Freedom CPE

This device is NOT RECOMMENDED for future use with OpenWrt due to low flash/ram.
DO NOT BUY DEVICES WITH 4MB FLASH / 32MB RAM if you intend to flash an up-to-date and secure OpenWrt version onto it! See 4/32 warning for details.

1) This device does not have sufficient resources (flash and/or RAM) to provide secure and reliable operation.
This means that even setting a password or changing simple network settings might not be possible any more, rendering the device effectively useless. See OpenWrt on 4/32 devices what you can do now.

2) OpenWrt support for this device will end after 2019.
19.07 will be the last official build for 4/32 devices. After 19.07, no further OpenWrt images will be built for 4/32 devices. See OpenWrt on 4/32 devices what you can do now.

The Freedom CPE is based upon the Atheros AR5312 Wireless SoC. The Freedom CPE delivers dual-band, single channel, 2.4GHz/5.8GHz capability in a 85mmx85mm form.

Version/Model	S/N	OpenWrt Version Supported	Model Specific Notes
Rev 05	n/a	Backfire 10.03	-

CPU	Ram	Flash	Network	USB	Serial	JTag
Atheros AR5312@220MHz	32MiB	8MiB	1	No	Yes	Yes

You may need to upgrade the bootloader on your board prior to installing of OpenWrt, because they were shipped with a bootloader which checks CRC on the installed firmware. You have to go to the Abicom's support page to obtain a new bootloader image which have ability to disable CRC checking.

Once you have a suitable bootloader and you can access it via serial console you can install OpenWrt with the following method.

You have to download two files:

Copy openwrt-atheros-vmlinux.lzma and openwrt-atheros-root.squashfs to /tftpboot/ and flash them with the following method.

Configure the IP address of the board

RedBoot> ip_address -h 192.168.1.254 -l 192.168.1.1/24 IP: 192.168.1.1/255.255.255.0, Gateway: 0.0.0.0 Default server: 192.168.1.254 RedBoot>

Initialize the FLASH image system

RedBoot> fis init -y *** Initialize FLASH Image System ... Erase from 0xbe7fa000-0xbe7fc000: . ... Program from 0x80fee400-0x80ff0400 at 0xbe7fa000: . RedBoot>

You have a default flash layout now:

RedBoot> fis list
Name              FLASH addr  Mem addr    Length      Entry point
RedBoot           0xBE000000  0xBE000000  0x00030000  0x00000000
APConfig          0xBE7D0000  0xBE7D0000  0x00020000  0x00000000
OEMData           0xBE7F0000  0xBE7F8000  0x00008000  0x00000000
RedBoot config    0xBE7F8000  0xBE7F8000  0x00002000  0x00000000
FIS directory     0xBE7FA000  0xBE7FA000  0x00002000  0x00000000
RedBoot>

Load the kernel from the TFTP server

RedBoot> load -r -b %{FREEMEMLO} openwrt-atheros-vmlinux.lzma Using default protocol (TFTP) Raw file loaded 0x80000400-0x800e03ff, assumed entry at 0x80000400 RedBoot>

Flash the kernel into the board

Note:

The values for the -e and -r switches in the 'fis create' RedBoot command below is the Kernel entry point. Do not change those values.

RedBoot> fis create -e 0x80041000 -r 0x80041000 vmlinux.bin.l7
... Erase from 0xbe030000-0xbe110000: ..............
... Program from 0x80000400-0x800e0400 at 0xbe030000: ..............
... Erase from 0xbe7fa000-0xbe7fc000: .
... Program from 0x80fee400-0x80ff0400 at 0xbe7fa000: .
RedBoot>

Load the rootfs image from the TFTP server

RedBoot> load -r -b %{FREEMEMLO} openwrt-atheros-root.squashfs Using default protocol (TFTP) Raw file loaded 0x80000400-0x801c03ff, assumed entry at 0x80000400 RedBoot>

Flash the rootfs image

'fis free' will print the first and last free block

RedBoot> fis free 0xBE110000 .. 0xBE7D0000 RedBoot>

Now do the math (last - first, cause you need the difference)

0xBE7D0000 - 0xBE110000 = 0x6C0000

And use the computed value for the -l switch in the 'fis create' RedBoot command below.

RedBoot> fis create -l 0x6C0000 rootfs
... Erase from 0xbe110000-0xbe7d0000: ............................................................................................................
... Program from 0x80000400-0x801c0400 at 0xbe110000: ............................
... Erase from 0xbe7fa000-0xbe7fc000: .
... Program from 0x80fee400-0x80ff0400 at 0xbe7fa000: .
RedBoot>

Upgrade RedBoots's configuration

Notes:

You have to disable CRC checking because the bootloader won't load the OpenWrt image if it is enabled.
The boot script is needed for automatic booting.
OpenWrt logs to its serial console with 9600bps, so you must have to set the same baud rate.

RedBoot> fconfig
Disable CRC Checking: true
Automatic FirmwareUpdate: false
Run script at boot: true
Boot script:
.. fis load -l vmlinux.bin.l7
.. exec
Enter script, terminate with empty line
>> fis load -l vmlinux.bin.l7
>> exec
>>
Boot script timeout (1000ms resolution): 3
Use BOOTP for network configuration: false
Gateway IP address:
Local IP address: 192.168.1.1
Local IP address mask: 255.255.255.0
Default server IP address: 192.168.1.254
Console baud rate: 9600
GDB connection port: 9000
Force console for special debug messages: false
Network debug at boot time: false
Safe Console: true
Update RedBoot non-volatile configuration - continue (y/n)? y
cfgbase 0xbe7f8000 cfgsize 2000
... Erase from 0xbe7f8000-0xbe7fa000: .
... Program from 0x80fe1400-0x80fe2400 at 0xbe7f8000: .
RedBoot>

Finally, reset the board:

RedBoot> reset

If you have already installed OpenWrt and like to reflash for e.g. upgrading to a new OpenWrt version you can upgrade using the sysupgrade command line tool.

It is important that you put the firmware image into the ramdisk (/tmp) before you start flashing.

root@OpenWrt:/# cd /tmp
root@OpenWrt:/tmp# wget ftp://192.168.1.254/openwrt-atheros-combined.squashfs.img
Connecting to 192.168.1.254:2121 (192.168.1.254:2121)
openwrt-atheros-comb 100% |*******************************|  2752k 00:00:00 ETA
root@OpenWrt:/#

When it is done, use the sysupgrade command to flash it:

root@OpenWrt:/tmp# sysupgrade openwrt-atheros-combined.squashfs.img
Saving config files...
Switching to ramdisk...
mount: mounting mini_fo:/overlay on /mnt failed: Function not implemented
Performing system upgrade...
Unlocking vmlinux.bin.l7 ...
Unlocking rootfs ...
Writing from <stdin> to vmlinux.bin.l7 ...
Writing from <stdin> to rootfs ...
Appending jffs2 data from /tmp/sysupgrade.tgz to rootfs...
Updating FIS table...
Rebooting ...
br-lan: port 1(eth0) entering disabled state
device eth0 left promiscuous mode
br-lan: port 1(eth0) entering disabled state
Restarting system.

Architecture:	MIPS
Vendor:	Atheros
Bootloader:	RedBoot
System-On-Chip:	AR5312
CPU Speed:	220 MHz
Flash-Chip:	Spansion S29JL064H90T
Flash size:	8MiB
RAM:	32MiB
Wireless:	Atheros 802.11b/g/a (built-in)
Ethernet:	1x 100M
USB:	No
Serial:	Yes
JTAG:	Yes

The signals of the built-in UART lines can be found on the expansion connector. The full pinout of the expansion connector can be found in the user guide of the device.

Serial pinout:
           |                   |                   |    |     SHIELD
           |                   |        CPU        |    |_____________
           |                   |___________________|                  
 7: 3.3V   |                                                          
41: GND    |                                                          
45: TX     |       49         _____________________________         1 
47: RX     |        o o o o o|o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o|o o o o o
           |        o o o o o|o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o|o o o o o
           |       50         -----------------------------         2
           |__________________________________________________________

The UART lines are operating at TTL voltage levels, so if you want to connect it to your PC, you need a TTL-to-RS232 level shifter. See the Serial Console article for more informations.

The default network configuration is:

Interface Name	Description	Default configuration
br-lan	eth0, wifi0 & wifi1	192.168.1.1/24
eth0	8P8C port	None
eth1	Expansion connector	None
wifi0	improperly detected in Backfire 10.03
wifi1	WiFi 2.4+5.0 GHz	Disabled

Product datasheet
User Guide (dead link)

How to add tags

ath25, 8Flash, 32RAM, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11abg, DetachableAntenna, 2Ant, FastEthernet, 1NIC, 1WNIC, no switch, PoE, integrated, DevBoard, Serial, JTAG

ath25 8Flash 32RAM 802.11a 802.11b 802.11g 802.11abg detachableantenna 2ant fastethernet 1nic 1wnic no switch PoE integrated devboard serial jtag

Freedom CPE

Supported Versions

Hardware Highlights

Installation

Installing of OpenWrt for the first time

Configure the IP address of the board

Initialize the FLASH image system

Load the kernel from the TFTP server

Flash the kernel into the board

Load the rootfs image from the TFTP server

Flash the rootfs image

Upgrade RedBoots's configuration

Upgrading OpenWrt

Hardware

Info

Photos

Serial

Interfaces

Other Info

Tags