[MLB-WIRELESS] WL-HDD going cheap

[Dan Flett]

I've just used the method mentioned on the OpenWRT site to flash the
Freifunk Firmware to a WLHDD.  It worked ok - I had to muck around with the
command-line to get the network interfaces right because I didn't start with
the default firmware.  The default firmware has an NVRAM variable called
"productid", which in this case should be set to "WLHDD".  OpenWRT and
Freifunk detect this variable and set up the network interfaces
appropriately.

For the record - in the WLHDD the network interfaces are:
Wired Ethernet - eth1 
Wireless - eth2
eth0 also exists, but doesn't seem to do anything.

By default, eth1 and eth2 are bridged together as br0.  The Freifunk
firmware has some fancy code to auto-detect the wireless interface and to
separate it out as a "wifi" interface.

One other thing - for flashing Asus routers the OpenWRT site says you have
to do this:

tftp> get ASUSSPACELINK\x01\x01\xa8\xc0 /dev/null

to get the firmware to start it's TFTP server and accept firmware images.
I've found you don't have to type all that ASUSSPACELINK stuff.  I've found
that you can "get" anything:

tftp> get A /dev/null

is sufficient.  You can then happily "put" any firmware you want via tftp.

Cheers,

Dan

-------------
View my blog:
http://freenetjazz.blogspot.com  

> -----Original Message-----
> From: melbwireless-bounces at wireless.org.au 
> [mailto:melbwireless-bounces at wireless.org.au] On Behalf Of 
> mike campion
> Sent: Friday, 16 June 2006 11:59 PM
> To: David Ashburner; Melbourne Wireless
> Subject: Re: [MLB-WIRELESS] WL-HDD going cheap
> 
> I have flashed a few of these with no problems using the 
> procedure on the openwrt site 
> http://wiki.openwrt.org/OpenWrtDocs/Hardware/Asus/Flashing , 
> ensure you are directly connected to the wl-hdd and not 
> through a switch and also use the TFTP with control commands method.
> 
> I have also found that if you take too long to issue the tftp 
> command the transfer will not work and you have to start from scratch.
> 
> Mike
> 
> 
> 
> ---- Original Message -----
> From: "David Ashburner" <d_ashburner at hotmail.com>
> To: "Melbourne Wireless" <melbwireless at melbournewireless.org.au>
> Sent: Friday, June 16, 2006 3:11 PM
> Subject: Re: [MLB-WIRELESS] WL-HDD going cheap
> 
> 
> > OK, so I got a couple of these but am having trouble 
> flashing them with
> > OpenWrt.
> >
> > I checked the instructions on the web site and have tried doing the
> > following:
> > use xxx4mb.trx file
> > set it in recovery mode by holding the reset button while 
> powering on
> > I can ping it at 192.168.1.220  but when I start the tftp 
> transfer it
> > dosen't respond.
> >
> > At the last meeting Ratbaggy mentioned something about 
> using the right
> > network switch speed but I can't remember what he said.
> > Regardless of what I plug this thing into only the 10x 
> light comes on
> > the RJ45 the 100x flashes a couple of times while it is booting but
> > It won't negotiate to the higher speed ( well according to 
> the lights
> > on the back )
> >
> > any tips or pointers?
> >
> >
> > On May 30, 2006, at 7:00 PM, Dan Flett wrote:
> >
> >> Hi Guys,
> >>
> >> I discovered the WL-HDD has had a drop in price recently.  
> There are
> >> $69
> >> here:
> >>
> >> http://www.computeralliance.com.au/parts.aspx?qryPart=4698
> >>
> >> They have a standard Broadcom radio, integrated, which isn't great.
> >> But at
> >> $69 you can't complain.  They are confirmed to run 
> OpenWRT, they have
> >> 4MB
> >> Flash and 16MB RAM, and they are physically slightly 
> smaller than a VHS
> >> tape.  If you've got a spare 2.5 inch HDD lying around 
> then all of a
> >> sudden
> >> you've got heaps of storage space.  And it has USB too.
> >>
> >> Now to find a suitably-sized outdoor enclosure! :)
> >>
> >> Does the drop in price mean that EoL is coming?
> >>
> >> Also, this place sells cheap 9dB indoor antennas:
> >>
> >> http://stores.ebay.com.au/confero24-com-Wireless-Shop
> >>
> >> I've had one of these on Ratbaggy's return-loss analyser 
> and it came
> >> up with
> >> very good figures - so in this case cheap doen't mean nasty.
> >>
> >> So add one of these antennas to the WL-HDD, stick them 
> both inside a
> >> waterproof enclosure and you might be able to make yourself a
> >> reasonable
> >> outdoor AP/Router for less than $150.
> >>
> >> Cheers,
> >>
> >> Dan
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> Melbwireless mailing list
> >> Melbwireless at wireless.org.au
> >> http://wireless.org.au/mailman/listinfo/melbwireless
> >>
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Melbwireless at wireless.org.au
> > http://wireless.org.au/mailman/listinfo/melbwireless
> > 
> 
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