Adsl/Ether-USB/Router modification candidate?

[[email protected]]

Anyone has a tip on any Adsl modem, Home-Router, USB-Ethernet adapter, etc..
That has an cpu that is easy to hook up additional bus hardware to..?

(For ethernet -> synchronious I/O speed of approx 1.5 Mbps like I2S etc..)

I'm also esp curious on those usb<->ethernet adapters some small as thumb. Do
they contain any form of cpu+flash that is possible to reprogram .. ?

 

[Joel Kolstad]

Anyone has a tip on any Adsl modem, Home-Router, USB-Ethernet adapter,
etc..
That has an cpu that is easy to hook up additional bus hardware to..?

Many of the wireless routers are miniature Linux boxes and you could at
least find a lot of information about how to add additional I/O. The
Netgear WRT54G is quite popular, very hackable, and cheap (all of $70 at
Wal*Mart!).

I'm also esp curious on those usb<->ethernet adapters some small as thumb.
Do
they contain any form of cpu+flash that is possible to reprogram .. ?

I don't know any particular, but some speculation here:

It's likely that there is a CPU hidden in there somewhere, but those
adapters are usually complete 'systems on a chip' and unlikely to have very
much spare I/O. It's also not uncommon that the chip vendors purposely
don't document much of anything regarding how to use the CPU; they often
provide a binary file and tell you how to dump it into the chip via USB, but
that's it.

(I looked at an Atmel USB host IC once that was meant to be used with an ARM
processor. While it was clear that the USB IC had a processor inside --
either an AVR or 8031 core -- Atmel just gave you the code that the ARM
loaded into the thing and that was that. They actively refused to provide
more details on its internal architecture/operation.)

I get enough excitement just figuring out how various manufacturers add in
extra features such as icon control to LCDs that are otherwise 99% 'Hitachi
HD44780 compatible.'

---Joel Kolstad

 

[[email protected]]

Many of the wireless routers are miniature Linux boxes and you could at
least find a lot of information about how to add additional I/O. The
Netgear WRT54G is quite popular, very hackable, and cheap (all of $70 at
Wal*Mart!).

Those WLan controllers are nice. And the ethernet + pcmcia slot _really_ gives
a lot of oppertunities. But I look for something that hopefully will provide
some Adress/Data/R-W signal so I can simple solder an additional chip right
on the pcb board.

I don't know any particular, but some speculation here:

It's likely that there is a CPU hidden in there somewhere, but those
adapters are usually complete 'systems on a chip' and unlikely to have very
much spare I/O. It's also not uncommon that the chip vendors purposely

My idea was to reprogram it to work "the other way". Ie the ethernet controls
the connected usb dongles as a master-host.

don't document much of anything regarding how to use the CPU; they often
provide a binary file and tell you how to dump it into the chip via USB, but
that's it.

(I looked at an Atmel USB host IC once that was meant to be used with an ARM
processor. While it was clear that the USB IC had a processor inside --
either an AVR or 8031 core -- Atmel just gave you the code that the ARM
loaded into the thing and that was that. They actively refused to provide
more details on its internal architecture/operation.)

I get enough excitement just figuring out how various manufacturers add in
extra features such as icon control to LCDs that are otherwise 99% 'Hitachi
HD44780 compatible.'

If it's AVR/8031 it should be easy to make it do other things. One could put
the code in a emulator. And watch what i/o addresses are accessed. Which
hopefully can tell bit by bit what's going on
Or simple just replace the control chip, to get the line interfaces for free

 

[Joel Kolstad]

My idea was to reprogram it to work "the other way". Ie the ethernet
controls
the connected usb dongles as a master-host.

I would very seriously doubt that the USB --> Ethernet dongles have the
necessary hardware to ever be usable as USB masters (hosts). Or perhaps
that wasn't what you had in mind? If all you want to do is access a CPU via
Ethernet, the RealTek chips seem quite popular and you can find lots of
designs out there where people have glued them to all the popular 8 bit
microcontrollers.

If it's AVR/8031 it should be easy to make it do other things. One could
put
the code in a emulator. And watch what i/o addresses are accessed. Which
hopefully can tell bit by bit what's going on

A USB host is complex enough that trying to figure out what, say, a dozen or
so unknown I/O registers are doing is going to be VERY time consuming.
But I'd grant you that, yeah, given enough time it's doable.

---Joel

 

[[email protected]]

I would very seriously doubt that the USB --> Ethernet dongles have the
necessary hardware to ever be usable as USB masters (hosts). Or perhaps
that wasn't what you had in mind? If all you want to do is access a CPU via

I had the idea to:
a) Solder comms chip to existing adsl/router/etc..
b) Reprogram usb-ethernet dongle to controll comms dongle from an ethernet
dongle.

Ethernet, the RealTek chips seem quite popular and you can find lots of
designs out there where people have glued them to all the popular 8 bit
microcontrollers.

I figured the cost is less to modify existing construction. Because pcb,
soldering, box, power supply etc. Is already done.
I have looked at D-Link DSL-300T which use Texas Instruments AR7. But it uses
a "VLYNQ" bus.. not something you interface directly =)

A USB host is complex enough that trying to figure out what, say, a dozen or
so unknown I/O registers are doing is going to be VERY time consuming.
But I'd grant you that, yeah, given enough time it's doable.

Ohwell.. maybe I should drop that , or maybe there is readible chips that
allows one to replace the existing one? (and save the line interface)

 

[Joel Kolstad]

I had the idea to:
a) Solder comms chip to existing adsl/router/etc..
b) Reprogram usb-ethernet dongle to controll comms dongle from an
ethernet
dongle.

I'm not quite following what you want to do? Since existing ADSL
modems/routers will already have Ethernet ports on them that you could use
directly to control the thing?

 

[[email protected]]

I'm not quite following what you want to do? Since existing ADSL
modems/routers will already have Ethernet ports on them that you could use
directly to control the thing?

Well there are two ways to do it. Attach usb dongle with i2s to a usb<->eth
that acts as a device controller. Or..
Solder chip with i2s port into a adsl/router device.

 

[Charles Edmondson]

Anyone has a tip on any Adsl modem, Home-Router, USB-Ethernet adapter, etc..
That has an cpu that is easy to hook up additional bus hardware to..?

(For ethernet -> synchronious I/O speed of approx 1.5 Mbps like I2S etc..)

I'm also esp curious on those usb<->ethernet adapters some small as thumb. Do
they contain any form of cpu+flash that is possible to reprogram .. ?

You can check out the Airborne systems at www.dpactech.com. They are
wifi to serial devices with a lot of programmable smarts in them!

 

[Ian Stirling]

Those WLan controllers are nice. And the ethernet + pcmcia slot _really_ gives
a lot of oppertunities. But I look for something that hopefully will provide
some Adress/Data/R-W signal so I can simple solder an additional chip right
on the pcb board.

WRT56G has a serial port (once you solder it up)

 

[[email protected]]

WRT56G has a serial port (once you solder it up)

I2S capable?

 

[Ian Stirling]

I2S capable?

Dunno.
And that should be 54G.