Andreas Schneider » Hardware

Geocaching, Garmin and Linux

GlaDiaC — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 12:04:53 +0000

I'm a Geocacher and I've bought a new toy, the Garmin Vista HCx. This device has a special function for Geocaching. You have to upload these files directly to the device. It isn't possible to store them on the microSD.
On the geocaching.com you have an option to send the coordinates directly to the GPS. It downloads a web browser plugin from Garmin. To send the files (.loc or .gps) to the device on Linux there is a nice tool called gpsbabel. You can use it to send your files to the GPS. However the device supports only traditional caches

So a simple script named "sendCache" is:

#!/bin/bash # sendCache gpsbabel -i gpx -f $1 -o garmin -F usb:

You have to remove the kernel module which is loaded automatically:

rmmod garmin_gps

Or blacklist it in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist. Simply add 'blacklist garmin_gps'.

To get the permissions to work with gpsbabel as a user, you have to install a hal fdi file. Copy 80-gps.fdi to '/usr/share/hal/fdi/information/20thirdparty'. This will set acl rules for write access to the user if you attach it.

Hackweek3: Logitech hacking

GlaDiaC — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:59:18 +0000

I planning to rewrite lomoco since a long time now. The problem is that Logitech has introduced a new protocol to talk to the devices. For the main features of these new mice we have already proof of concept code but some features aren't suppport.

I still don't know how they identify a cordless mouse connected to a receiver. The MX Revolution and the G7 share the same receiver. Yesterday I've discovered how to read the battery status from the MX and VX Revolution. I can display the battery status in percent and if the mouse is charging or is fully charged.

I've put together a proof-of-concept code here. Now it is time to think about a library, liblomoco. If someone is interested in hacking, feel free to contact me

If you have a VX Nano or G7 please send me the output of the vx_hack. If you own a G7 please send me the output of the 'lsusb' command.

lomoco – next generation

GlaDiaC — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:08:27 +0000

I've finished my diploma thesis (more about this later) and started to work on lomoco again. lomoco can configure vendor-specific options on Logitech USB mice (or dual-personality mice plugged into the USB port).
Since there are some places where you can find code to control Logitech mice, I decided to write a shared library. We will provide a command line client to configure your mouse. The shared library makes it possible to use it for example in KDE's kcontrol which has his own code for Logitech mice at the moment.

Some days ago Peter Feuerer (piie) was able to sniff the commands which have to be send to the G5 to change the resolution. With some already existing hiddev code, he was able to set the different resolution modes. The G5 has only 4 resolutions: 400, 800, 1600, 2000. The rest of the resolution you can select with the windows server is just interpolated! You can find the hack here. There is existing code for the MX610 and MX Revolution too.

You can find the lomoco homepage here.

Bricked Linksys WRT54G repair instructions

GlaDiaC — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 11:12:17 +0000

What you need:

1 bricked Linksys WRT54G router with boot_wait=off
1 corkscrew

optional:
1 bottle of wine

If you have to take courage first, the bottle of wine could help!

What to do:

Unscrew the antennas and open the router and look for the Intel flash chip. The chip has 48 pins. You can find the numbers on the edges of the chip 1 .. 24 .. 25 .. 48. Time for a big slug of wine! Now use the corkscrew to shorten pin 16 and 17.

I have the Linksys WRT54G v2.2, on some older routers you have to shorten pin 15 & 16.

Now plug in the power cable and your Linksys should be ping-able now. You can send the firmware using tftp:

tftp 192.168.1.1
binary
rexmt 1
timeout 60
trace
tftp> put firmwarefile.bin