Integration of 3G Wireless Modem Detection - 4.1.2 & 4.2.1

[warrick]

Sorry I havent been able to get back to you we are having problems with bush fires, here in australia, will let you know when I can test it.

[plumtreed]

I dunno but I think I have to reconnect, that is unplug the dongle and replug, to get a 'good' connection with decent speed. Initially, everything works but just will not go anywhere after the browser.

I must admit that I go from one sort of a connection to another; wired, wireless and 2x USB broadband dongles, at various locations so my observations are far from scientific. It also happens when I use Ubuntu 8.04 so it may be a problem that is outside this discussion.

Wonder if it happens to anybody else?

[mikeb]

Well when trying out connecting with a wireless modem one thing I had to do was make sure any other connection was disabled...eg wireless/lan

something like
ifconfig eth0 down
might be enough but in my case (broadcom wl driver) i had to remove the module
eg rmmod wl

regards

mike

[plumtreed]

Well when trying out connecting with a wireless modem one thing I had to do was make sure any other connection was disabled...eg wireless/lan

something like
ifconfig eth0 down
might be enough but in my case (broadcom wl driver) i had to remove the module
eg rmmod wl

regards

mike

Ditto but I don't go to the terminal to disconnect. I use the connect 'icon/interface' prior to selecting pup dial. I also have the Bcm wl driver.

[rerwin]

I find I have that problem when testing ordinary analog modems while I have a broadband/ethernet connection. If I do the "ifconfig eth0 down", I am then able to connect through the modem. But I don't know about the need to remove the ethernet driver.

I assume that puppy uses the better connection if more than one is available. Right now, that issue is beyond what I can deal with, maybe more in dougal's or tempestuous' areas.

Mikeb, thanks for joining us! What wireless modem are you using? I infer from your posting that it does work. Please post the modem name, its vendor and product ID (from pupscan USB interfaces) and which driver it gets assigned (option, hso or sierra, from lsmod as well as pupscan). Thanks.
Richard

[mikeb]

Yes it works.....
Ovation MC930D .. uses 'option' driver

connected using wvdial after flipping mode
DefaultVendor= 0x1410
DefaultProduct= 0x5010

TargetVendor= 0x1410
TargetProduct= 0x4400

eject /dev/sr0 also worked (or sr1/2 if other crives present)

I use the connect 'icon/interface' prior to selecting pup dial.

Dumb question...how do I disconnect wifi this way ?

regards

mike

[plumtreed]

Right click 'Connect' icon and it should offer a list of options, one choice would be to 'disconnect from wireless etc???'

[rerwin]

mikeb,

Dumb question...how do I disconnect wifi this way ?

Not a "dumb question," at all. I have been looking at the hso-driver command-line interface script and see that it sends something to the modem, to disconnect. I suspect I may have to implement something similar, but was just waiting for someone to mention it. Thank you.

Plumtreed, I think your disconnect suggestion applies only to the ethernet/broadband connections. But thanks for pointing it out, as I was unaware of that right-click possibility.

Pupdial currently simply deletes a file and kill wvdial and some others -- no contact with the modem! So there may be more work ahead. What happens when you click the disconnect button in Pupdial? What does the modem do -- or not do?

mikeb,

connected using wvdial after flipping mode

Interesting that you mention that. How did you do it? Your modem is one of those given a special udev-rules file that you are expected to uncomment the appropriate rule for. That rule is in
/etc/udev/rules.d/51-usb_modemswitch-option-Novatel-0x1410-0x5010.rules:

Code: Select all

########################################################
# Novatel Wireless Ovation MC950D HSUPA
# Novatel Wireless Merlin XU950D
# Novatel Wireless Ovation 930D

#ACTION=="add", SUBSYSTEM=="usb", SYSFS{idProduct}=="5010", SYSFS{idVendor}=="1410", RUN+="/usr/sbin/usb_modeswitch -v 0x%s{idVendor} -p 0x%s{idProduct} -V 0x1410 -P 0x4400 -m 0x09 -M '5553424312345678000000000000061b000000020000000000000000000000'"

Is that what you did, or another way? Do any of those modem names match yours? Or should it be added? Or do we need a modification of it? One parameter you do not mention is

Code: Select all

MessageEndpoint=0x09

Is that correct for yours?
Richard

EDIT: Oops, I misinterpreted the "dumb question", my being focused on the possible modem-disconnect issue. This has needed answering for a long time, as I have had to use "ifconfig eth0 down" a few times during my testing. The connect-right-click technique is cleaner. I need to mention that earlier in this thread.

[rerwin]

Wireless modem testers,
I have uploaded a "refined" version of the wireless modem integration package, "-6". Puppy now handles Sierra (and possibly certain Sony-Ericsson) modems and provides for direct entry of an optional PIN. The hso driver is 1.9; usb_modeswitch is 0.6.9. The separation of the executables into their own dotpets allows simpler replacement of them when new versions become available and may facilitate their addition to the official puppys. The udev rules for making the mode-switches are now in the firmware tarballs, so they are not needlessly present for analog-modem configurations.

Note that, in addition to the "pupdial" dotpet, you will need only one of the executables, depending on which driver module gets associated with your modem. Those using the hso driver do not need usb_modeswitch. Nor do those ancient ones using the nozomi driver (those with serial-number prefixes given in the "readme"). All others probably do need usb_modeswitch. There is no harm in installing some or all three of them.

As usual, the new version is on the first posting of this thread. I have now run out of things to improve, until I get a report of something not behaving as expected.

Tempestuous, how do I go about getting the executables added to puppy? Maybe this stuff should go into a TPP directory at puppylinux.ca -- how do I do that?

Everyone, please test this out, so I can gain the confidence to submit it to puppy. Thanks.
Richard

[mikeb]

Firstly thanks for the right click info...never thought of that one.
It does appear to work ie ifconfig shows nothing on eth0 with the wl module still loaded and the modem connects ok.
Also very useful as wifi seems to disconnect after 10 minutes of being idle which running the autoconnect brings back up.

pupscan?endpoint?

Either running usb_modeswitch or eject works.

Unfortunately testing is tricky as the full install it's meant for seizes solid after a minute or 2 after inserting the modem!!! whether connected or not. Works perfectly when running from flash card on the same machine and frugal on another.
Why do puppy 4.xx full installs exhibit strange behaviour???
Could the cd emulated part of the modem cause this? drive mounter? My cat?

end of dubious input

mike

[rerwin]

mikeb,
Keeping in mind that I do not have a wireless modem and rely on the Internet for my info, please tell me more about how you use usb_modeswitch, and then about "eject". My implementation is intended to handle the mode-switch by way of udev rules, such as the one I posted above.

My understanding of usb_modeswitch is that the normal way to use it is to first edit the usb_modeswitch.conf file. So I assume you removed (all six of) the ";"s from this entry in the file:

Code: Select all

########################################################
# Novatel Wireless Ovation MC950D HSUPA
# Novatel Wireless Merlin XU950D
# Novatel Wireless Ovation 930D
#
# Contributor: Razvan Dragomirescu, Mike Kirk

;DefaultVendor=  0x1410
;DefaultProduct= 0x5010

;TargetVendor=   0x1410
;TargetProduct=  0x4400

;MessageEndpoint=0x09
;MessageContent="5553424312345678000000000000061b000000020000000000000000000000"

# Note: detaching the storage driver might work as well


########################################################

Then you would run usb_modeswitch from the command line with no parameters. Right? If so, the rule does that for you -- if you remove the initial "#" from the "#ACTION=" line (and reboot). Please tell me whether that works for you. Thanks.

As for the hang in the full installation, we need more expertise. It is out of my league.
Richard

[mikeb]

Then you would run usb_modeswitch from the command line with no parameters. Right? If so, the rule does that for you -- if you remove the initial "#" from the "#ACTION=" line (and reboot). Please tell me whether that works for you. Thanks.

Ok exactly as you described.
eject /dev/sr0 also works for this modem though it may need sr1 or 2 if other optical drives were present but for simplicity I would stick to the usb_modeswitch as some modems cannot be toggled by eject it seems from my research.

I will try the udev command ... I noticed that the endpoint is listed in the conf...sorry I missed that one.

The hanging is a pain...did it when it had suse on too...and it's not my laptop ...just makes testing awkward but then again this might help to find a solution

regards

mike

ps as a general point having those connect/disconnect functions as separate icons or menu entries would to me be more convenient (and obvious and smarter than windows)....this machine for example has three ways to connect to a network and ne'er the twain shall meet...

[Redmun]

Hi, I have tried to get this card to work with many linux distro's....no dice. Works w/winblow's no worries. I tried your .pets to no avail, being a total linux noob, i'm sure ive done something wrong. But i followed the instructions in your guide, and i get to dial my IP.......and thats where it sits My provider is telstra bigpond. The card is actually a novatel expedite wireless EU870D usb card inside my laptop so not really accessible as far as unplugging goes. Am running puppy -4.1.2-k2.6.25.16-seamonkey from usb frugal install, (should i be running a full install?) If someone could help me also with the correct bigpond mobile broadband settings that would be great!!

thx

[tubby]

I am now using my 3g dongle to type this, i installed your pup and connected through PuPDial.
As i am very new to Linux and Puppy i cannot say if my dongle would have connected with or without your pet addition.
How i did it.
I entered *99***3* where it says phone number, and here i am.
As i cannot receive 3g at this location i am connected at normal gprs speed, to say i am delighted is an under statement as Vodaphone said it would be impossible to use Linux to connect.
The modem is a Huawei Mobile Connect-3g modem, it has a slot for a memory card as well.

[rerwin]

Fan-tastic, tubby! Glad it worked with no fuss at all. But you must also have entered an APN (like internet or Telstra-something or Vodaphone-something), didn't you? Or is that optional? BTW, you could probably connect, but only after entering some commands in the console, or maybe using the GPRS option in the Connect Wizard. My intent is for pupdial to work just as you found it to - with no fiddling.

So that I can track what works, please post or send me the vendor and product ID of the modem (from pupscan, USB interfaces). Better yet, PM me the content of the /tmp/udevtrace-modem.log file. Thanks for your positive report.

Redmun,
Welcome to our group. I responded to your PM (with the requested data) before checking this thread. Spent the day researching, finding nothing obvious to fix. So I requested more details in hope of some clues.

Regarding frugal or full installations: please stay with the frugal, since others have reported problems with the full installation even though the equivalent frugal installation works.

I advised in my PM to you to try using fake logon and password values, but tubby appears to have succeeded without setting them. Go figure -- I think I saw that wvdial requires those fields, but maybe that has been fixed.

One note about the new "-6" version: It seems possible that things might not work the first time you boot up with the dotpets installed, but a reboot should straighten that out. Please report any such behavior, just so we know. I no one reports it, I will assume it never happens.

Keep those reports coming! Thanks.
Richard

[tubby]

Here is the pupdial log,
--> WvDial: Internet dialer version 1.53
--> 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
--> Modem initialized.
--> Sending: ATDT*99***3#
--> Waiting for carrier.
ATDT*99***3#
CONNECT
--> Carrier detected. Starting PPP immediately.
--> Starting pppd at Thu Feb 26 08:10:16 2009
--> pid of pppd: 4053

As you can see i have no entry in ATZ left it blank, the only entry is the ATDT which is for my supplier who is
Vodaphone Mobile Connect 9 by the way i am in the UK.
I looked at the other log you asked for but it is very long and seems to say that device not found at every entry but i noticed it did show my modem
This is part of log,




Looking for default devices
No default device found. Is it connected? Bye

module_usbserial
module_option
Rule_triggered_for_E169_loading_ of_option_driver.
usb_v12d1_p1001_00_____________________HUAWEI Mobile_
tty_ttyUSB0
Rule_triggered_for_E169_loading_ of_option_driver.
usb_v12d1_p1001_00_____________________HUAWEI Mobile_
tty_ttyUSB2
Rule_triggered_for_E169_loading_ of_option_driver.
usb_v12d1_p1001_00_____________________HUAWEI Mobile_
tty_ttyUSB1
Rule_triggered_for_E169_loading_ of_option_driver.
usb_v12d1_p1001_00_____________________HUAWEI Mobile_

* usb_modeswitch: tool for controlling "flip flop" mode USB devices
* Version 0.9.6 (C) Josua Dietze 2009
* Works with libusb 0.1.12 and probably other versions

DefaultVendor=0x12d1
DefaultProduct=0x1001
TargetVendor=0x0
TargetProduct=0x0
TargetClass=0x0
DetachStorageOnly=0
HuaweiMode=1
SierraMode=0
SonyMode=0
MessageEndpoint=0x0
MessageContent=""
Interface=0x0

Hope this helps, i have connected using said modem to send this.

[tubby]

I forgot to say that my dongle must be plugged in before booting otherwise it does not get connected, also there is no icon on the desktop.
As it has memory slot i tried with memory but still no desktop icon.

[Redmun]

half your luck, linux in general seems to hate my laptop modem.

[zgp152]

I see that E220 can be used to connect via Dialing function.
I understand that Rerwin is developing autodetection to make it easier. Pls correct me if I am wrong.
Good timing: I plan to take Huawei E220 into use in the near future.

Is the Puppy 4.2 (now in beta) planned to include autodetection or what will be the most handy way to add it if not included.

Rgds zgp152

[rerwin]

Tubby,
Thanks for the info on your modem. It is the same as muggins'. But the last I heard from him is that the driver did not load automatically for him. You demonstrate that it is possible. So I can update the status listing, in the second posting in this thread.

Redmun,
I am distressed that you cannot connect, but sense that others have had such problems, and I saw no solution. However, a change is being made to the latest "option" driver that appears to involve your modem, but not clear how. Assuming your settings are good, the only other thing I have seen is a report that you have to wait a long time for something to time out, before Telstra (I think) connects. Maybe that does not apply to you.

zgp152,
Yes, I am automating the PupDial wireless dialup process, and think I have it done, other than handling individual problems with it. The downloads are in the first posting in this thread and should work with 4.2 when it comes out, as well as 4.1.x-standard. It is too late for me to request its inclusion in 4.2, and the package awaits further input from users, to this thread, to determine whether it works generally. Please try out the "-6" version of the dotpet and the driver dotpets, and tell us how it goes. I think someone reported that the E220 does work.
Richard

UPDATE 3/2/09: Redmun has sent me data for diagnosing his difficulty with pupdial. It got me to question my choice of some pupdial logic, so I want to mention it here. While designing the changes, all the examples I used as reference suggested to me that an APN is required for all wireless-modem connections; I coded that into pupdial. Without an APN, pupdial assumes an ordinary analog modem; with one, it adds the wireless-related initialization strings, particularly the ones specifying the APN and PIN (if specified).

If an APN is actually optional or forbidden for some ISPs, please tell me. In the meantime, please use a dummy APN that the ISP would ignore. If an APN is not always required, I would modify pupdial to look for "none" to indicate wireless-but-no-APN. Right now I use the presence of an APN, the presence of a wireless driver module in the lsmod listing, and certain tty* device names as the way to know the modem is wireless. Ideas on other ways to do this are welcome. I assume that ttyACM? and ttyUSB? can be either wired or wireless; please correct me, if wrong.
Richard