Freedom CPE
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.
Supported Versions
| Version/Model | S/N | OpenWrt Version Supported | Model Specific Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rev 05 | n/a | Backfire 10.03 | - |
Hardware Highlights
| CPU | Ram | Flash | Network | USB | Serial | JTag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atheros AR5312@220MHz | 32MiB | 8MiB | 1 | No | Yes | Yes |
Installation
Installing of OpenWrt for the first time
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 |
Upgrading OpenWrt
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. |
Hardware
Info
| 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 |
Photos
Serial
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.
Interfaces
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 |
Other Info
- Product datasheet
- User Guide
(dead link)