I know there are 2 serial ports in the WRT54G router. If I do the mod to bring one out of the router how do I access it? Does the mesh firmware have a way to do it already or do I need to add something to it? My idea is to use the mesh to access a repeater controller and possibly a port on a packet node. I am a linux noob but willing to learn.

tnx,

Jim

Jim, There are two serial ports but they are 3.3v levels, not RS-232, so depending on what you want to hook up you may need a TTL-to-RS232 converter. Keep in mind that one of the serial ports is the console and is pretty much useless for attaching anything to it because all the boot messages will be output to your attached device when the '54G boots up. This will probably confuse the heck out of that device

If you want to access both of your devices, repeater controller and a packet node, with the same mesh node, you can tie one of them to serial port 1 (port 0 is the console). If you need RS-232 for either of these devices then you will NEED the TTL-to-RS232 converter such as https://www.sparkfun.com/products/133. Sparkfun has a variety of these so look around their website.

Another possibility, although it tends to be a bit more pricey, is an Ethernet-to-RS232 adapter. A few of those around. I've used the one from Netmedia (http://netmedia.com/siteplayer/telnet/index.html) with great success. The neat thing about these units is that anything can come in through the net and connect to the attached RS-232 device with a simple telnet program! Still, these aren't very cheap so another WRT54G and its serial port might fit your budget better for a second device.

If your '54G model can handle the USB hardware mod that Jim/K5KTF likes to "go off" about... :) you can use USB-to-RS232 converters as well. This will require you to download a package or two from our repository but you'll hafta ask "The Other Jim" (K5KTF) how those work out.

Just some possibilities!

    -Rusty-

If you need access to the serial ports on the router, AE5AE is absolutely correct, but, there are other ways to access the router, you should be able to access it via command line. If in Linux, use SSH from the terminal... if in Windows, you can use a terminal emulator like PuTTY and access it via SSH as well... (PuTTY can also be gotten for Linux and I believe OSX as well)

Seannon KD4IYI

Wanting to give my HSMM node something to do, I thought about interfacing a packet TNC to ttyS1 and offering a 2M packet gateway via HSMM.

How would you access the serial port through the advertised services from remote nodes?

I understand TTL to 232 hardware is required. 

Thanks.

See http://www.broadband-hamnet.org/applications-for-the-mesh/149-aprs-rx-only-igate.html for a taste of attaching a TNC.

I dont think there is a way to use the Adv Svcs page to work this. At least not yet.

This would probably have to be done via the command line.

KTF

EDITING: My bad, I forgot I did this with a USB-Serial adapter. But yes, if you get a level shifter, you can tie it directly to the serial port (recommend the second COM port, as the first defaults to console mode). We have a guy working on some code that may allow a WRT to act AS a TNC, but at 119200 instead of the butt-slow 1200 baud WL2K speed, so that he can use Airmail/etc at something faster than 1950's speeds.

Oh, Mark, so you want more like :

http://www.broadband-hamnet.org/applications-for-the-mesh/158-remote-control-hf-rig-over-mesh.html

but with a TNC instead of the FT-897 CAT-control..Quite doable. Load ser2net on the node, and the serial->IP driver for Windoze and you should be good to go.

And I DO have an WL2K to Mesh connection working, using Paclink and AGW Pro. You tell Pacllink to call a remote AGW at the mesh node name(in this case the mesh name is K5KTF-10, same as the WL2K station), port 8000, with user/pass, and paclink then controls my WL2K station radio. From anywhere on the mesh. I was at the 2011 HamComm in Plano, and we had a mesh tunnel back to Austin. I then did this to my K5KTF-10 station radio to check email at the one local hospital WL2K station down here, but controlling it all from ~300 miles north.

73

That does indeed sound like what I'm looking for.

I'll set about coming up with a TTL-232 hardware interface (the sparkfun units seem as good as anything to start with) and I'll poke around with this now that it appears that it's likely to work.

Your instructions are a bit sparse for my level of linux experience but I will see how far I can get on my own.  Will turn it into a step by step application article if I can get it to work.

I chuckled at your use of a phone patch as an audio interface.  Quite a marriage of the old and new.