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33W@rl0r)

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    Embedded Systems Design & Programming, Electronics, Hacking, Phreaking, IT, International Travel, Skiing, Mountain Biking, Scuba Diving.

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  1. I've played around quite a bit with various power options for the FON, so you actually do have some options. Here's my thoughts - My initial thought it that you will have a significant challenges with moving the FON inside the EEE case due to the heat the FON Chip generates. But, if you somehow manage to put the board in there, and deal with the heat, you'll have access to all of the different voltage sources available, not just USB power. There should be a module that the battery plugs into with a harness of wires coming off of it. The wires in that harness may actually contain power of a few different voltage levels (as some components may require different voltage levels: system board, hard drives, screen, screen back light, etc...) I would very carefully measure the voltage levels, and try to trace the wires to determine what power source is going to what system. There might be one you can leverage that is more appropriate than the USB power. You also get lucky and find the "raw" battery output, and find that it's voltage is within the range of input voltages the FON supports. (I'm not sure of the battery voltage is on the EEE.) Also, internally the FON runs on 3.3V, but it's voltage regulator requires at least 4.2V or so to run (it drops the voltage by about .7V). In a worst case scenario, you can replace the stock voltage reg with a "low dropout" regulator, and power the FON off of the 3.3V that it runs on internally anyway. I'd start by opening your EEE and investigating what voltage sources are available "under-the hood". As you know, "USB power" has limitations and you may have an easy way to avoid it. I hope this helps a bit, 33\/\/
  2. Thanks, guys. I appreciate the input. It seems like there are several easy options available for people who only want 2-4 hours. The "longer life" solutions are a bit more complicated, and require a lot more testing. But they would allow for interesting uses like remote data capture, and hiding devices in remote locations (where the could run for days). I'll try to get the list of cheap & easy power solutions put together quickly, while I continue testing the larger batts & chargers. Cheers.
  3. Cool, thanks for the info. That's the best price to energy ratio (mAh) that I've seen to so far. It seems like there are going to be quite a few options for us to choose from. I'm still testing - but hope to start putting out some data in a week or so. Cheers.
  4. Nice find on an inexpensive rechargeable battery pack. I'm compiling a list of battery solutions for the FON, and I'd like to include this. Does the battery have a capacity rating (specified in mAh? anywhere on it?) Also, can can post or send me the part #'s for any components; I want to include all the deails in my list? Thanks!
  5. I'm designing and evaluating battery solutions for F*N routers. I am testing and documenting many different options and battery technologies, and will post my findings on how to create and/or build each. Once I've completed my designs and testing, I will post all of the info, including the approx. run-time of each solution, design info, Schematics (if necessary), part numbers, and sources any unique parts. (I already have several battery packs running, and one will power the FON for several days!!) Given that there are a lot of options and trade-offs with regards to cost and size, I'd like to best understand how people plan on using their battery packs. Generally the longer you want the battery to last, the larger and/or more expensive it will be. Please keep this in mind as you answer this survey. (Don't expect small & cheap if you want super-long life.) If you could take a few moments to respond to these questions it would really help guide my efforts: Under what circumstances do you envision using your F*N on battery power? What run-time (in minutes or hours), before having to re-charge or replace batteries, would you find acceptable for a battery solution? If multiple options could be made available (providing different run-times), what additional run-times would you suggest? (i.e. a small pack for short durations, and a big pack for longer situations.) If a battery solution was rechargeable and didn't require replacing batteries, what is the maximum $ you would spend? If it made the battery solution cheaper, would you be willing to modify your FON circuit board ? (Assume this requires only basic soldering skills.) If it made the battery solution last longer (before recharging), would you be willing to modify your FON circuit board i? (Assume this requires only basic soldering skills.) Given the lack of space (and HEAT) in the F*N 2100, there is not enough room to place most battery packs in the stock case. Would you prefer: a "piggy-back" small box containing the battery pack, or moving the F*N internals (circuit board & antenna) to a larger case which would allow the battery to be included in the same case? If you answered (1) above, what size enclosure for the battery back would be ideal for you? Please include any additional info you think would be helpful that I forgot to ask. Please post (or PM) with any info on your current battery solution, and the run-time you get from it, so I can include it. I look forward to sharing my findings on this; I have a lot of testing to do (some tests take days), so it may be a few weeks before I have all of my results. Thanks, 33\/\/
  6. Yes, this is definitely something that needs to be kept in mind - the stock voltage regulator in the 2100 (UTC 1117AL 33A) requires a minimum input of 4.7V to correctly output the 3.3V that the circuit needs. If you input 3.3V into a stock 2100, the VReg outputs ~ 2.2V, which is enough to light the LED, but little else. This is not ideal for those of us who want to run the 2100 from batteries, as it means we need to supply ~5V to the FON, when it really only needs 3.3V. ----------- ETA I've just found some new components that might really help those of us who are trying to run our FONs from battery power. They are on order, I should have them by mid-week and hope to install & test by next weekend. Stay tuned......... Cheers, 33\/\/
  7. While the mod for adding an SD/MMC card is fairly well supported and used, has anyone thought about using a MicroSD card interface instead? (I also cross-posted this to the OpenWRT forums - so i apologize for the folks who read both.) The primary reason that I'm looking at microSD is the considerable space savings that the card socket takes up in the router. Since MicroSD sockets and MicroSD cards cost almost the same as standard SD/MMC sockets and cards (at least here in the US), and electronically they would connect/interface the same. Given the desire by many of us to keep these routers as small as possible, I'm wondering what the general conses on this is. I welcome all thoughts / feedback and ideas... Thanks, 33\/\/
  8. If you're in the US, there a good chance that purchasing a "Lon Fonera" directly from the FON website will score you an original 2100. I know of US based folks who have gotten them in the past month by doing this. (But there are also reports of people in the US getting newer models too.) Since FONs have sold better outside of the US, the "international" packaged 2100's are scarce (they have different power adapters), and thats why most international folks can't order directly from FON. Cheers, 33\/\/
  9. Great write-up, Darren. I'm posting a few edits you may want to consider adding, to make it even more noob friendly. I just conducted a usability test, and I had my very non-tech GF update my 2nd router. She DID (eventually) get it working, but I did have to help several times. I've made notes below for the steps where my test subject became confused, ran into problems, or did the wrong thing. Also, since some folks haven't done this type of stuff before, they may not have the utils installed (or may not even know what the are!), so it may be beneficial to list them at the beginning of the guide. Perhaps you can include a "before you begin" section with these things: Install Putty, http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatha...y/download.html Install WinSCP, http://winscp.net/eng/download.php Install WinPCap, required before running step 11 (Flashing the firmware with AP51 EasyFlash)http://www.winpcap.org/install/default.htm Copy all files from the ZIP file at the end of this guide to a directory on your HD (ex: "c:\fon") Here are some suggested additions (very targeted at novices): Step 5 - rewording - "Use Putty (or other SSH utility) to connect to the Router via SSH, its IP address is currently 192.168.10.1" Step 8 - rewording - "Use WinSCP (or another transport utility/method of choice) to copy these files to the Router. (it's still at 192.168.10.1)" Step 9 - add warning - "NOTE: after each reboot in this step (and future reboots), it will take a minute or so for the Router to reboot and all of the processes to start. If you attempt to re-connect too quickly after a reboot, your OS may not be able to obtain an IP address (since the DHCP process isn't yet running on the Router), and instead use an "autoconfigure" IP address. An autoconfigure IP address will not allow you to connect to the Router. If this does happen, you can simply disconnect & reconnect to the "MyPlace" AP, which will get you a proper IP address (since the Router DHCP process is now running)." Step 11: rewording - "note that upon a successful flash of the firmware, the EasyFlash App just disappears. There is no "complete", or "success" dialogs. If you saw the flash occurring properly (in the info dialog at the bottom), and the EasyFlash UI is gone, its safe to assume the flash worked correctly. After waiting a moment or so for the Router to reboot, you can proceed to step 12." Step 12: add note of interest - "Note the firmware flash has now reconfigured the IP address of the router to 192.168.1.1" Step 13.5: rewording - "Once again Use WinSCP (or your other transport method) to copy all .IPK files to the Router (into the /tmp/ directory). Note, the IP address is now 192.168.1.1 (so you cannot use the same settings from the last time you used WinSCP)" Step 14: add info - "when installing 'webif_0.3-10_mips.ipk' ignore any errors related to downloading additional components from the internet (as the router most likely doesn't have internet connectivity yet)." I thought your walkthrough was great, but hopefully you find these recommendations valuable to the noob community. Cheers, 33\/\/
  10. Step 11 re-flashes the F*N's firware. This can take several minutes. So Darren stated "Spend the next 20 minutes enjoying some pineapple", as it could take up to 20 minutes. You don't need to use a stopwatch and literally wait 20 minutes; you only need to wait for it to complete. When step 11 completes, the EasyFlash GUI just disappears, there is no confirmation message that the flash was successful. (But if it disappears then you are probably on the right track.) So yes, when the EasyFlash GUI disappears, you move to the next step (12), and telnet into 192.168.1.1 (You do need to wait a minute or two for the F*N to re-boot before doing the telnet.) Step 11 flash new firware, and reboots the F*N. When this new firmware boots, it comes online at a new IP address, and grants your computer a new IP address via DHCP. So yes, the router has switched its IP, and its now at 192.168.1.1 (Forget all about that old address for the rest of the upgrade process.)
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