Tetra & Nano Cable/Battery Questions

[DigitalData]

Darren / Seb,

I have a couple questions regarding the cables and batteries that are included with theTetra and the Nano.

1) For the Nano, why did you decide to only include a USB power cable but not one that could be used to tether it (for setup)? It would be nice if the produce page in the Hak shop was a little more clear on this. Along with the Youtube setup video at

.

2) Why didn't you include an AC adapter to power the tetra? For $200 or $300, I feel like it should have come with one. To me, it's kind of like linksys sending a battery with their routers instead of a power cord.

3) Is there a way you can put together a small insert or pamphlet with batteries on future purchases? It would be nice to not have to search out information on forums about them.

Some of the questions I had when I got mine were:

• Does the battery have to be charged when you receive it? or Does it come fully charged?
• How long should the battery be charged the first time?
• How long do subsequent charges take? Are they all the same length?
• Should the battery be drained completely before recharging? or is it safe to charge again when it's 50% drained?
• Approximately how many charging cycles should be expected from a battery of this type?
• Does the battery have to be turned on or off to charge?
• How do we know when the charging is complete? Will all the lights stay solid? What should we expect with the lights while charging? ie will each light flash and then stay solid to show that it's 25%, 50%, 75% complete etc.

[Darren Kitchen]

DigitalData -

Thank you for providing the thoughtful feedback. This is all very helpful as we strive for the best experience possible. Based on this I'll be making some changes, but first let me answer your questions.

1) Like the TETRA, the NANO comes in two flavors -- Basic and Tactical. The tactical edition comes with a USB cable, albeit one for charging the included battery only. A USB cable for setup on Android would be convenient, however this is not mandatory for use of the product. The free WiFi Pineapple Connector for Android was written for convenience, similar to wp6.sh on Linux. They aren't necessary to support the WiFi Pineapple. Also, seeing as phones use different types of USB cables (Just when everything went Micro now we're moving to USB C) it's not practical to include one for every phone. That said, it is something I'm considering as an add-on pack along with the "nubbin" WiFi adapter and low-profile high-gain antennas.

2) You're absolutely correct and we're working to make this right. We have AC adapters en route to the warehouse now and will be contacting you all with a special link to get them for free when they arrive. This was mentioned in another thread, but when the RF shielding was enhanced (reason for the delay) we took the opportunity to increase power and performance even further, but the result is 15% additional draw and while most modern machines will power the TETRA from the included USB Y-cables, we realize it's a better experience overall if an AC adapter were included. We've already rectified that with most orders, but the first few (yours included) did not receive one. We will be contacting you by email early next week when they arrive.

3) This is great feedback and something I'll be doing in the very near future.

Thanks for being open and honest with your feedback, and understanding as we learn and grow with the WiFi Pineapple project. This sort of correspondence is what makes the community so great, and has made the project evolve so well from our humble beginnings.

Cheers,

Darren

[DigitalData]

Darren,

I just received my shipment in the mail. When I opened it, I noticed that an AC adapter WAS included with my Tetra Tactical. I was reading through the "Power Notice" that you included and it says "Please ensure the DC barrel power adapter provides no higher or lower than 12V and at least 1.5A". I looked at the output on the AC adapter you included and it's 12V but only 1A. Will that cause problems if I try to use it to set it up tonight?

[Probie]

Darren,

I just received my shipment in the mail. When I opened it, I noticed that an AC adapter WAS included with my Tetra Tactical. I was reading through the "Power Notice" that you included and it says "Please ensure the DC barrel power adapter provides no higher or lower than 12V and at least 1.5A". I looked at the output on the AC adapter you included and it's 12V but only 1A. Will that cause problems if I try to use it to set it up tonight?

Ditto for me.

Only 1A on the AC adapter.

[sud0nick]

Darren,

I just received my shipment in the mail. When I opened it, I noticed that an AC adapter WAS included with my Tetra Tactical. I was reading through the "Power Notice" that you included and it says "Please ensure the DC barrel power adapter provides no higher or lower than 12V and at least 1.5A". I looked at the output on the AC adapter you included and it's 12V but only 1A. Will that cause problems if I try to use it to set it up tonight?

Would you mind providing a picture? I didn't get one in my tactical bundle and the only thing that's remotely similar is the charger for the battery that outputs 5V 1A.

[DigitalData]

2) You're absolutely correct and we're working to make this right. We have AC adapters en route to the warehouse now and will be contacting you all with a special link to get them for free when they arrive. This was mentioned in another thread, but when the RF shielding was enhanced (reason for the delay) we took the opportunity to increase power and performance even further, but the result is 15% additional draw and while most modern machines will power the TETRA from the included USB Y-cables, we realize it's a better experience overall if an AC adapter were included. We've already rectified that with most orders, but the first few (yours included) did not receive one. We will be contacting you by email early next week when they arrive.

Would you mind providing a picture? I didn't get one in my tactical bundle and the only thing that's remotely similar is the charger for the battery that outputs 5V 1A.

You will probably get one soon. But here are the photos.

[sud0nick]

You will probably get one soon. But here are the photos.

Hopefully it comes with my second battery. It's weird it came in your tac bundle but not mine.

[Darren Kitchen]

Darren,

I just received my shipment in the mail. When I opened it, I noticed that an AC adapter WAS included with my Tetra Tactical. I was reading through the "Power Notice" that you included and it says "Please ensure the DC barrel power adapter provides no higher or lower than 12V and at least 1.5A". I looked at the output on the AC adapter you included and it's 12V but only 1A. Will that cause problems if I try to use it to set it up tonight?

It will not cause problems on setup as that's a low to moderate activity. Where you may run into issues is under intense load (think lots of clients, CPU and radio activity, USB device) which is when it can peak around 18W (12V * 1.5A). Similar to the battery as explained in another thread, this is due to the fact that while the RF shielding was enhanced, we took the opportunity to further increase the power, though at a 15% higher draw. The performance is that much better, but the result is that we need to increase the power budget overall in order to account for peak load. It's not likely you'll experience those conditions normally -- however it is possible and we do want to address the issue. To this end, we have upgraded power supplies en route to the warehouse now (Tuesday-Wednesday). We will be providing them free of charge to everyone from the first batch so look out for an email regarding shipping. Going forward we'll be changing the layout of the box to include it inside. The included PSU performs adequately under a moderate load burn-in test, so rather than wait another week for the upgraded PSUs to arrive, I figured it would be best to get them into anxious hands sooner than later. I hope you understand and I do apologize for the inconvenience.

[shadowmmm]

wounder if this would work

http://www.amazon.com/12-Volt-Power-Supply-Standard/dp/B009ZZKUPG

[Darren Kitchen]

wounder if this would work

http://www.amazon.com/12-Volt-Power-Supply-Standard/dp/B009ZZKUPG

No, it won't.

Connector Size: 5.5mm (Outside barrel) x 2.5mm (Inside Barrel) Center: Positive.

It needs to be 5.5mm OD / 2.1mm ID, center positive.

If you can't wait until we can ship you one next week, something like this is what you'd want:

http://www.amazon.com/Logisaf-Switching-Power-Supply-Adapter/dp/B013HGGQ24

Or any of the many 12V 2A AC adapters. 5.5x2.1mm is the most common plug size for this voltage.

[shadowmmm]

thanks for the info Darren.yeah we will all be waiting anxiously for the Battery and power supply

[theDingosBaby]

Testing it now from a regulated power supply, 12v, 1.5a. I have only been testing gui functionality so far, but gonna play with the shell after. Here is what I've seen as far as activity vs. power draw in stock configuration.

Boot: = 0.12 - 0.31 amps
Idle: Factory boot = 0.18 - 0.2 amps
In recon mode: = 0.3 - 0.35 amps
PineAP: all options enabled = 0.45 - 0.55 amps

I expect that I'll be able to push it further from the command line, from a power perspective. Will drop the info here when done. Thanks.

[Ruevil2]

I ordered a base Tetra, Is it correct that it will come with an AC adapter? Also I am planning on adding a plug into my vehicle's 12v system for a little passive wardriving. The problem with this is that I have a pretty large alternator and stereo that can cause large dips and spikes in the vehicles voltage. How tolerant is this device to voltage swing? The range is about 11v-15v, so about a 4v swing. How would I combat this? Capacitor on the power line to the pineapple? Any input in appreciated, thanks!

[Darren Kitchen]

Officially speaking it should only be fed 12V - and that's all our manufacturing partner will warrant. That said, the regulator will take between 9 and 24 - though I've only tested 9 and not over 12. I highly recommend putting a 12V regulator on that line, or running it from the 5V USB supplies instead.

[kvasir]

Plugged in both USB's to my computer, via 3.0, using the ETH port on the Pine. Starts off with a yellow and blue, then turns off. Upon hitting reset, on the back, idles on blinking blue light. Have had this for 24 hours and haven't had it working yet. Any links to better documentation? Any idea why I cannot connect to the Pine via Http, while the light is flashing blue. P.S: Have left it flashing for quite some time with no change-- as result.

[xrad]

Do the 15000 pineapple juice lights ever go off when charged fully, like the 4000 does??? Or do I just see 4 steady led's when they are fully charged?

Could someone explain how exactly to connect to both 15000 batteries, so we can set everything up via Android and everything sent with the tactical edition..... Minus the 12v power supply addon sent .....?

Maybe a video is needed?

**.

[shadowmmm]

so to your question for the 15000 pineapple batteries. - yes when all led's are steady lit they are fully charged.

for the connection use one y cable with the two usb's on one end and then micro usb connector. plug each of the usbs to the 5v 2a battery port of each pineapple batterie (2 of them) and the micro usb should then be connected to the uart port.

use your normal usb to micro usb cable from your phone for the tethering part. plug that one into your phone and to the usb port of the tetra. enjoy :)

[InfiniteDevelopment]

It will not cause problems on setup as that's a low to moderate activity. Where you may run into issues is under intense load (think lots of clients, CPU and radio activity, USB device) which is when it can peak around 18W (12V * 1.5A). Similar to the battery as explained in another thread, this is due to the fact that while the RF shielding was enhanced, we took the opportunity to further increase the power, though at a 15% higher draw. The performance is that much better, but the result is that we need to increase the power budget overall in order to account for peak load. It's not likely you'll experience those conditions normally -- however it is possible and we do want to address the issue. To this end, we have upgraded power supplies en route to the warehouse now (Tuesday-Wednesday). We will be providing them free of charge to everyone from the first batch so look out for an email regarding shipping. Going forward we'll be changing the layout of the box to include it inside. The included PSU performs adequately under a moderate load burn-in test, so rather than wait another week for the upgraded PSUs to arrive, I figured it would be best to get them into anxious hands sooner than later. I hope you understand and I do apologize for the inconvenience.

So I just ordered my tetra on Sunday night, it was fullfilled Monday and shipped Monday I opted into the $40 overnight shipping and its now Tuesday so the tracking shows it is on the truck.

I am wondering..... if I will be incuded in this first batch and would be recieving a proper 12v/2a charger; or will I be dealing with the 12v/1a under powered PSU?

Just need to know so I can plan to purchase a proper adapter. I just want my expierence to be 100% valid, I found that I was underpowering my MKV and it was uneffective in certain situations, I believe proper power is very important when dealing with these tools, correct me if I am wrong.

[xrad]

so to your question for the 15000 pineapple batteries. - yes when all led's are steady lit they are fully charged.

for the connection use one y cable with the two usb's on one end and then micro usb connector. plug each of the usbs to the 5v 2a battery port of each pineapple batterie (2 of them) and the micro usb should then be connected to the uart port.

use your normal usb to micro usb cable from your phone for the tethering part. plug that one into your phone and to the usb port of the tetra. enjoy :)

Hmmm, I tried that.......the batteries just won't fully boot the tetra......it tries then the yellow light comes on and it tries to boot again, and one battery fully goes off. This happens with either y cable......

It boots fine with the 12v 1a power supply I recieved.

It also boots using the y cable connected to my desktop.

I guess I have a faulty battery..(the one that turns itself off)

[istvan12]

Hi,

please help me somebody!

i have my new tetra. i have a samsng ace with the pineapple app.

When i connect the phone with the tetra the app shows: tethering disabled.

i clik onconfigure, switch on USB tethering, click back and do nothing. tethering disabled. :(

Whats wrong??

Thanks

[Darren Kitchen]

Hmmm, I tried that.......the batteries just won't fully boot the tetra......it tries then the yellow light comes on and it tries to boot again, and one battery fully goes off. This happens with either y cable......

It boots fine with the 12v 1a power supply I recieved.

It also boots using the y cable connected to my desktop.

I guess I have a faulty battery..(the one that turns itself off)

Contact shop@hak5.org and we'll get you sorted.

Hmmm, I tried that.......the batteries just won't fully boot the tetra......it tries then the yellow light comes on and it tries to boot again, and one battery fully goes off. This happens with either y cable......

It boots fine with the 12v 1a power supply I recieved.

It also boots using the y cable connected to my desktop.

I guess I have a faulty battery..(the one that turns itself off)

Shoot an email to shop@hak5.org and we'll get you sorted.

Hi,

please help me somebody!

i have my new tetra. i have a samsng ace with the pineapple app.

When i connect the phone with the tetra the app shows: tethering disabled.

i clik onconfigure, switch on USB tethering, click back and do nothing. tethering disabled. :(

Whats wrong??

Thanks

There should probably be a thread dedicated to this but not all phones/carriers support USB tethering. It's hard to tell what exactly your issue is without knowing more about your hardware, software and carrier.

[shadowmmm]

It's your phone and most likely carrier.

[istvan12]

Thank you for your answer!

So the problem probabli is my phone?

I have a samsung galaxy ace gt s7275r with android 4.2.2. Is it enought information?

[sud0nick]

I just received an email with tracking information for a 12V/2A power supply. I'll be excited to get it but I thought there was supposed to be an additional battery too for mobile use...

[shadowmmm]

On the end you should have two 15000 pineapple batteries and one 12v 2ah power supply