SOLVED:How to use 3G modem in puppy_tahr64_6.0.5?

[puppycub]

Hi,

I am a Puppy newbie* and was surprised how fast puppy_tahr64_6.0.5 (burnt to CD or installed to a USB stick) booted and worked live on my Samsung Notebook
Connecting with WiFi using Frisbee is a snap

However, trying my Huawei-Aldi-Medion Surfstick worked only once, the very first time, then never again either with the live CD or with a live USB stick.

I tried several rebootings both with CD and USB Live stick, and deleting wvdial.conf to get a clear new file, to no avail!

******
Details:
*******
***************************************
This is what I enter to connect (same info that works in Debian Jessie and Ubuntu 14.04):
APN: internet.eplus.de
Phonenumber: *99#
Password: gprs
SIM Pin: <my SIM Pin>
Username: eplus

Probing tty0 and modem ist ok.

*******************************************************************
These are the messages I get now (not the very first time when connecting worked):

*** 1 ***
Testing/Probing the modem

Editing `/etc/wvdial.conf'.

Scanning your serial ports for a modem.

Modem Port Scan<*1>: Scanning ttyUSB0 first, /dev/modem is a link to it.
ttyUSB0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 Z -- OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 -- OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 -- OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 -- OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0 -- OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: Modem Identifier: ATI -- Manufacturer: huawei
ttyUSB0<*1>: Speed 9600: AT -- OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: Max speed is 9600; that should be safe.
ttyUSB0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0 -- OK
Modem Port Scan<*1>: S1 S2 S3
ttyUSB1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- failed with 2400 baud, next try: 9600 baud
ttyUSB1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- failed with 9600 baud, next try: 9600 baud
ttyUSB1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- and failed too at 115200, giving up.
ttyUSB2<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- OK
ttyUSB2<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 Z -- OK
ttyUSB2<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 -- OK
ttyUSB2<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 -- OK
ttyUSB2<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 -- OK
ttyUSB2<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0 -- OK
ttyUSB2<*1>: Modem Identifier: ATI -- Manufacturer: huawei
ttyUSB2<*1>: Speed 9600: AT -- OK
ttyUSB2<*1>: Max speed is 9600; that should be safe.
ttyUSB2<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0 -- OK

Found a modem on /dev/ttyUSB0, using link /dev/modem in config.
Modem configuration written to /etc/wvdial.conf.

*** WARNING! Line "115200"
in /etc/ppp/options may conflict with wvdial!

ttyUSB0<Info>: Speed 9600; init "ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0"
ttyUSB2<Info>: Speed 9600; init "ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0"
Welcome to PupDial, written by Barry Kauler, with
contributions from Richard Erwin, for Puppy Linux.

There is a configuration file, /etc/wvdial.conf, that is read by
PupDial, and changes made to any of the above boxes will be saved
to wvdial.conf when you click the 'Exit' or 'Connect' buttons.
Note, you can also manually edit wvdial.conf with a text editor.

If you are using PupDial for the first time, it is recommended that
you click the help buttons, in particular the 'Modem setup' button.


*** 2 ***
Trying to connect:
--> WvDial: Internet dialer version 1.61
--> Warning: section [Dialer wireless] does not exist in wvdial.conf.
--> Initializing modem.
--> Sending: ATZ
ATZ
OK
--> Sending: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
OK
--> Sending: AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet.eplus.de"
AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet.eplus.de"
ERROR
--> Bad init string.
--> Initializing modem.
--> Sending: ATZ
ATZ
OK
--> Sending: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
OK
--> Sending: AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet.eplus.de"
AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet.eplus.de"
ERROR
--> Bad init string.
--> Initializing modem.
--> Sending: ATZ
ATZ
OK
--> Sending: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
OK
--> Sending: AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet.eplus.de"
AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet.eplus.de"
ERROR
--> Bad init string.

After that, it stalls at "--> Bad init string."

What could I do wrong, what could I do beeter, and why worked it once, then never again?

Thank you,

puppycub

P.S. The Huawei still workd excellently with Debian and Ubuntu.
Edit: I forgot that I tried Puppy already in 2007 only briefly , but now it is serious!

[LazY Puppy]

You should probably download rerwin's pgprs package here. There is also Frisbee gprs improved.

[Karl Godt]

You are using pupdial application it seems.

I am not very fond of pupdial overall and the backend wvdial it uses.

Older pups had a script that unpacked an installed pkg called pgprs from
/lib/modules/all-firmware.
The script is called /usr/sbin/pgprs-shell.
That should install pgprs-setup and pgprs-connect.

You might want to try that if there.

[puppycub]

...
The script is called /usr/sbin/pgprs-shell.
That should install pgprs-setup and pgprs-connect.

You might want to try that if there.

Not there

[LazY Puppy]

...
The script is called /usr/sbin/pgprs-shell.
That should install pgprs-setup and pgprs-connect.

You might want to try that if there.

Not there

That's why I told you to download the necessary packages. I'm using tahr and tahr64 with GPRS USB Modem and need to install my private pgprs package (which works as good as the rewin's packages - I can tell this, as I was involved in testing these packages during development).

[puppycub]

You should probably download rerwin's pgprs package here. There is also Frisbee gprs improved.

Thank you, but, I downloaded and installed frisbee-1.4.2.pet and connect_updates-20160527.pet. No success yet with my modem stick. Unfortunately I am no expert with this. What puzzles me, I get different error messages depending on... whatever, I do not know:

*** WARNING! Line "115200"
in /etc/ppp/options may conflict with wvdial!

or

--> WvDial: Internet dialer version 1.61
--> Warning: section [Dialer wireless] does not exist in wvdial.conf.
--> Initializing modem.
--> Sending: ATZ
ATZ
OK
--> Sending: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
OK
--> Sending: AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet.eplus.de"
AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet.eplus.de"
ERROR
--> Bad init string.

and then repeating forever from "--> Sending:..."

or

carrier not responding

If I only knew what went right the very fist time

[LazY Puppy]

Ups: internet.e-plus.de ???

This is also my APN to connect to the web.

Are you German or able to read German?

[puppycub]

...Older pups had a script that unpacked an installed pkg called pgprs from
/lib/modules/all-firmware.
The script is called /usr/sbin/pgprs-shell.
That should install pgprs-setup and pgprs-connect...

Thanks, I found it, and the script created two new apps in Menu > Network: PGPRS Connect and PGPRS Setup. Using these, I could connect to the Internet , but only once After that, the modem was not detected anymore, even after reboot. I am using Tharpup on a USB stick now, with a savefile. Maybe I should install Puppy afresh. But only after a long break

[puppycub]

One last try before closing my notebook was successful with the virgin Live CD: I installed only PGPRS Connect and PGPRS Setup, nothing else, and it worked
I'll try it with a fresh install on my USB stick, too.
P.S. This message was written using PGPRS

[Karl Godt]

Looks good then.

Files are in /etc/ppp/peers as
/etc/ppp/peers/gprs-connect-chatmm
/etc/ppp/peers/gprs-disconnect-chatmm
/etc/ppp/peers/gprsmm

with settings.

/dev/ttyUSB0 may change to ttyUSB1 or ttyUSB2 .

Most modems get more than one ttyUSBX created.
A second modem could use the ttyUSB3-5 devices.

If the defautlt ttyUSB0 does not work, because of having inserted multiple USB-Modems, you could try these then putting into the GUI entry.

It is also worth to look into /dev/ to check if ttyUSB* char nodes are there.
The kernel driver that creates them had been "option.ko" always for me.

I was also using Huawei modems mainly.

Then I got me an USB-Modem by Huawei from Telefonica Germany O2,
that does not use the pppX ifconfig interface, but the usbnet.ko driver with cdc-ether.ko, that uses a standard ethX interface.
That way ifconfig eth1 up; dhcpcd eth1 connects me.

But posting from using an Android Phone as WIFI-Hotspot using interface wlan0 ..
On 2G speed , this forum is really nice !

[Peterm321]

Files are in /etc/ppp/peers as
/etc/ppp/peers/gprs-connect-chatmm
/etc/ppp/peers/gprs-disconnect-chatmm
/etc/ppp/peers/gprsmm

When I first setup my modem I ended up dispensing with wvdial as there are too many permutations and combinations to expect puppy's wvdial to cover the all specifics of a particular modem and APNs for the different internet providers. With Windows (which the manufacturers tend to prefer) the specifics of the speed, the modem "AT" commands, the APN and so on are typically already pre-configured. With Linux there tends to be some spadework involved particularly smaller distros. One possibility is to try your modem in one of the larger distros and see if you can copy over the settings for the files (above per Karl Godt's post) into puppy linux then bypassing wvdial by directly instructing pppd (the Point to Point Protocol Daemon) to call the gprs file in /etc/ppp/peers. Maybe something like this in a shell script file could work(?)

Code: Select all

/usr/sbin/pppd  call gprsmm

Another idea would be to internet search for words such as

• "internet.eplus.de" and apn and "/etc/ppp"

NB if you can get the /etc/ppp/options file , gprsmm and the connect chatscript configurations right you are hopefully good to go.

[puppycub]

Looks good then....

Looks good, however: so far only when I use either a Live CD or a Live USB Puppy Stick without save option, and when I do not use WiFi in between while I am on either CD or Puppy stick!

Having used WiFi (wln0) will interfere with PGPRS Connect, and this fault will somehow be saved with the save option on the Puppy Stick. After that, PGPRS Connect will remain faulty after the next reboots

[Semme]

Time to try this pkg. I'm sure a lot of commited time and effort went into it.

And please, pay attention to the *order* of install..

[LazY Puppy]

He he,

I like the your comments done lately on such *people/user/member issues/behaviour*.

[puppycub]

Sorry folks, despite hours of tinkering with Puppy mobile broadband I've come full circle:

*** 1 ***
pgprs-setup and pgprs-connect work fine when undisturbed by wlan-Frisbee. Once a WiFi connection is set, pgprs says "bye bye" i.e., even after disabling auto-WiFi and a restart, pgprs-setup finds the modem and pgprs-connect "connects" (lines running ok in the textfield), but no server, e.g. "www.google.com", can be found neither by the browser nor by ping.

@Semme: I committed a lot of time and effort to implement and try http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=102827 that you mentioned (I hope the order connect_updates-20160527.pet > pgprs-2.0.1.pet was correct), to no avail: "no connection" was the result.

*** 2 ***
I intend to use Puppy and mobile broadband for my ancient computer that has no access to WiFi.
I will get to know Puppy in more detail with WiFi on my notebook.

@All: Thanks again, but unfortunately I cannot follow all of your tech talk dummy me

[puppycub]

I am now with Slacko 6.0.3. It works better in my hands than Thar, i.e.,
* 1 * <Ctrl> <C> lets me stop and close my PGPRS modem (not with Tharpup 6.0.5, the connection stays open, try as I might)
* 2 * I can install Gimp with no fuzz (with Tharpub impossible for me)
* 3 * The desktop is not so cluttered

I have now two USB sticks, one for wlan and one for pgrps*

*: what puzzles me is the message "kernel does not support ppp filtering".
Since pgrps works it is probably not something to worry about. Or is it?

[Semme]

I'd say no worries..

Say Y here if you want to be able to filter the packets passing over PPP interfaces. This allows you to control which packets count as activity (i.e. which packets will reset the idle timer or bring up a demand-dialed link) and which packets are to be dropped entirely. You need to say Y here if you wish to use the pass-filter and active-filter options to pppd.

If unsure, say N.

This was definitely a "No" when your modem driver was compiled. Ref.

More >> active-filter filter-expression & pass-filter filter-expression

[Karl Godt]

The kernel does not like several network interfaces "up" .

If you once use net-setup.sh + wag-profiles.sh
it setups the connection to either ethY or wlanY .

But I cannot remember a "disconnect" button in the GUI for now.
But my Puppy is pretty old (4.3.y)

To bring down existing network connections , you could use the "console" terminal
and type

Code: Select all

ifconfig -a # shows all interfaces
ifconfig      # shows all active interfaces
killall dhcpcd
ifconfig wlan0 down
ifconfig

But pgprs-connect should contain a few lines to check if
some other network interface is currently up and active,
and if so, emitt some error message and exit.

[Karl Godt]

And for the Control+C problem it is actually a Debian patch responsible, that
was taken by Ubuntu too, that does not terminate by SIGINT interupt signal
either the shell "bash" or terminal "urxvt" or pppd .

Slackware seems not to have applied this patch for their distribution.

But that is a few years ago i digged into that and cannot remember exactly what patch .

[puppycub]

[quote="Karl Godt"]The kernel does not like several network interfaces "up" .
...

Code: Select all

ifconfig -a # shows all interfaces
ifconfig      # shows all active interfaces
killall dhcpcd
ifconfig wlan0 down
ifconfig

...
This helped, thanks a lot! I am running now thar-6.0.5_PAE* this puppy does wwan and wlan like a champion

For the convenience of anyone, this is how I do it:

* 1 *
Plug in the USB Aldi/Medion Mobile modem (here: Huawei E173). Wait, till green LED blinks several times

* 2 *
run /usr/sbin/pgrsp-shell

* 3 *
PGPRS Setup: fill in required info

* 4 *
PGPRS Connect will run a textfield, no connection yet, but after <R> <Enter> the connection will come up. The modem LED will constantly light blue. Do not close this textfield!

* 5 *
NB: To terminate this connection pull the modem off, and hit <Enter> in the textfield

* 6 * Now I am ready for WLAN - I use Frisbee.

* 7 *
To exit this WLAN connection I choose right-click on the symbol "active wlan", and execute your "kill WLAN" (I do not care whether these commands are all necessary of not):

Code: Select all

ifconfig -a
ifconfig  
killall dhcpcd
ifconfig wlan0 down
ifconfig

Now I am ready again for my USB modem, plug it in, wait a little and follow from step * 4 * on.

Etc., etc., great Puppy!

* I chose the 32 bit version, to try it on my ancient 32bit Windows XP machine when I will have exit to it.