My Tech Adventures

Hello Again! As per another request, I shall try to use a spare W150D/SP3367NL router to extend the wireless coverage! But, before that, I'll like to show my recent casing-swap for the W150D ... did I tell you that the 'old' casing has poor ventilation ... it's a WIP ... currently using internal antenna I soldered ... works well ... just lighting and sticker work remains ... though I might leave it as it is since it's only a 'backup' router (runs on a portable dvd li-ion rechargeable battery during load-shedding) Turn! Turn! Turn!!! Don't worry ... I had no use for the locked cable modem router VMDG280 ... it already 'donated' the antennae and a nice mini pci-e wireless n card Comes with a stand too Coming back to the topic, there are a number of ways to accomplish what we need: 1. 'Universal' Method (using Ethernet/LAN Cable) This method should work with almost all adsl routers turning them into wirele...

Hi! As per request, I would like to quickly go over the process of using the W150D/SP3367NL as a 'Wireless Router' i.e., not using the dsl connection/telephone port but using one of the LAN ports as a WAN port! Here it is: Notes: - I am configuring W150D with SP3367NL's firmware in this case, but, the UI should be similar to the firmware from both Tenda and PTCL ISP - I am using a dsl modem in bridge mode (configured for PTCL ISP) with the aim of setting up a pppoe connection (for authentication) on the W150D to do all the routing providing lan and wireless connectivity! The ISP is PTCL but this shall also work with other ISPs that use pppoe even including Nayatel (FTTH/FTTU)! 1. Login to the router. If the wizard shows up, just click on Advanced Settings to land on the Status page!  2. Goto Advanced Setup->Connection Mode (To continue reading, please click on 'Read More')

DSL Let's take a look at SNR Margin Tweaks: The command to be used is > xdslctl configure --snr {value}  N Change in target noise margin (dB) 200 + 6dB 150 + 3dB 100 + 0dB 50 - 3dB 25 - 4.5db 1 - 5.5dB 65500 - 9 dB 65450 - 12 dB where {value} can be as shown in the table above taken from http://www.kitz.co.uk/routers/dg834GT_targetsnr.htm such that if more stable connection is desired, 150 or 200 should be used and if faster connection/sync is required at cost of stability, 50 or 25 could be used! Note that for PTCL, there is no max speed package as of today, ...

With Telnet access, more options become available that are not accessible via the web interface! Since the router uses the Broadcom chipset, we can apply almost all the same tweaks as documented for other Broadcom based routers: Here is the list of commands (Password is the one set by you): BCM96328 Broadband Router Login: admin Password: > ? ? help logout exit quit reboot adsl xdslctl xtm brctl cat loglevel logdest virtualserver ddns syslog echo ifconfig ping ps pwd sntp sysinfo tftp wlctl arp defaultgateway dhcpserver dns lan lanhosts passwd ppp restoredefault route save swversion cfgupdate swupdate exitOnIdle wan There is also Shell access: > sh BusyBox v1.00 (2012.05.30-12:11+0000) Built-in shell (msh) Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands. With regards to dsl modem, the commands "adsl" and "xd...

It's been a while since I updated this blog, but, I am planning to write down all the tech adventures I had during this time starting with routers! First up is the Tenda W150D mentioned previously, currently using firmware of Micronet (Taiwan) SP3367NL: Note: Despite the version string (1.0.0.7 vs 1.0.1) the newer firmware US_SP3367NL_V1.0.0.7_en_NUT.bin released in 2012 can be found at http://sdrv.ms/17IgVyp  though you might want to save your previous configuration before upgrading to restore later on new firmware as there can be problems enabling the wireless network in the v1.0.0.7 (it's just a configuration issue that may not occur but it's better to be prepared) (My upgrade path: PTCL's firmware->Tenda's Firmware->Micronet's Firmware) - The interface seems to be the same as the previous firmware, but, again it performs better than the version pre-installed by PTCL (ISP) Download SNR Margin is better than before ... though on fiber...

From the hardware point of view, the PTCL/Tenda W150D is not much different from other BCM6328 based routers but the difference surely lies in the software/firmware ... so let's take a look at the gui side of things ... From the start it was apparent that the firmware for PTCL was not 'special/locked' one and just used image replacement replacing Tenda's images/logos with those for PTCL ... anyways it also didn't seem to work well, felt kind of like a beta version of the firmware ... couldn't hold onto some settings ... my long line and difficult stats didn't help either (awaiting conversion from copper to fiber) ... so in desperation I looked at firmware updates for the router on Tenda's website knowing full well that a corrupted/interrupted/slightly-changed firmware update would brick the router with no obvious way to recover as serial & jTAG pinouts are not known (there are some test points ... but lack of interest) and no full flash backup c...

Finally I received a wireless router from PTCL with my "new" connection few days ago after a long wait! As expected it turned out to be a PTCL branded router supplied by another company in this case Tenda ( www.tenda.cn ) with model W150D ... a 150Mbps wireless n (half) xDSL router ... looks nice with a big 5dBi  fixed antenna ... lets take an inside look: 4 x Phillips-head screws  Plastic locks and tabs  Notice the Heatsink ... just as well as it runs very hot  Antenna is soldered onto the pcb and there is one pad free for mounting another antenna ... hmmmmm  the wireless "chip"  No need to remove heatsink to id the processor ... this router is based on the BCM6328 Some more test points ... but more later ... let's take a look at the software side ... (in part 2)