Ersin Gencturk's Blog

how to IR remote control via wemos d1 (esp8266) & mqtt & sonoff tasmota

2019-03-09T19:29:00.001+00:00

I used wemos d1 and connected like this:

(source: https://github.com/witnessmenow/ESP8266-IR-Remote-Example)

Receiver module is tsop38238

Transistor : 2N3904

(without it , LED is not bright enough to send IR signal)

Led diode is Infrared diode.

I used this library with arduiono : https://github.com/markszabo/IRremoteESP8266

From examples with this one: IRrecvDumpV2.ino

you can capture IR codes from the remote by pressing the remote button and it will be captured and it generates codes like this:

Timestamp : 000052.297

Encoding : NEC

Code : C12FE817 (32 bits)

Library : v2.5.5

Raw Timing[135]:

   + 9036, - 4466, + 588, - 1668, + 598, - 1660, + 596, - 562,

   + 564, - 568, + 570, - 562, + 564, - 568, + 572, - 560,

   + 566, - 1664, + 590, - 542, + 596, - 564, + 564, - 1666,

   + 590, - 544, + 594, - 1662, + 594, - 1662, + 592, - 1664,

   + 590, - 1668, + 598, - 1660, + 596, - 1660, + 596, - 1662,

   + 594, - 540, + 588, - 1668, + 596, - 562, + 566, - 568,

   + 570, - 562, + 566, - 566, + 570, - 562, + 566, - 566,

   + 570, - 1660, + 596, - 536, + 590, - 1666, + 598, - 1660,

   + 596, - 1658, + 596, - 39136, + 9030, - 4472, + 594, - 1662,

   + 592, - 1664, + 592, - 540, + 596, - 562, + 564, - 568,

   + 570, - 562, + 566, - 566, + 570, - 1660, + 594, - 538,

   + 590, - 568, + 568, - 1662, + 592, - 540, + 598, - 1660,

   + 596, - 1660, + 594, - 1662, + 592, - 1666, + 590, - 1666,

   + 590, - 1668, + 596, - 1660, + 596, - 536, + 590, - 1666,

   + 588, - 544, + 594, - 566, + 562, - 544, + 594, - 564,

   + 562, - 570, + 566, - 564, + 562, - 1668, + 596, - 536,

   + 592, - 1666, + 590, - 1666, + 588, - 1666, + 590

uint16_t rawData[135] = {9036, 4466, 588, 1668, 598, 1660, 596, 562, 564, 568, 570, 562, 564, 568, 572, 560, 566, 1664, 590, 542, 596, 564, 564, 1666, 590, 544, 594, 1662, 594, 1662, 592, 1664, 590, 1668, 598, 1660, 596, 1660, 596, 1662, 594, 540, 588, 1668, 596, 562, 566, 568, 570, 562, 566, 566, 570, 562, 566, 566, 570, 1660, 596, 536, 590, 1666, 598, 1660, 596, 1658, 596, 39136, 9030, 4472, 594, 1662, 592, 1664, 592, 540, 596, 562, 564, 568, 570, 562, 566, 566, 570, 1660, 594, 538, 590, 568, 568, 1662, 592, 540, 598, 1660, 596, 1660, 594, 1662, 592, 1666, 590, 1666, 590, 1668, 596, 1660, 596, 536, 590, 1666, 588, 544, 594, 566, 562, 544, 594, 564, 562, 570, 566, 564, 562, 1668, 596, 536, 592, 1666, 590, 1666, 588, 1666, 590}; // NEC C12FE817

uint32_t address = 0xF483;

uint32_t command = 0x17;

uint64_t data = 0xC12FE817;

You can use this button's code to send with another example:

IRSendDemo.ino

with a code like this: irsend.sendNEC(0x00 C12FE817);

After confirming everything works, I used it with sonoff-tasmota:

https://github.com/arendst/Sonoff-Tasmota/wiki/Commands#how-to-use-commands

Tasmota configuration is like this:

gpio4 equals to D2 on wemos.

gpio14 equals to D5 on wemos

after configuration you can send commands on mqqt like this:

IRsend {"Protocol":"NEC","Bits":32,"Data":0x00C12FE817}

If your mqqt topic is irgate post to

cmnd/irgate/IRsend with data {"Protocol":"NEC","Bits":32,"Data":0x00C12FE817}

also you can capture the signals via mqttt, when received it will be posted to mqtt automatically

Bose speaker hack (companion 5) to turn on/off automatically

2019-02-22T12:21:00.001+00:00

I have on of these Bose companion 5 speakers. The problem with it is when you don't use it actively it turns off to save energy, next time when you want to use it you should press the button on the control pod to activate it. This is a problem when you use the aux cable as input as a standalone speaker. Solution was not the easiest but it's a quick hack.

I designed a system where when an audio detected from the aux input , it Bose speakers turn on automatically to green.

Here is how it goes:

Tested the pins of the control pod, looks like there are different voltages supplied to the control pod.

It all ends up here because I couldn't find how the audio transmitted to the main device.I had to find a way to open this:

There were 2 screws at the back.

It turns out it uses the same screws apple uses T5

When I opened it the top came off

You need to unscrew these as well, and you have to cut the wheel, (you can glue it back together when finished)

This is the circuit that I used, you can search aud1c on google to buy I bought it for 4$ on aliexpress.

Basically you supply voltage from VCC , connect AVin to audio signal , GND to ground and when it detects audio signal from AVin it provides voltage to Vo.

Now I had to find the voltage, ground and audio signal in the pod.This is the 3 volts I used for VCC.

This 6V when shorted with Ground , speakers turn on or off. like a switch.

Therefore we will use a transistor with the circuit. So when we have audio signal , transistor will short the 6V with GND.

This is the transistor that I used, any should do.

Voltage was too much for the transistor that I used so I used 47K resistor.

This is the prototype, I used 6V , 3V , GND , and AUDIO from the locations that I showed in the pictures from the control pod.

As soon as It worked OK, I had to make it smaller so

This is the final part I ended up with, now I need to fit this into control pod.

One last check before putting everything together.

Glueing back the pod.

And it is working :

Let me know if this helps you in the comments sections and if you may have any suggestions...

how to connect xiomi temperature and humidity sensor to openhab without a gateway

2019-01-23T23:41:00.001+00:00

I've a xiomi temperature and humidity sensor with bluetooth.

I'm Using openhab and MQTT so it's easy to connect:

1) Create this script (xiomi.sh) :

Replace BT with your sensor's mac address.

You can find it with: sudo hcitool lescan

(look for MJ_HT_V1)

Change the IP address (192.168.1.100) to your MQQT server address.

#!/bin/bash

for pid in $(pidof -x xiomi.sh); do

if [ $pid != $$ ]; then

echo "[$(date)] : xiomi.sh : Process is already running with PID $pid"

exit 1

done

bt="4C:65:A8:DC:AD:CF"

sensor="sensor"

RET=1

until [ ${RET} -eq 0 ]; do

data=$(/usr/bin/timeout 20 /usr/bin/gatttool -b $bt --char-write-req --handle=0x10 -n 0100 --listen | grep "Notification handle" -m 2)

RET=$?

sleep 5

done

RET=1

until [ ${RET} -eq 0 ]; do

battery=$(/usr/bin/gatttool -b $bt --char-read --handle=0x18 | cut -c 34-35)

RET=$?

sleep 5

done

temp=$(echo $data | tail -1 | cut -c 42-54 | xxd -r -p)

humid=$(echo $data | tail -1 | cut -c 64-74 | xxd -r -p)

batt=$(echo "ibase=16; $battery" | bc)

if [[ "$temp" =~ ^[0-9]+(\.[0-9]+)?$ ]]

then

echo "$temp"

/usr/bin/mosquitto_pub -h 192.168.1.100 -V mqttv311 -t "xiaomi/$sensor/temp" -m "$temp"

if [[ "$humid" =~ ^[0-9]+(\.[0-9]+)?$ ]]

then

/usr/bin/mosquitto_pub -h 192.168.1.100 -V mqttv311 -t "xiaomi/$sensor/humidity" -m "$humid"

if [[ "$batt" =~ ^[0-9]+(\.[0-9]+)?$ ]]

then

/usr/bin/mosquitto_pub -h 192.168.1.100 -V mqttv311 -t "xiaomi/$sensor/battery" -m "$batt"

2) Make this script run every minute with crontab:

chown +777 xiomi.sh

crontab -e

add this line:

* * * * * /home/openhabian/xiomi.sh

3) Define your things for mqtt:

Type number : Xiomi_Sensor_Humidity "Xiomi_Sensor_Humidity" [ stateTopic="xiaomi/sensor/humidity"]
Type number : Xiomi_Sensor_Battery "Xiomi_Sensor_Battery" [ stateTopic="xiaomi/sensor/battery"]
Type number : Xiomi_Sensor_Temp "Xiomi_Sensor_Temp" [ stateTopic="xiaomi/sensor/temp"]

4) define your items:

Number Humidity "Humidity [%.1f ]" (gTemperature) { channel="mqtt:topic:myUnsecureBroker:mything:Xiomi_Sensor_Humidity" }
Number Battery "Battery [%.1f ]" (gTemperature) { channel="mqtt:topic:myUnsecureBroker:mything:Xiomi_Sensor_Battery" }
Number Xiomi_Sensor_Temp "Xiomi_Sensor_Temp [%.1f ]" (gTemperature) { channel="mqtt:topic:myUnsecureBroker:mything:Xiomi_Sensor_Temp" }

All done now you can read the sensor data and display ,log, automate etc..

2018-12-12T22:48:00.002+00:00

waveshare 1.44" tft lcd HAT (st7735s) raspberry pi setup:

Enable ‘SPI’ inside ‘Advanced Options’ and then ‘SPI’. You will simply get a yes/no option for the ‘SPI’ setting.

Advanced Options’ section is ‘Overscan’. When asked ‘Would you like to enable compensation for displays with overscan?’ you can select No

sudo nano /etc/modules

add the following into the file (if the lines are not already there)

spi-bcm2835
fbtft_device

sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/fbtft.conf

add:

options fbtft_device name=adafruit18_green gpios=reset:27,dc:25,cs:8,led:24 speed=40000000 bgr=1 fps=60 custom=1 height=128 width=128 rotate=180

sudo apt-get install cmake git

and now we have the tools, we can grab the code from github, and build it

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/tasanakorn/rpi-fbcp
cd rpi-fbcp/
mkdir build
cd build/
cmake ..
make
sudo install fbcp /usr/local/bin/fbcp

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-Retrogame
cd Adafruit-Retrogame/
make
sudo make install

sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/10-retrogame.rules

edit /boot/retrogame.cfg and insert these:

LEFT 5 # Joypad left
RIGHT 26 # Joypad right
UP 6 # Joypad up
DOWN 19 # Joypad down
LEFTCTRL 21 # 'A' button
#LEFTALT 20 # 'B' button
SPACE 16 # 'Select' button
ENTER 20 # 'Start' button

sudo nano /etc/rc.local

insert the following commands

fbcp&
retrogame&

_IP=$(hostname -I) || true

if [ “$_IP” ]; then

printf “My IP address is %s\n” “$_IP”

fi

fbcp&
sudo retrogame&

exit 0

The file we are interested in here is called ‘config.txt’. If you open this file, you will see there are lots of commands and settings here. Scroll to the bottom of the file and add the following lines

dtoverlay=pwm-2chan,pin=18,func=2,pin2=13,func2=4
hdmi_force_hotplug=1
hdmi_cvt=128 128 60 1 0 0 0
hdmi_group=2
hdmi_mode=1
hdmi_mode=87

display_rotate=1

if needed change console font size to 6x12 (default 8x16):

sudo dpkg-reconfigure console-setup

references:

https://www.raspberrypi-spy.co.uk/2014/04/how-to-change-the-command-line-font-size/ https://www.waveshare.com/1.44inch-lcd-hat.htm
http://pi0cket.com/guides/tiny-software-for-tinypi/#more-99
https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=207627

Can't update macOS High Sierra

2018-04-24T08:29:00.002+01:00

You can't update macOS High Sierra?

You are on 10.13.x, but the 10.13.x +1 won't install?

It goes through the download and reboot, but when it is done you are still on same 10.13 ?

You can't install kext extensions anymore ?

Tried downloading combo updates ?

Tried installing direct downloads ?

You get in the logs:

Could not create a Preboot Volume for APFS install

Or you get:

Could not update Preboot Volume

well... not anymore..

You don't need to reinstall or anything.

Check your /Volumes/ folder

you probably will see countless preboot volumes there.. This has to be a weird mac os bug.

I had 99 folders, probably can't create anymore and hence no more updates for Mac os or no more low level kernel drivers installations...

What you need to do is to delete all the folders except the Preboot one. So you should end up with only 1 preboot directory in volumes directory..

Reboot, reinstall and everything should be working again.. Good luck

how to install google play services to asus tinker board

2017-04-30T00:22:00.000+01:00

Asus recently released a new version of android operating system for it's Asus tinker board.You can download the latest version from here:

https://www.asus.com/Single-Board-Computer/Tinker-Board/HelpDesk_Download/

However, it comes without google play store.

If you want to install google play store, there are lots of versions of it around the web, but which one will work?

The correct google play version to select for Asus tinker board is this one:

http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/google-play-services/google-play-services-10-5-62-release/google-play-services-10-5-62-438-153733333-android-apk-download/

google services:

http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/google-services-framework/google-services-framework-6-0-1-release/google-services-framework-6-0-1-android-apk-download/download/

this time download the google play store from:

http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/google-play-store/google-play-store-7-7-31-release/google-play-store-7-7-31-o-all-0-pr-153394623-android-apk-download/download/

adb connect 192.168.1.100
adb root
adb connect 192.168.1.100
adb shell
mount -o remount,rw /system
exit
adb push playservices.apk /system/priv-app/
adb push gsf.apk /system/priv-app/
adb push playstore.apk /system/priv-app/

and install it, here you go , you'll have google play store running in your Asus tinker board.

asus tinker board boot problems

2017-04-29T11:40:00.000+01:00

Recently got an Asus tinker board , flashed images but no matter it won't boot. Neither android image or debian one. Turns out the problem was with the power supply. This beast requires really a lot power. If you run into issues , try to connect a more powerful usb charger. Apple's iphone charges won't do it.

how can you enable a windows firewall rule for a dynamic dns name or dns address

2015-02-17T04:56:00.001+00:00

in a windows server sometimes you just need to enable some ports on your firewall to your dynamic dns address.(such as RDP , FTP , etc..)
It is cumbersome when you do this manually every time your ip address changes.Why not update your server automatically every time when your ip changes based on your new dynamic dns update ?

1 ) just create a powershell script like this:

$ip = [System.Net.Dns]::GetHostAddresses("your ddnss address").IpAddressToString
Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "myrule" -RemoteAddress $ip

Put in your ddns name like: xxx.dydns.org , no-ip etc..
Create a firewall rule and define ports etc. before hand and name it either "myrule" and use the second line as it is ,or change the "myrule" to your rule's display name on advanced firewall app on windows server.

2) name it as firewall.ps1

3) and than create a task on task scheduler like this:

command to execute:

powershell -executionpolicy remotesigned -File C:\hosting\firewall.ps1 >> c:\hosting\firewall\firewall.log

and set it to run every minute.

thats it. everytime your ip changes and your ddns provider updated with your ip , also your firewall rules will be udpated in a maximum 1 minute of delay.

What script does is:

// Converts your DNS address to IP address and assigns to variable $ip
$ip = [System.Net.Dns]::GetHostAddresses("your ddnss address").IpAddressToString

// Makes your firewall rule named "myrule" to be enabled for your new remote address
Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "myrule" -RemoteAddress $ip

That's it..

windows 7 can't find files with extension *.pdb , try yourself:

2012-05-17T01:41:00.003+01:00

Windows 7 can't find files with extension *.pdb , try yourself:

Open a directory where you know that there are files with *.pdb extension
type search *.pdb and windows 7 will not be able to find any files and display error message:

No items match your search.

That's crazy bug !

It works as expected for other file extensions though . such as *.mp3 , *.html or whatever..

angry birds live

2012-01-06T00:27:00.001+00:00

well they are real actually but not so angry

ios 5 or ios 5.0.1 on Iphone 4s crashes - kernel panic

2011-11-12T14:31:00.004+00:00

I bought one of these iphone 4s 64 gb s on the day they have been released and since then I am having some phone crashes.Phone is crashing and shut-down it self.I am not sure if it is a software problem or hardware but updating to ios 5.0.1 didn't fix the problem and I am wondering if anyone else having these problems.

Error log from the iphone 4s is something like this:

Incident Identifier: 2E7997B3-0521-4C99-BAA7-

DB959D211A92
CrashReporter Key: 3ffcf799c1cef600edb9dcae8dc547503cdda6ba
Hardware Model: iPhone4,1
Date/Time: 2011-11-12 14:25:20.250 +0000
OS Version: iPhone OS 5.0.1 (9A405)

panic(cpu 1 caller 0x800530b3): "no entry"@/SourceCache/xnu/xnu-1878.4.46/osfmk/vm/vm_map_store_rb.c:80
Debugger message: panic
OS version: 9A405
Kernel version: Darwin Kernel Version 11.0.0: Tue Nov 1 20:34:16 PDT 2011; root:xnu-1878.4.46~1/RELEASE_ARM_S5L8940X
iBoot version: iBoot-1219.43.32
secure boot?: YES
Paniclog version: 1
Epoch Time: sec usec
Boot : 0x4ebd076c 0x00000000
Sleep : 0x4ebe8163 0x000d9b9f
Wake : 0x4ebe81b3 0x00000009
Calendar: 0x4ebe81b3 0x00000097

Task 0xc085ed20: 11303 pages, 127 threads: pid 0: kernel_task
Task 0xc085eac0: 151 pages, 3 threads: pid 1: launchd
Task 0xc085e600: 454 pages, 8 threads: pid 12: UserEventAgent
Task 0xc085e140: 263 pages, 3 threads: pid 13: notifyd
Task 0xc085e3a0: 551 pages, 9 threads: pid 14: configd
Task 0xc085dee0: 12535 pages, 24 threads: pid 15: SpringBoard
Task 0xc085dc80: 122 pages, 4 threads: pid 16: syslogd
Task 0xc085d7c0: 1361 pages, 13 threads: pid 18: CommCenter
Task 0xc085d0a0: 339 pages, 3 threads: pid 21: lockdownd
Task 0xc085cbe0: 209 pages, 2 threads: pid 23: powerd
Task 0xc085c260: 339 pages, 1 threads: pid 27: fairplayd.N94
Task 0xc1007ac0: 1612 pages, 13 threads: pid 30: locationd
Task 0xc1007860: 390 pages, 4 threads: pid 31: wifid
Task 0xc10073a0: 327 pages, 7 threads: pid 33: ubd
Task 0xc1005260: 4556 pages, 41 threads: pid 47: mediaserverd
Task 0xc1005000: 269 pages, 3 threads: pid 48: mediaremoted
Task 0xc10e5d20: 309 pages, 3 threads: pid 49: mDNSResponder
Task 0xc10e5860: 941 pages, 9 threads: pid 51: imagent
Task 0xc10e5600: 419 pages, 5 threads: pid 52: iapd
Task 0xc10e5140: 238 pages, 4 threads: pid 54: fseventsd
Task 0xc10e40a0: 389 pages, 3 threads: pid 61: apsd
Task 0xc10e3e40: 389 pages, 2 threads: pid 62: aggregated
Task 0xc10e3000: 518 pages, 2 threads: pid 68: BTServer
Task 0xc113ed20: 474 pages, 4 threads: pid 69: aosnotifyd
Task 0xc113e3a0: 184 pages, 2 threads: pid 76: networkd
Task 0xc10e4ee0: 2564 pages, 8 threads: pid 82: dataaccessd
Task 0xc085c720: 9647 pages, 11 threads: pid 94: MobileMail
Task 0xc113e860: 847 pages, 4 threads: pid 307: Music~iphone
Task 0xc113e600: 4260 pages, 5 threads: pid 640: MobilePhone
Task 0xc085e860: 5221 pages, 10 threads: pid 1363: Camera
Task 0xc085c000: 7003 pages, 11 threads: pid 1420: MobileSafari
Task 0xc113eac0: 1309 pages, 12 threads:

I searched for the source code file at the point of crash and surprisingly found that it's one of the open source libraries of apple:

The source code of the crash file is here:

http://www.opensource.apple.com/source/xnu/xnu-1699.24.8/osfmk/vm/vm_map_store_rb.c

If I go to line 80 as it stated in the crash log the function there is something like this:

boolean_t vm_map_store_lookup_entry_rb( vm_map_t map, vm_map_offset_t address, vm_map_entry_t *vm_entry)
{
struct vm_map_header hdr = map->hdr;
struct vm_map_store *rb_entry = RB_ROOT(&(hdr.rb_head_store));
vm_map_entry_t cur = vm_map_to_entry(map);
vm_map_entry_t prev = VM_MAP_ENTRY_NULL;

while (rb_entry != (struct vm_map_store*)NULL) {
cur = VME_FOR_STORE(rb_entry);
if(cur == VM_MAP_ENTRY_NULL)
panic("no entry");
if (address >= cur->vme_start) {
if (address < cur->vme_end) {
*vm_entry = cur;
return TRUE;
}
rb_entry = RB_RIGHT(rb_entry, entry);
prev = cur;
} else {
rb_entry = RB_LEFT(rb_entry, entry);
}
}
if( prev == VM_MAP_ENTRY_NULL){
prev = vm_map_to_entry(map);
}
*vm_entry = prev;
return FALSE;
}

I have no idea why the cur equals to VM_MAP_ENTRY_NULL but this crashes my iphone 4s 64gb once every two days or something which is obviously not good.

HAL_INITIALIZATION_FAILED Error While Installing Windows 8 Developer Preview Build

2011-09-14T23:48:00.000+01:00

Windows 8 developer preview is released, I just wanted to give it a try and install to a virtual Pc however looks like it's not compatible with either VMware or Microsoft virtual Pc 2007 versions that I currently use.The error message when installing is:

HAL_INITIALIZATION_FAILED Error While Installing Windows 8 Developer Preview Build

Solution: Download & Use Latest build from Virtual Box, http://www.virtualbox.org it's open source and free.. and doesn't have this issue with windows 8

buffalo wzr-hp-g300nh open wrt failsafe mode

2011-08-12T18:15:00.000+01:00

I recently ugpraded my router's (buffalo wzr-hp-g300nh) firmware from dd-wrt to open-wrt due to problems with installing packages to dd-wrt's lates version.
Looks like open-wrt now is more up to date and works better.However it is easier to break.
After playing with it's GUI to configure network I easly bricked the router and needed to recover it.

What I found is failsafe mode in open wrt.To achieve this with buffola wzr-hp-g300nh, simply unplug the rooter
wait for red diagnostic light to turn of , when the green light starts blinking immediately press the wireless button.
This will put the open-wrt in fail safe mode.To be able to access failsafe mode , you should be connected to your router over cable
and your ip address should be set to 192.168.1.2 (static).
Once you are in , just telnet to 192.168.1.1 and you will be logged in.
first mount the file system so that you can write it by typing:

mount_root

when you do this , FS will be writable.

I found default configs stored in this directory:

/etc/defconfig/

find your routers name or if not there choose generic
and copy the network file under it to your current config.

cp /etc/defconfig/wzr-hp-g300nh/network /etc/config/network -f

This will override the corruped network file with the default one.

Finally, type this

reboot -f

This will reboot the router and you should be able to access your router with default settings.

How to connect your old phone as a 3g router to your open-wrt installation.

2011-08-12T18:14:00.000+01:00

I recently moved to a new flat and currently I don't have an internet connection.I have an old phone: nokia n95 8gb and unlimited data plan.
What I decided to connect the phone to the router and access internet as usual.

1-install open-wrt's latest version (OpenWrt Backfire 10.03.1-rc5 in my case)
2-you need to install usb packages

kmod-usb-acm
2.6.32.27-1

kmod-usb-core
2.6.32.27-1

kmod-usb-ohci
2.6.32.27-1

kmod-usb2

3-to configure 3g access from backfire's gui you need install package

comgt
0.32-9

4-go to wwan section and now select 3g as connection method.

put the settings apn etc. and you will be connected to internet over your nokia.

Trick here for nokia phones is comminicated through kmod-usb-acm package which creates a device
/dev/ttyACM0, you have to put this to the modem device setting on the GUI

DOn't forget to set your phone to Pc suite mode.

If anyhting goes wrong you can see the status from logread command.

If everything ok , as soon as you put the details to Luci you should see something like this from the output of logread and you will have internet connection,

Mar 27 05:23:21 OpenWrt daemon.notice pppd[10071]: pppd 2.4.4 started by root, uid 0
Mar 27 05:23:22 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: abort on (BUSY)
Mar 27 05:23:22 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: abort on (NO CARRIER)
Mar 27 05:23:22 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: abort on (ERROR)
Mar 27 05:23:22 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: report (CONNECT)
Mar 27 05:23:22 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: timeout set to 10 seconds
Mar 27 05:23:22 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: send (AT&F^M)
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: expect (OK)
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: AT&F^M^M
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: OK
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: -- got it
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: send (ATE1^M)
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: expect (OK)
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: ^M
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: ATE1^M^M
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: OK
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: -- got it
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: send (AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","yourapnhere.com"^M)
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: timeout set to 30 seconds
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: expect (OK)
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: ^M
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","yourapnhere.com"^M^M
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: OK
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: -- got it
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: send (ATD*99***1#^M)
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: expect (CONNECT)
Mar 27 05:23:23 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: ^M
Mar 27 05:23:24 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: ATD*99***1#^M^M
Mar 27 05:23:24 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: CONNECT
Mar 27 05:23:24 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: -- got it
Mar 27 05:23:24 OpenWrt local2.info chat[10124]: send ( ^M)
Mar 27 05:23:24 OpenWrt daemon.info pppd[10071]: Serial connection established.

DD-WRT Mac address clone resets itself upon startup

2011-02-09T19:04:00.002+00:00

I have a Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH modem and I run DD-WRT v24-sp2 (08/07/10) std on it. everything is perfect except I need to have my old router's mac address to keep my old IP address assigned from my ISP. There is a solution in DD-WRT for this in WEB interface > SETUP > MAC address clone where I can change it and it fixes it . However the problem is for some reason or because of a bug, Buffalo forgets MAC address every time it is rebooted or at a power lost and I need to go this address and click apply again to change it back to the desired MAC address.

My solution to avoid this is easy:

1) Go to Web interface > Administration> Commands
2) Paste this:

nvram set wan_hwaddr="12:40:CC:11:00:00"

stopservice wan
startservice wan

Not that:
"12:40:CC:11:00:00" is my MAc address and you need to type your own there!

3) Click Save Startup

Next time when you reboot your Modem , or after a power lost you will have the desired mac address set.

first cool hive

2011-01-23T14:47:00.001+00:00

9 years ago I recorded half of a song hoping that one day sound recognition technology will advance and I can find out what was the song's name and listen it as a whole.Today by coincidence I found that file again and used shazam on iphone to identify which song was it.maybe I am a bit late but now at least I know that it's called first cool hive and I can stream it from spotify.

Computer Lags but not because of CPU Usage

2010-09-16T08:57:00.005+01:00

I had some problems for a while with my laptop about things getting slowing down while I was using my pc.Normally, slow downs occur if the CPU usage is very high and normally I use Task Manager to see what's going on.The interesting thing is when I open the task manager I see some processes using high CPU and I kill them , suddenly another process starts using CPU higher..after a while killing all the processes I end up with Task Manager and task manager uses massive CPU, obviously these processes were not using this much CPU. The first thing came to my mind is a driver problem.But how could I find it and prove which driver was it ? Normally you can do debugging and all kind of stuff to track down the problem but it's a massive work.

I was searching the net I found this utility: http://www.thesycon.de/eng/latency_check.shtml great tool, showed me the lag and intervals so that while I was running this program I went to device manager to disable drivers one by one to see which one causes it, and suddenly when I stopped vmware virtual ethernet adapter driver the lag ended CPU and speed was back.

If you have problems like high CPU usage, but it doesn't look like the CPU usage caused by processes then your PC might be lagging.And to see what goes on you can use this tool to diagnose.

jailbroken iphone 3gs won't boot

2010-05-11T04:38:00.006+01:00

today I had to restart my jailbroken iphone because it was getting slow.I was surprised when it didn't boot and stuck while loading the OS.I was lucky that I was using verbose boot thing so that i was able to see what was going on.my problem was related to some fsck error during the boot. I tried hard to capture what was the error message because it was restarting quickly after that step.I used to use linux system and thought that the problem was with a corrupted unix filesystem however it wasn't.After doing some googling i found that thousands of people had this problem and looks like thousands of will have.Some clever guy had found that the problem was because of an update to /sbin directory from the jailbreak community (cydia/rock etc.) . and used one of the jail break programs with some customization to restore the sbin directory. That way you don't need to restore and start everything from square one.Also you won't loose any data. The blog of this guy and the more detailed explanation of the problem is : http://www.spacesparkstudios.com/?q=node/10 . I had to use a mac to use his custom deployment but after doing it, it worked perfect and I was able to boot my iphone.There is also a link to the discussions where everyone having the same problem : http://modmyi.com/forums/general/709372-iphone-3gs-wont-boot-past-apple-logo-turns-off-itself.html

don't mess with your users

2010-04-01T05:42:00.001+01:00

If you get an error related to your user after restoring , mirroring db. etc.

Run this:

sp_change_users_login 'auto_fix', N'XXXXXX'

where XXXXXX= your username,

run this under the DB which that user belongs.

sql server 2008 database mirroring gotchas

2010-03-24T06:23:00.000+00:00

One day if you try to configure sql server for mirroring without domain accounts you may come across with a few problems.such as this error message:

Database mirroring connection error 4 'An error occurred while receiving data: '10054(An existing connection was forcibly closed by the remote

"alter failed for database" The server network address can not be reached or does not exist. Check the network address name and that the ports for the local and remote endpoints are operational.

The server network address "%.*ls" can not be reached or does not exist. Check the network address name and that the ports for the local and remote endpoints are operational.

Error messages differs but the problem is sql servers principal and mirror should trust each other. On the net there are various resources how to configure this via certificates etc. but if you are in a hurry to test something quick

try this on your mirror:
run on master database

if not exists( select * from sys.syslogins where loginname = 'NT AUTHORITY\ANONYMOUS LOGON')
Begin
Create Login [NT AUTHORITY\ANONYMOUS LOGON] from windows
End

grant connect on endpoint::[Mirroring] to [NT AUTHORITY\ANONYMOUS LOGON]

where [mirrorring] should be your endpoint name... and you should run this on your master database of your mirror server..

I am assuming that if you see the above error messages you have already configured mirroring using wizards etc.

this will grant the permission needed not the most secure way though therefore keep that in mind.

How to get rid off McAfffe Antivirus?

2009-08-23T14:48:00.000+01:00

I recently bought a dell laptop with preinstalled McAffee Antivirus on it! The problem is if you want to uninstall it basically you can't! When you click uninstall from programs and features at a point it can't remove parental controls or something like that and keeps continuing bugging you every time on your screen displaying that my pc is not protected enough!

The solution is here:

http://service.mcafee.com/FAQSearch.aspx?lc=1033&sg=TS&pt=1

There is a tool which uninstalls Mc Affee products from your pc.

Just donwload it and follow the steps.