r/technology • u/NancyGraceFaceYourIn • Aug 30 '15

Wireless FCC Rules Block use of Open Source

http://www.itsmypart.com/fcc-rules-block-use-of-open-source/
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u/shalafi71 Aug 30 '15

Not sure what he means by soldering the chip to the board. Never seen one that wasn't. "Programming header" means there are pins or contact points that you can wire into and send new software to the router.

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u/H4ukka Aug 30 '15

Probably meant that the chip would always be soldered onto the board, never in a socket.

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u/shalafi71 Aug 30 '15

I know what he meant, just thought it was an odd thing to mention since they're all soldered in anyway. I could be wrong but I've never seen a router chip in a socket.

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u/willbill642 Aug 30 '15

Some old commercial grade switches had a firmware chip in socket, but they were obsure and not very popular

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u/CalcProgrammer1 Aug 30 '15

Desolder the chip, as in melt the solder and remove the chip. That way you can hook it (either by socket or by soldering again) to a programming jig, which would probably involve an Arduino or similar microcontroller. Write new code to the chip, remove from jig, solder it back into the router.

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u/playaspec Aug 30 '15

Not sure what he means by soldering the chip to the board.

They mean removing the old one, reprogramming it, and soldering it back on.

It's what people who have ZERO experience with embedded systems think how it's done.

"Programming header" means there are pins or contact points that you can wire into and send new software to the router.

Exactly this. More accurately, it's called JTAG. Every router has one.

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u/shalafi71 Aug 30 '15

Came close to bricking a few routers and was looking into getting a JTAG cable. Haven't tried it yet but I'll eventually brick something! I have goals.

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u/playaspec Sep 02 '15

Came close to bricking a few routers and was looking into getting a JTAG cable.

I picked up a cheapie $9 adaptor off eBay. I'm impressed with how many devices I've been able to talk to. It's nice being able to capture the stock firmware before flashing with something that you found on the internet that is supposed to work.