reopened the RS232 port for a recovery.
IOW, there isn't much you can do to shut yourself completely out . The OpenWrt recovery method is pretty good.
And the Failsafe mode doesn't have to always dump a bad configuration. You can mount the messed up jff2 file system partition and attempt repair. It will even show you a forgotten password.
BTW.. I think the MR3020 is a bit easier to serial interface. There are holes for a 4 pin header. Be sure you use a 90 degree header so you may reclose the case with a cable attached.
I have NOT used a level shifter. I am plugging the Tx and Rx directly into a USB2SER from Parallax. (but a PropPlug can do exactly the same job.) for Failsafe recovery.
Or I just connect the same wires directly to a Propeller Proto Board (but Tx and Rx need to be swapped for the same cable to work).
==============
My MAIN Goal at this point is to just have the MR3020 be a wireless Propeller programmer and serial terminal link.
But the MR3020 still needs the LAN working to the outside world (via WAN) to allow it to download opkg packages from the OpenWrt repositories.
Somehow, I either can have the Wifi reach the MR3020 or the LAN reach the MR3020, but NOT both. I want both to do so at the same time, and this is where I am getting into trouble with trying to reconfigure.
You had the "ZIP" code correct on the address. Turns out my nearest post office is 1Km away from here, the postman came from a post office much further away, he used the wrong rubber stamp on the pick up address which was somewhere totally else. Meanwhile, not knowing where that was the post guys directed me to yet somewhere else.....
Thanks for the opening instructions all. First though I'm going to see if I can get it to work as advertised out of the box. I happen to have a 3G USB adapter here.
You had the "ZIP" code correct on the address. Turns out my nearest post office is 1Km away from here, the postman came from a post office much further away, he used the wrong rubber stamp on the pick up address which was somewhere totally else. Meanwhile, not knowing where that was the post guys directed me to yet somewhere else.....
Thanks for the opening instructions all. First though I'm going to see if I can get it to work as advertised out of the box. I happen to have a 3G USB adapter here.
I would love to see the 3G USB adapter proven useful. The lables on these first adverized 3G/4G, but the device is labeled 3G/3.75G (apparently they never quite figured out 4G).
++++++
Try the slide switch on the side.
It may be important at power up and ignored thereafter.
Once you load OpenWrt, it may become useless until you do some advanced fixing. Personally, I think it is a bit of junk as you can reconfigure in LuCi.
The 3G dongle we have is very good. When we are away in the depths of the forest 'er-in-doors has that dongle on her laptop and can watch TV with it all day and all night....
Meanwhile the 3G Samsung Galaxy S I have fails totally at that location and I'm cut off from the world.
Being able to share that 3G connection via WIFI would be oh so useful.
Amazing, without reading any instructions I just plug in the USB 3G dongle, push the switch to 3G position, give the thing power an boom I have WIFI access to the internet using the key printed on the side of the box. That's easier than getting my D-LINK and it's old software working.
I hope this works as well with the OpenWRT "upgrade".
As for "Propeller wireless 3G prgramming". As long as the 3G provides a network interface it's the same as using WIFI or ethernet or DSL or whatever.
I am beginning to wonder if Parallax has suddenly decided that FPGA devices are their next big product.
I suppose if I bought one, I could have a Propeller 1 clone with ADC i/o added directly to it. Until now, I have thought that the P2 would be the big game changer.
In any event, now that Heater has an MR3020, I suspect he understands that these minirouters are very un-router-like.
I suspected that the P1 design release bombshell had pretty much laid to waste all other developments for many of us not just you:)
Even I got distracted. Had to dust off my nano board and replace it's old P2 configuration with the new P1. Had to see it working right? That leads to having to install the Altera tools and build by own configuration from the sources. That leads to noticing the formatting of the sources is all screwed up and that ....
Hey but guess what? I program my DE0-nano/P1 with my D-LINK router instead of a Prop Plug!
And I don't really have an interest in getting into Verilog, VHDL perhaps but Verilog just looks so horrible. I could be swayed though. I think if I was serious about it I'd be starting from the HDL equivalent of "Hello World", can I flash a LED with this thing?. It might take a long time to get up to understanding the P1 code. And that would mean no Propeller projects for me for a long time.
Loopy,
Yes, I wonder where Parallax is going with this too. I could see that perhaps they end up producing a Parallax FPGA board, custom designed for the minimum you need for P1 design hacking. Perhaps with some traditional MCU board proto-typing area on it. I could see them creating educational materials around that "standard board" and the P1 design. How cool would it be to have someone teach you how to add little peripherals to the internal I/O pins of the P1 design or even add features to the core design itself?
Let's see what happens.
In any event, now that Heater has an MR3020, I suspect he understands that these minirouters are very un-router-like.
On the one side I have a connection to the internet via the 3G network.
On the other side I have connection to potentially many machines via WIFI.
On the third side I have connection to potentially many machines via an ethernet port.
The cute little box routes packets between all those subnets (The internet is just a big subnet out there right?)
It can also do DHCP and DNS and NAT and VPN and fire walling and port forwarding... just like a big router.
I bet with a bit of effort we could put OSPF on there and have it find the optimal routes between a multiply-redundantly connected network of perhaps hundreds of such units! Wireless mesh network spanning hundreds of square killometers anyone? I have done that with networks of machines with less resources than the MR3020.
The wireless mess networks have already been a popular feature of mobile HAM radio gathering. In the USA, they apparently all meet with caravans full of radio equipment at some remote camp ground and socialize. Too make it all that much more interesting, they set up a temporary wifi mesh network aside from what all the other HAM radio is doing.
It is very tempting to buy a half-dozen of these and to spend quite a bit of time establishing something exotic in wifi.
+++++++++++
I crashed my wireless and network configuration again. I just don't seem to see how I should make these work together with DHCP.
It may be that when I evoke a SSH (via Dropbear) that the security features are no longer tolerant to configuration changes. I can at least get the Wifi on an encrypted password right away, but now I am avoiding SSH until everything can demonstrate it is working right.
Loopy,
If you are serious about getting a number of these routers, please PM me.
heater,
You should get into this fpga p1 design. Verilog is not that hard - help is on the forum to get the symantics correct. Other than that it is much like any HL language.
I printed the *.v files and annotated them quite simply. I couldn't write this, but I can read most of it, and can modify it.
Lots of fun to be had, lots to learn, and it will help when we get the next P2 release. I suspect we may get to see some snippets of Verilog for the p2 now. I am not expecting to see the whole enchilada yet, if at all.
At this point in time,
One or two MR3020 are enough for me. (I already have two.)
I have been quite frustrated with not getting the configuration that I desire and I think I have finally come to terms with what the issues are.
A.
Dropbear, which provides the SSH services seems to lock down the router's access to the Linux Command Line and LuCi essentially one channel unless you modify it to work with more.
B.
The jump from LAN to WAN has a lot of firewall features that can get in the way of using the MR3020 simply as a general Linux computer. While all that security may be necessary and useful in a normal router mode, it is just too much for the kind of project I have in mind (a simple wifi Propeller Programmer with the ability to occasionally download packages via the LAN port.)
In sum, if you want to explore creative uses, it may be best to not enable SSH/Dropbear until after you have figured out what you want. And even then, you may have to create a rather sophisticated Dropbear configuration to allow the Linux Command Line to be reached both wirelessly and by LAN. The /dev/ttyANT0 Serial Port seems to by-pass the SSH security net completely. But other serial ports via the USB may require SSH configuration.
Nope. I don't agree with your conclusions. (As if I would )
If logging into your box via dropbear is causing issues like stopping Luci working or whatever then there is something seriously not normal and broken about you system. For example I am currently logged into my D-LINK via ssh 5 times simultaneously:
root@OpenWrt:~# ps
PID USER VSZ STAT COMMAND
1 root 1360 S /sbin/procd
2 root 0 SW [kthreadd]
.
.
.
19153 root 1216 S /usr/sbin/dropbear -F -P /var/run/dropbear.1.pid -p 22 -K 300
19154 root 1484 S -ash
19159 root 1216 S /usr/sbin/dropbear -F -P /var/run/dropbear.1.pid -p 22 -K 300
19160 root 1484 S -ash
19165 root 1216 S /usr/sbin/dropbear -F -P /var/run/dropbear.1.pid -p 22 -K 300
19166 root 1484 S -ash
19171 root 1216 S /usr/sbin/dropbear -F -P /var/run/dropbear.1.pid -p 22 -K 300
19172 root 1484 S -ash
19177 root 1216 S /usr/sbin/dropbear -F -P /var/run/dropbear.1.pid -p 22 -K 300
19178 root 1484 S -ash
19183 root 1480 R ps
This does not stop Luci or other services from running as normal.
This in no way an abnormal thing to be doing and has been possible on kind of similar systems I have worked on in the past.
Yes you may have firewalling rules that prevent ssh access from the WAN (internet interface). That should be easy to fix. I have never known ssh to be blocked to the LAN side. Note that one of those ssh connections into my router is from a server out on the internet, on the WAN side.
"All that security" is perfectly normal for a general Linux computer. If it is too much we can probably figure out how to turn most of it off (Not advised).
Hopefully I'll find time to get OpenWRT on the MR3020 here and then run into the same issues you are having. If we are lucky we might even be able to figure out the way around them:)
Yay, the MR3020 here is now brain transplanted with OpenWRT.
I used the openwrt-ar71xx-generic-tl-mr3020-v1-squashfs-factory.bin that I built from the OpenWRT sources on the 25th July.
The firmware upgrade from the original WEB interface just worked.
With ethernet connection from PC to MR3020 I got in with telnet, changed the password, got back in with ssh.
Changed the LAN interface address in /etc/config/network to 192.168.3.1 so as not to fight with my upstream router on 1.1 and the other D-LINK on 2.1
Followed the usual instructions for enabling WIFI and setting it up as a "station". Anyone ever notice that the command to scan for wireless access points is not right in the documentation? I used "iwinfo wlan0 scan". Just to check we could see the access point.
So far so good we have eth0 on the LAN side and WIFI is on the WAN side and reaches the internet.
Time to install Luci...
FAIL! The "opkg update" command fails with :
wget: server returned error: HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found
Collected errors:
* opkg_download: Failed to download http://downloads.openwrt.org/snapshots/trunk/ar71xx/packages/Packages.gz, wget returned 1.
Well sure enough there is no Packages.gz file at that URL. Not only that there is no such file in the directories for any other router or even in the older versions. WTF!
OK. I go to my original D-LINK where "opkg update" worked previously and Luci is installed. Sure enough it now fails in the same way. WTF?
So no juicy Luci for me
Anyone else seen this? Does "opkg update" still work for you?
Anyway, not bad progress for a first attempt and no serial port safety net yet.
Perhaps getting the USB 3G dongle working is next on the agenda.
Edit: Which is of course impossible without opkg working!
Considering where the MR3020 came from, should I be offended? I guess this is Heater just being Heater.
I really have been diverted with what I obviously don't comprehend about the security features of Dropbear and the configuration of routers via Openwrt. And then, there has been the doubling of my teaching hours this summer.
Obviously there are two bits of hardware in the MR3020 --- eth0 for a LAN/WAN port and radio0 for a wifi support. But going from Static devices to a DCHP hasn't worked the way I expected or desired. Openwrt creates device identities in software for specific purposes -- Bridges, Vlans, and WAN connections.
As long as one stays in bounds and uses these as they were intended for mundane uses, Openwrt is easy to follow. But I guess I got out of bounds.
It my first configuration, I could only reach the Command Line over SSH to 192.168.1.89 and CAT5, no wifi. But at least I could reach the opkg server on the WWW for downloads and updates.
In my second configuration, I could only reach the Command Line over SSH via wifi and have no access to the WWW.
That is where I am now. I suppose I could set aside all this and test the pi-propeller-load. But the annoyance has distracted me.
Besides, the RS232 works flawless with Forth. I pretty much presumed the pi-propeller-load would work. I will try to use it directly, without a 10K pullup or a capacitor to ground. I suspect that your problems with reset may not plague the MR3020 and desire to attempt a first try without.
++++++++++++++
IOW, I will get back into the GPIO. I have the one that is working.. though High is 2.71volts. It has just been that setbacks have occurred all along the way.
++++++++++++++
If you desire to set up the GPIO on your own, hone your SMD soldering skills in advance. Be prepared to remove a rather small resistor with great care. And then to attach a bit of 30 gauge wire to the remaining pad so that it will not physically strain the pad. It did not take much to pull it off the board.
My process is to tape the 30 gauge wire into position with a bit of cello tape. Then to solder to the pad. And to follow up with a bit of super glue to attach the wire to the board as to avoid an movement pulling the pad off the board.
The 4 LEDs could be used for other GPIO access, but the LEDs are also tiny and you will have to locate the associated resistor to get an active 3.3v high.
No don't be offended. I'm just being grumpy and having a quick moan and whine and complain.
We should be happy. Pretty much everything that should be working is working. And it was all far easier than I expected given the problems I have had getting such things working before. The OpenWRT guys have done a great job on this.
I would suggest you stay "in bounds". The intended uses are far from mundane and plenty adequate for anything we are likely to want to do. Or have I missed a point about what you actually are trying to do?
You have set me a bit of a challenge now. I demoed the MR3020 to 'er-in-doors with her 3G USB dongle plugged in and her laptop and my PC connected via WIFI. That was with the factory firmware. Now that I have put OpenWRT on there that no longer works. Well guess what? She is demanding that I make it work again. It looks like I may have lost control of that MR3020!
The instructions for getting those 3G dongles working on OpenWRT look very painful....
I have been practising with SMT recently but I can imagine the parts in that little box are much smaller than the 0803 resistors I have here.
My approach to removing SMT resistors in the past was not to be carefull!
Just cook the whole resistor until the solder melts at both ends and then flick the thing out of the way. The resistor usually dies or gets lost or stuck to the soldering iron tip in this process but who cares?
I'll try and open up that box tonight and see what we are up against.
What I need you to tell me now is: If you log in to your router and issue an "opkg update" command, what happens?
You have set me a bit of a challenge now. I demoed the MR3020 to 'er-in-doors with her 3G USB dongle plugged in and her laptop and my PC connected via WIFI. That was with the factory firmware. Now that I have put OpenWRT on there that no longer works. Well guess what? She is demanding that I make it work again. It looks like I may have lost control of that MR3020!
The instructions for getting those 3G dongles working on OpenWRT look very painful....
I have been practising with SMT recently but I can imagine the parts in that little box are much smaller than the 0803 resistors I have here.
My approach to removing SMT resistors in the past was not to be carefull!
Just cook the whole resistor until the solder melts at both ends and then flick the thing out of the way. The resistor usually dies or gets lost or stuck to the soldering iron tip in this process but who cares?
I'll try and open up that box tonight and see what we are up against.
What I need you to tell me now is: If you log in to your router and issue an "opkg update" command, what happens?
Yes, the Openwrt documents pretty much get a copy of Openwrt loaded and then leave the creative stuff up to the user to figure out.
If you really like the 3G feature, just reload the original firmware and skip hacking. I am working on this.
If you do hack, you may have to buy another MR3020 for your 3G. (They are supposedly on sale in Europe for about $20USD+VAT).
But I do suspect that the first order of business to get the 3G USB working is to determine if it uses FTDI or another USB driver and to load that driver via the opkg repositories. None are loaded with the firmware changeover to OpenWrt. There are at least two USB drivers available and one is fortunately FTDI.
I have made a bit of progress. I finally got the wifi reaching the WWW and the telnet reaching the Linux Console. I also get LuCi. I am not very sure why. While I tried changing the network to 192.168.3.1, the telenet and LuCi are using 192.168.1.89 on Wifi. I remain confused as to what is going on. But.... it is working for now.
Since my download software was SCP in Dropbear, which I am avoiding using. I have to load an FTP daemon to get the files into the MR3020 to run trials. Seems very easy to do, but who knows what I might find along the way.
+++++++++++
All along I have been confounded a bit by Openwrt. Maybe you will see what I am not getting.
BTW, to remove the SMD resistor in the MR3020... I'd do the following:
A. Not too much heat. use a 20 or 30 watt soldering iron.. but let it warm up for 20 minutes or so before using. You want to get in and out quickly.
B. Heat directly the body of the resistor, not the junctures between the board and the resistor.
C. Do Not pry or chisel the reistor off... just get it hot enough to move on its own.
OpenWrt has photos of where the Resistors are and to which GPIO they are tied.
Also, I previously posted a file of all the Opkg repository packages. It is very long and reading it off of the Terminal in Linux don't work as the buffer is overwritten.
I need it to find and install an FTP daemon. You will want the USB drivers, and maybe more.
I am thinking that mail might be very useful to have the MR3020 robotically send email to other computers when certain conditions require notification. Be warned, the repository is huge.
Hi Heater.
The 'opkg update' command goes onto the WWW to the Openwrt repository to transfer and up-to-date list of the available repository packages into RAM. (When you turn off your router, the list goes away).
So essentially if it does not work. You should try 'ping google.com' and see if you are reaching the outside world. If not, you have to configure /etc/config/wireless and /etc/config/network to reach the outside world. Or you can do it via cgi or LuCi. This particular process has been at the heart of all my delays.
If you can't figure it out on your own, I can provide you copies of my wireless and network files as they are currently working. I have my MR3020 plugged into my regular router that goes to an ADSL modem. The regular router has DHCP services, do the MR3020 is a DHCP client.
I am NOT used the examples provided by OpenWrt as it just never allowed me to get everything I wanted. My configuration is simpler.... none of the adding an item called WAN.
Actually, I only did two things to configure the MR3020.
A. Make the wifi active in /etc/config/wireless
B. Change the 'static' to 'dchp' in /etc/config/network in the bridge section.
I have been holding off on adding a password that will shift the whole setup to SSH as I seem to loose LuCi at that point. It seem Dropbear wants a second instance of installation for LuCi to be active behind the security... but I am not sure.
++++++++++++
I started to install TFTP on my MR3020 to transfer files in and out, but it seems to me that wget will do this with less fuss.
As soon as I can get a Propeller binary and a pi-propeller-loader binary into the MR3020, I can proceed with trying to make it work.
I have very good connection to the outside world from my routers, even if it is a router behind a router:
root@OpenWrt:~# ping google.com
PING google.com (80.239.229.217): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 80.239.229.217: seq=0 ttl=59 time=3.329 ms
64 bytes from 80.239.229.217: seq=1 ttl=59 time=2.560 ms
--- google.com ping statistics ---
2 packets transmitted, 2 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 2.560/2.944/3.329 ms
If the problem were that simple I would have an idea how to fix it and not be bugging you.
No, the problem is that "opkg update" cannot get the "up-to-date list of the available repository packages" because there isn't one at the other end:
root@OpenWrt:~# opkg update
Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/snapshots/trunk/ar71xx/packages/Packages.gz.
wget: server returned error: HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found
Collected errors:
* opkg_download: Failed to download http://downloads.openwrt.org/snapshots/trunk/ar71xx/packages/Packages.gz, wget returned 1.
See. It says "HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found". The server says it has no Packages.gz file at that location.
BusyBox v1.19.4 (2013-03-14 11:28:31 UTC) built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.
_______ ________ __
| |.-----.-----.-----.| | | |.----.| |_
| - || _ | -__| || | | || _|| _|
|_______|| __|_____|__|__||________||__| |____|
|__| W I R E L E S S F R E E D O M
-----------------------------------------------------
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT (12.09, r36088)
-----------------------------------------------------
* 1/4 oz Vodka Pour all ingredients into mixing
* 1/4 oz Gin tin with ice, strain into glass.
* 1/4 oz Amaretto
* 1/4 oz Triple sec
* 1/4 oz Peach schnapps
* 1/4 oz Sour mix
* 1 splash Cranberry juice
-----------------------------------------------------
root@OpenWrt:~# opkg update
Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/attitude_adjustment/12.09/ar71xx/generic/packages/Packages.gz.
Updated list of available packages in /var/opkg-lists/attitude_adjustment.
root@OpenWrt:~#
I'm not using the "attitude adjustment" release. I built OpenWRT from the latest sources recently.
Turns out that in the /etc/opkg.conf file there is a URL of the package repo. But that did not point to anywhere useful. There was no Packages.gz file there.
Comments
An AR9331 board with 64MB RAM and 8MB FLASH
And another just Serial to WiFi using AT command set
... stay tuned
Sorry, just caught the edit you made to your last post. Lot's of ideas for the wireless IoT there.
I'm leaning towards a system to automate care of my balcony. There are a lot of plants growing out there, they need a watering system.
Then I've always wanted a decent weather monitor. Us English have an obsession with the weather but here it's a serious matter. Underestimating how much clothing you have to pile on before you go out when the temperature gets to -30C and the wind is howling is not just annoying.
Slowly I might end up with a combined weather station / plant minder.
Loopy, that TP-LINK you sent me has arrived. Oh boy, I don't know how hard it is to post from Taiwan but it's really hard to collect it here. I got a card through the letter box saying I had a package to pick up. I have since been given the run around by four different post offices as to where it actually was to collect! No wonder national post systems are all going down and people like DHL are taking their business, they are totally incompetent at what they do.
Anyway, that was such a beautiful package with very nice Chinese stamps on it, I did not want to open it!
So now, how do I open that little plastic box without destroying it?....
http://wiki.villagetelco.org/index.php?title=Building_a_Serial_Port_for_TL-WR703N
Still following along, but not much time to play!
Interesting problems on your end...
In Taiwan, I have to go to one of two post offices to pickup international parcels and the only way I know which is by the color of the post card they send me. The white is the main post office, the green is the local post office.
I suppose Zip codes don't mean anything there, or you didn't provide me the whole zip code.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Opening the MR3020.......
Actually, the OpenWrt Mr3020 has a pretty good discussion on how to do it. But first time is likely to be a bit of drama.
I considered using a razor blade (too thin, but very sharp) and a utility knife (but the blades break off in segments). I ended up using a stainless steel pocket knife as it was reasonably sharp and I could pry without fear of snapping the blade.
The main trick is to start on the side where the LAN plug in is (the least glue on this side) and work counter-clockwise. Do the side with the LEDs last.
The idea is to avoid damaging the the plastic that links the LEDs to shine outside. I was successful with doing so as they really are not too near the edge.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Take a good look at the photos and videos. Here is a link of a video that is a bit more brutal that I like to be... but successful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cJwmVyR_Uc
+++++++++++
Regarding the pi-propeller-loader...
I had intended to try it this past weekend. But I decided to first get my wifi configured the way I desired. That didn't work out and I have had to do a Failsafe recovering twice. There is something I just don't understand about the /etc/config/wireless and /etc/config/network menus. I am still working out what that is.
In the interim, everytime I call up the Failsafe mode, I end up dumping my configuration attempt and just have the squashfs image to start over. So I have to reload your pi-propeller-load and a binary to do testing.
++++++++++
The ONLY reason to open the MR3020 is to get to the Rx, the Tx, and the two GPIO pins. You can load OpenWrt and the FTDI driver without those items. And if you don't ever require a Failsafe recovery via a serial port, the box can remain shut.
In my own case, I manage to shut out the LAN and Wifi and I had turned off the Serial Console to the RS232 as it interfers with the propeller-load. And even after doing all that, the Failsafe mode reopened the RS232 port for a recovery.
IOW, there isn't much you can do to shut yourself completely out . The OpenWrt recovery method is pretty good.
http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/generic.failsafe#in.failsafe.mode
And the Failsafe mode doesn't have to always dump a bad configuration. You can mount the messed up jff2 file system partition and attempt repair. It will even show you a forgotten password.
BTW.. I think the MR3020 is a bit easier to serial interface. There are holes for a 4 pin header. Be sure you use a 90 degree header so you may reclose the case with a cable attached.
I have NOT used a level shifter. I am plugging the Tx and Rx directly into a USB2SER from Parallax. (but a PropPlug can do exactly the same job.) for Failsafe recovery.
Or I just connect the same wires directly to a Propeller Proto Board (but Tx and Rx need to be swapped for the same cable to work).
==============
My MAIN Goal at this point is to just have the MR3020 be a wireless Propeller programmer and serial terminal link.
But the MR3020 still needs the LAN working to the outside world (via WAN) to allow it to download opkg packages from the OpenWrt repositories.
Somehow, I either can have the Wifi reach the MR3020 or the LAN reach the MR3020, but NOT both. I want both to do so at the same time, and this is where I am getting into trouble with trying to reconfigure.
You had the "ZIP" code correct on the address. Turns out my nearest post office is 1Km away from here, the postman came from a post office much further away, he used the wrong rubber stamp on the pick up address which was somewhere totally else. Meanwhile, not knowing where that was the post guys directed me to yet somewhere else.....
Thanks for the opening instructions all. First though I'm going to see if I can get it to work as advertised out of the box. I happen to have a 3G USB adapter here.
I would love to see the 3G USB adapter proven useful. The lables on these first adverized 3G/4G, but the device is labeled 3G/3.75G (apparently they never quite figured out 4G).
++++++
Try the slide switch on the side.
It may be important at power up and ignored thereafter.
Once you load OpenWrt, it may become useless until you do some advanced fixing. Personally, I think it is a bit of junk as you can reconfigure in LuCi.
Meanwhile the 3G Samsung Galaxy S I have fails totally at that location and I'm cut off from the world.
Being able to share that 3G connection via WIFI would be oh so useful.
I have not yet bought anything with 3G.... at least not since I bought 3G Nokia phone that never did much.
Amazing, without reading any instructions I just plug in the USB 3G dongle, push the switch to 3G position, give the thing power an boom I have WIFI access to the internet using the key printed on the side of the box. That's easier than getting my D-LINK and it's old software working.
I hope this works as well with the OpenWRT "upgrade".
As for "Propeller wireless 3G prgramming". As long as the 3G provides a network interface it's the same as using WIFI or ethernet or DSL or whatever.
You can make a backup of the original firmware before loading OpenWrt.
Yes,right out of the box for $20USD, these are very handy little devices for anyone with a new wireless touchpad. It only gets better with OpenWrt.
http://josefsson.org/openwrt/dongle.html
Of course, you can always buy another one and leave it as is.
Just a few more P1 things to do before I get back to this.
I suppose if I bought one, I could have a Propeller 1 clone with ADC i/o added directly to it. Until now, I have thought that the P2 would be the big game changer.
In any event, now that Heater has an MR3020, I suspect he understands that these minirouters are very un-router-like.
I suspected that the P1 design release bombshell had pretty much laid to waste all other developments for many of us not just you:)
Even I got distracted. Had to dust off my nano board and replace it's old P2 configuration with the new P1. Had to see it working right? That leads to having to install the Altera tools and build by own configuration from the sources. That leads to noticing the formatting of the sources is all screwed up and that ....
Hey but guess what? I program my DE0-nano/P1 with my D-LINK router instead of a Prop Plug!
And I don't really have an interest in getting into Verilog, VHDL perhaps but Verilog just looks so horrible. I could be swayed though. I think if I was serious about it I'd be starting from the HDL equivalent of "Hello World", can I flash a LED with this thing?. It might take a long time to get up to understanding the P1 code. And that would mean no Propeller projects for me for a long time.
Loopy,
Yes, I wonder where Parallax is going with this too. I could see that perhaps they end up producing a Parallax FPGA board, custom designed for the minimum you need for P1 design hacking. Perhaps with some traditional MCU board proto-typing area on it. I could see them creating educational materials around that "standard board" and the P1 design. How cool would it be to have someone teach you how to add little peripherals to the internal I/O pins of the P1 design or even add features to the core design itself?
Let's see what happens.
It is very tempting to buy a half-dozen of these and to spend quite a bit of time establishing something exotic in wifi.
+++++++++++
I crashed my wireless and network configuration again. I just don't seem to see how I should make these work together with DHCP.
It may be that when I evoke a SSH (via Dropbear) that the security features are no longer tolerant to configuration changes. I can at least get the Wifi on an encrypted password right away, but now I am avoiding SSH until everything can demonstrate it is working right.
If you are serious about getting a number of these routers, please PM me.
heater,
You should get into this fpga p1 design. Verilog is not that hard - help is on the forum to get the symantics correct. Other than that it is much like any HL language.
I printed the *.v files and annotated them quite simply. I couldn't write this, but I can read most of it, and can modify it.
Lots of fun to be had, lots to learn, and it will help when we get the next P2 release. I suspect we may get to see some snippets of Verilog for the p2 now. I am not expecting to see the whole enchilada yet, if at all.
And the P1.5 sounds really cool
One or two MR3020 are enough for me. (I already have two.)
I have been quite frustrated with not getting the configuration that I desire and I think I have finally come to terms with what the issues are.
A.
Dropbear, which provides the SSH services seems to lock down the router's access to the Linux Command Line and LuCi essentially one channel unless you modify it to work with more.
B.
The jump from LAN to WAN has a lot of firewall features that can get in the way of using the MR3020 simply as a general Linux computer. While all that security may be necessary and useful in a normal router mode, it is just too much for the kind of project I have in mind (a simple wifi Propeller Programmer with the ability to occasionally download packages via the LAN port.)
In sum, if you want to explore creative uses, it may be best to not enable SSH/Dropbear until after you have figured out what you want. And even then, you may have to create a rather sophisticated Dropbear configuration to allow the Linux Command Line to be reached both wirelessly and by LAN. The /dev/ttyANT0 Serial Port seems to by-pass the SSH security net completely. But other serial ports via the USB may require SSH configuration.
Nope. I don't agree with your conclusions. (As if I would
If logging into your box via dropbear is causing issues like stopping Luci working or whatever then there is something seriously not normal and broken about you system. For example I am currently logged into my D-LINK via ssh 5 times simultaneously:
root@OpenWrt:~# ps PID USER VSZ STAT COMMAND 1 root 1360 S /sbin/procd 2 root 0 SW [kthreadd] . . . 19153 root 1216 S /usr/sbin/dropbear -F -P /var/run/dropbear.1.pid -p 22 -K 300 19154 root 1484 S -ash 19159 root 1216 S /usr/sbin/dropbear -F -P /var/run/dropbear.1.pid -p 22 -K 300 19160 root 1484 S -ash 19165 root 1216 S /usr/sbin/dropbear -F -P /var/run/dropbear.1.pid -p 22 -K 300 19166 root 1484 S -ash 19171 root 1216 S /usr/sbin/dropbear -F -P /var/run/dropbear.1.pid -p 22 -K 300 19172 root 1484 S -ash 19177 root 1216 S /usr/sbin/dropbear -F -P /var/run/dropbear.1.pid -p 22 -K 300 19178 root 1484 S -ash 19183 root 1480 R psThis does not stop Luci or other services from running as normal.This in no way an abnormal thing to be doing and has been possible on kind of similar systems I have worked on in the past.
Yes you may have firewalling rules that prevent ssh access from the WAN (internet interface). That should be easy to fix. I have never known ssh to be blocked to the LAN side. Note that one of those ssh connections into my router is from a server out on the internet, on the WAN side.
"All that security" is perfectly normal for a general Linux computer. If it is too much we can probably figure out how to turn most of it off (Not advised).
Hopefully I'll find time to get OpenWRT on the MR3020 here and then run into the same issues you are having. If we are lucky we might even be able to figure out the way around them:)
I used the openwrt-ar71xx-generic-tl-mr3020-v1-squashfs-factory.bin that I built from the OpenWRT sources on the 25th July.
The firmware upgrade from the original WEB interface just worked.
With ethernet connection from PC to MR3020 I got in with telnet, changed the password, got back in with ssh.
Changed the LAN interface address in /etc/config/network to 192.168.3.1 so as not to fight with my upstream router on 1.1 and the other D-LINK on 2.1
Followed the usual instructions for enabling WIFI and setting it up as a "station". Anyone ever notice that the command to scan for wireless access points is not right in the documentation? I used "iwinfo wlan0 scan". Just to check we could see the access point.
So far so good we have eth0 on the LAN side and WIFI is on the WAN side and reaches the internet.
Time to install Luci...
FAIL! The "opkg update" command fails with : Well sure enough there is no Packages.gz file at that URL. Not only that there is no such file in the directories for any other router or even in the older versions. WTF!
OK. I go to my original D-LINK where "opkg update" worked previously and Luci is installed. Sure enough it now fails in the same way. WTF?
So no juicy Luci for me
Anyone else seen this? Does "opkg update" still work for you?
Anyway, not bad progress for a first attempt and no serial port safety net yet.
Perhaps getting the USB 3G dongle working is next on the agenda.
Edit: Which is of course impossible without opkg working!
Finally. I found out that the propeller-load-mips_34kc I posted here over a week ago does actually run on an MR3020 !
No serial and no Propeller on here but it does at least run. I pretty sure it will work if you guys have figured out where a good GPIO pin is.
Do I have to do everything around here myself....moan, whine, complain.....:)
I really have been diverted with what I obviously don't comprehend about the security features of Dropbear and the configuration of routers via Openwrt. And then, there has been the doubling of my teaching hours this summer.
Obviously there are two bits of hardware in the MR3020 --- eth0 for a LAN/WAN port and radio0 for a wifi support. But going from Static devices to a DCHP hasn't worked the way I expected or desired. Openwrt creates device identities in software for specific purposes -- Bridges, Vlans, and WAN connections.
As long as one stays in bounds and uses these as they were intended for mundane uses, Openwrt is easy to follow. But I guess I got out of bounds.
It my first configuration, I could only reach the Command Line over SSH to 192.168.1.89 and CAT5, no wifi. But at least I could reach the opkg server on the WWW for downloads and updates.
In my second configuration, I could only reach the Command Line over SSH via wifi and have no access to the WWW.
That is where I am now. I suppose I could set aside all this and test the pi-propeller-load. But the annoyance has distracted me.
Besides, the RS232 works flawless with Forth. I pretty much presumed the pi-propeller-load would work. I will try to use it directly, without a 10K pullup or a capacitor to ground. I suspect that your problems with reset may not plague the MR3020 and desire to attempt a first try without.
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IOW, I will get back into the GPIO. I have the one that is working.. though High is 2.71volts. It has just been that setbacks have occurred all along the way.
++++++++++++++
If you desire to set up the GPIO on your own, hone your SMD soldering skills in advance. Be prepared to remove a rather small resistor with great care. And then to attach a bit of 30 gauge wire to the remaining pad so that it will not physically strain the pad. It did not take much to pull it off the board.
My process is to tape the 30 gauge wire into position with a bit of cello tape. Then to solder to the pad. And to follow up with a bit of super glue to attach the wire to the board as to avoid an movement pulling the pad off the board.
The 4 LEDs could be used for other GPIO access, but the LEDs are also tiny and you will have to locate the associated resistor to get an active 3.3v high.
No don't be offended. I'm just being grumpy and having a quick moan and whine and complain.
We should be happy. Pretty much everything that should be working is working. And it was all far easier than I expected given the problems I have had getting such things working before. The OpenWRT guys have done a great job on this.
I would suggest you stay "in bounds". The intended uses are far from mundane and plenty adequate for anything we are likely to want to do. Or have I missed a point about what you actually are trying to do?
You have set me a bit of a challenge now. I demoed the MR3020 to 'er-in-doors with her 3G USB dongle plugged in and her laptop and my PC connected via WIFI. That was with the factory firmware. Now that I have put OpenWRT on there that no longer works. Well guess what? She is demanding that I make it work again. It looks like I may have lost control of that MR3020!
The instructions for getting those 3G dongles working on OpenWRT look very painful....
I have been practising with SMT recently but I can imagine the parts in that little box are much smaller than the 0803 resistors I have here.
My approach to removing SMT resistors in the past was not to be carefull!
Just cook the whole resistor until the solder melts at both ends and then flick the thing out of the way. The resistor usually dies or gets lost or stuck to the soldering iron tip in this process but who cares?
I'll try and open up that box tonight and see what we are up against.
What I need you to tell me now is: If you log in to your router and issue an "opkg update" command, what happens?
http://www.networkworld.com/article/2464007/cloud-computing/gartner-internet-of-things-has-reached-hype-peak.html
it will be pass
Duh...
Yes, the Openwrt documents pretty much get a copy of Openwrt loaded and then leave the creative stuff up to the user to figure out.
If you really like the 3G feature, just reload the original firmware and skip hacking. I am working on this.
If you do hack, you may have to buy another MR3020 for your 3G. (They are supposedly on sale in Europe for about $20USD+VAT).
But I do suspect that the first order of business to get the 3G USB working is to determine if it uses FTDI or another USB driver and to load that driver via the opkg repositories. None are loaded with the firmware changeover to OpenWrt. There are at least two USB drivers available and one is fortunately FTDI.
I have made a bit of progress. I finally got the wifi reaching the WWW and the telnet reaching the Linux Console. I also get LuCi. I am not very sure why. While I tried changing the network to 192.168.3.1, the telenet and LuCi are using 192.168.1.89 on Wifi. I remain confused as to what is going on. But.... it is working for now.
Since my download software was SCP in Dropbear, which I am avoiding using. I have to load an FTP daemon to get the files into the MR3020 to run trials. Seems very easy to do, but who knows what I might find along the way.
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All along I have been confounded a bit by Openwrt. Maybe you will see what I am not getting.
A. Not too much heat. use a 20 or 30 watt soldering iron.. but let it warm up for 20 minutes or so before using. You want to get in and out quickly.
B. Heat directly the body of the resistor, not the junctures between the board and the resistor.
C. Do Not pry or chisel the reistor off... just get it hot enough to move on its own.
OpenWrt has photos of where the Resistors are and to which GPIO they are tied.
Also, I previously posted a file of all the Opkg repository packages. It is very long and reading it off of the Terminal in Linux don't work as the buffer is overwritten.
So here is the listing again...opkg_mr3020.cap.txt
I need it to find and install an FTP daemon. You will want the USB drivers, and maybe more.
I am thinking that mail might be very useful to have the MR3020 robotically send email to other computers when certain conditions require notification. Be warned, the repository is huge.
What I need to know is what happens when you log in to your router and issue a "opkg update" command?
This has worked here a few times before and now it does not. I want to find out why?
The 'opkg update' command goes onto the WWW to the Openwrt repository to transfer and up-to-date list of the available repository packages into RAM. (When you turn off your router, the list goes away).
So essentially if it does not work. You should try 'ping google.com' and see if you are reaching the outside world. If not, you have to configure /etc/config/wireless and /etc/config/network to reach the outside world. Or you can do it via cgi or LuCi. This particular process has been at the heart of all my delays.
If you can't figure it out on your own, I can provide you copies of my wireless and network files as they are currently working. I have my MR3020 plugged into my regular router that goes to an ADSL modem. The regular router has DHCP services, do the MR3020 is a DHCP client.
I am NOT used the examples provided by OpenWrt as it just never allowed me to get everything I wanted. My configuration is simpler.... none of the adding an item called WAN.
Actually, I only did two things to configure the MR3020.
A. Make the wifi active in /etc/config/wireless
B. Change the 'static' to 'dchp' in /etc/config/network in the bridge section.
I have been holding off on adding a password that will shift the whole setup to SSH as I seem to loose LuCi at that point. It seem Dropbear wants a second instance of installation for LuCi to be active behind the security... but I am not sure.
++++++++++++
I started to install TFTP on my MR3020 to transfer files in and out, but it seems to me that wget will do this with less fuss.
As soon as I can get a Propeller binary and a pi-propeller-loader binary into the MR3020, I can proceed with trying to make it work.
I have very good connection to the outside world from my routers, even if it is a router behind a router: If the problem were that simple I would have an idea how to fix it and not be bugging you.
No, the problem is that "opkg update" cannot get the "up-to-date list of the available repository packages" because there isn't one at the other end: See. It says "HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found". The server says it has no Packages.gz file at that location.
Sure enough if you go to http://downloads.openwrt.org/snapshots/trunk/ar71xx/packages/ with your browser there is no Packages.gz file there.
Which is odd because I have had this working before.
So either:
a) My routers are looking in the wrong place for a package list.
or
b) The OpenWRT servers don't have the package lists in the right place any more.
For this reason I ask if someone can do an "opkg update" and show me what happens. Then I can possibly think about where the problem is.
BusyBox v1.19.4 (2013-03-14 11:28:31 UTC) built-in shell (ash) Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands. _______ ________ __ | |.-----.-----.-----.| | | |.----.| |_ | - || _ | -__| || | | || _|| _| |_______|| __|_____|__|__||________||__| |____| |__| W I R E L E S S F R E E D O M ----------------------------------------------------- ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT (12.09, r36088) ----------------------------------------------------- * 1/4 oz Vodka Pour all ingredients into mixing * 1/4 oz Gin tin with ice, strain into glass. * 1/4 oz Amaretto * 1/4 oz Triple sec * 1/4 oz Peach schnapps * 1/4 oz Sour mix * 1 splash Cranberry juice ----------------------------------------------------- root@OpenWrt:~# opkg update Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/attitude_adjustment/12.09/ar71xx/generic/packages/Packages.gz. Updated list of available packages in /var/opkg-lists/attitude_adjustment. root@OpenWrt:~#Thank you. That was a great help.
I'm not using the "attitude adjustment" release. I built OpenWRT from the latest sources recently.
Turns out that in the /etc/opkg.conf file there is a URL of the package repo. But that did not point to anywhere useful. There was no Packages.gz file there.
But you gave me the the clue I needed.
I changed my opkg.conf file to point to http://downloads.openwrt.org/barrier_breaker/14.07-rc3/ar71xx/generic/packages
Not quite the latest snap shots directory but very recent barrier_breaker packages.
I now have Luci running on my MR3020.
Thanks again.