iLiad iLiad and 3G wireless modem

[drazvan]

Hello everyone,

I have just managed to "convince" my Vodafone Smartmodem (a 3G/HSDPA wireless modem on Vodafone Romania) to talk to the iLiad via USB serial (the usbserial module - see the other thread in this section of the forum). The modem appears to work fine (I can connect to it, send it AT commands, etc). I've also compiled the PPPD package and the kernel PPP modules, tomorrow I will try to make it connect via PPP. If that works, I'll publish the entire procedure and the necessary modules here.

As a teaser, I'm attaching a photo of the iLiad hooked up to the Vodafone modem. Looks like an alien contraption but it works .

R.

[TadW]

Originally Posted by drazvan

Hello everyone,

I have just managed to "convince" my Vodafone Smartmodem (a 3G/HSDPA wireless modem on Vodafone Romania) to talk to the iLiad via USB serial (the usbserial module - see the other thread in this section of the forum). The modem appears to work fine (I can connect to it, send it AT commands, etc). I've also compiled the PPPD package and the kernel PPP modules, tomorrow I will try to make it connect via PPP. If that works, I'll publish the entire procedure and the necessary modules here.

As a teaser, I'm attaching a photo of the iLiad hooked up to the Vodafone modem. Looks like an alien contraption but it works .

R.

Wicked!! Please keep us updated, I cannot wait to see how you did it!

[drazvan]

And it works! Downloading at 1Mbps wirelessly with no WiFi in sight is very nice .

Here's how you can make it work (provided that you have a Vodafone Smartmodem - it can probably be adapter for other devices too).

1. Get the attached file and unzip it to your SD or MMC card (it has hardcoded paths to /media/card/ , so if you want to use a compact flash card make sure you change all references from /media/card to /media/cf).

2. Open a SSH session or start the mrxvt terminal and issue the following commands (my comments start with #, ignore them when you type)

----------
cd /media/card/ppp/

# this is needed for the huaweiAktBbo application to find the libusb library
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/media/card/ppp/

insmod ./usbserial.o
insmod ./slhc.o
insmod ./ppp_generic.o
insmod ./ppp_async.o
insmod ./ppp_deflate.o
insmod ./bsd_comp.o

# this one is probably not needed but what the heck ...
insmod ./ppp_synctty.o

# connect the modem to the device if you haven't done so already
./huaweiAktBbo
# some mumbo jumbo in Slovak will be displayed - this is some code I found on the Internet and recompiled for the iLiad. It makes the modem switch from "USB storage" mode to "modem" mode (the modem also contains an USB storage part with the Windows drivers and Linux normally detects only that part, not the modem).

# and now the final step
sbin/pppd file vodafone

----------------------------------------

After the connection is established, you can do "route del default; route add default dev ppp0" and go on the Net through your new wireless connection . The usbserial module has been recompiled to allow for higher speeds (the "maxSize" patch). I've managed to download at around 1Mbps with it.

Obviously, if you're not in Romania you would need to change the "vodafone" file that contains the username/password to access the internet APN and the "vodafone-init.chat" file that contains the name of the APN to use.

If someone feels like packaging this nicely for general use, go right ahead! I would try to do this myself but I have a very busy week ahead of me so it will probably take me a while.

Anyway, have fun! I can't wait to test web browsing on the go in the bus .

Razvan

[passerida]

Hello,

Thanks a bunch for the valuable info. Do you (or someone else) have any experience on establishing Internet connection using the SmartModem you have mentioned with another device running Linux OS?

This info is very important for me any kind of help is highly appreciated..

PSR

[scotty1024]

If you are in Seattle, WA USA this script will get your iLiad onto the free 3G network they provide via WiFi on some of the Metro busses here.

wireless.sh start KingCountyMetro

So if you are able to get USB Serial working then iRex must have finally compiled in TTY support? Might be time to go hack the Bluetooth stack again!

[mrhunt]

Has anybody else got this working. I get an error message 'Failed to open /dev/ttyUSB0: No such device' when starting pppd.

[grisha]

Is it possible to have a script that runs all the commands automatically?
So just a single file you can click on in the Iliad menu?

[AndrewKlim]

hi
Thanks a bunch for the valuable info. Do you (or someone else) have any experience on establishing Internet connection using the SmartModem you have mentioned with another device running Linux OS?

www.staffingpower.com

sentersoftech.

[jharker]

Wow. In spite of this thread being resurrected by spam, I find the OP highly cool. I had no idea that someone had done this once.

This leads me to an obvious mod proposal: internal USB 3G card + feedbooks app = iLiad with Kindle functionality. Win!

[-Thomas-]

Originally Posted by jharker

This leads me to an obvious mod proposal: internal USB 3G card + feedbooks app = iLiad with Kindle functionality. Win!

Some time ago I looked up some internals of the device and found out that the WLAN board's manufacturer also offered a card with Bluetooth + WiFi on board. It has the same form factor as the builtin WiFi chip. This made me kind of angry: Why didn't iRex spend like $20 more and went for the one with Bluetooth on chip? This would have extended the iLiad's functionality by far... Oh, btw that would be a cool hardware mod too :-)

Edit: The Huawei E169 is an UMTS USB stick that would possibly fit inside the iLiads cover. I found
some pics from another guy who soldered that one into his netbook... Should I give it a try and buy one? Don't know...

[-Thomas-]

Just for your info, my USB UMTS stick (Huawei E169) will arrive tomorrow, and I plan to integrate Web access through connectionMgr. The necessary basics are already available, I will modify the dialup procedure mainly used for CF modems (which is done in /usr/bin/dialup.sh or so). This should be the easiest way to enable usual Web access as well as things like automatic downloaders.

If that works I will check whether the stick fits inside the device's backplane

And if that works I will have a Kindle that is not as fugly as the original one

[-Thomas-]

To run in danger of boring you, but I received my stick and got it working with iLiad's connectionMgr. It now syncs flawlessly over the air, so I'm able to update News feeds etc. over a UMTS connection. Expect some file releases at the end of the week

The stick draws about 40 mA at 5V (=200mW) when it's offline. Compared to the 300mW (78mA * 3.7V) the iLiad draws when it's idle, this is quiet high. Total battery time would be reduced to ~6 hours when you always have your stick connected. That's the reason why I won't install the stick behind iLiad's backplane... I'll leave that exercise to someone else

[rastaman61]

Originally Posted by -Thomas-

To run in danger of boring you, but I received my stick and got it working with iLiad's connectionMgr. It now syncs flawlessly over the air, so I'm able to update News feeds etc. over a UMTS connection. Expect some file releases at the end of the week

This really would be great! I hope it will also be possible to install the files for a LINUX-NOOB like me.

[-Thomas-]

I'll try to make it as one-click-installable as possible, but nonetheless some configuration will be necessary. There are settings that differ depending on your network provider (username, APN) and your UMTS stick (PIN of your sim card, device type etc.). But I hope these settings will be done in a single file only, so it should be quiet easy.

[hansel]

Originally Posted by -Thomas-

To run in danger of boring you, but I received my stick and got it working with iLiad's connectionMgr. It now syncs flawlessly over the air, so I'm able to update News feeds etc. over a UMTS connection. Expect some file releases at the end of the week

Cool! Nice pen too