[ale] Looks like time for a new wireless router

[Leam Hall]

Nice, I've bookmarked FreshTomato and will look into it; having something else on Linux is fine by me.  :)

So far I'm lucky, the old router came back up after a rest, and is currently working. The ISP's cable modem, the wifi router, and now my computer are all on the same UPS. My computer used to be on its own UPS, but my wife needed one for her computer, and the compile box on the desk behind me will be back on one as soon as the new battery gets here.

A consideration is ensuring my wife doesn't have a lot to remember when storms come through. When the cable modem and wifi router were the only things on an UPS, all she had to do was push the button to turn it off, and then unplug it. All of the current UPSs are the exact same model, so less for her to try and remember. We get lots of thunderstorms here.  :)

Leam



On 12/28/24 06:36, Charles Shapiro via Ale wrote:
> I am just now in the process of replacing my router, running in much the
> same situation.  Currently it's an Asus RT-N16 running Tomato, which has
> been faithfully cranking along for over 10 years. But it's now so out of
> date that connecting to it with ssh requires me to do all kinds of
> hideousity to deal with an outdated server.
> 
> Tomato router software is no longer maintained.  I checked FreshTomato (
> https://freshtomato.org ) for hardware-compatible routers back in early
> December.  I settled on an Asus RT-N10P (
> https://deviwiki.com/wiki/ASUS_RT-N10P ). They're really cheap on Ebay. I
> paid $14 with shipping for mine. Alas, I hadda buy a power supply for it
> from Jeff -- there were no markings on the machine for the barrel
> connector, and I didn't see anything on line about whether it's
> center-ground or perimeter-ground.
> 
> I flashed the correct binary (
> https://freshtomato.org/downloads/freshtomato-mips/2024/2024.5/K26RT-N/Asus%20RT-Nxx%20%26%20CO/freshtomato-K26MIPSR2_RTN-NVRAM32K-2024.5-Max.zip
> ) on the new hardware without too much trouble after using the factory
> reset button.  Beware that many of the instructions for using tftp(1) to
> reflash the router don't mention a crucial step.  You must force your tftp
> connection to binary mode by telling tftp "binary" at its command prompt
> before your "put" command or the firmware you flash will be corrupted and
> will not workee.   This is missing from the tftp instructions on
> freshtomato.org itself, sigh.  You'll be able to tell that it is correct if
> you also say "verbose" before you put and see "(octets)" in the transfer
> message.  If it's bad it'll say "(text)". After resetting the router it
> only stays in "rescue" mode for a few seconds, so you need to start your
> transfer quickly or session will simply time out. And of course you need to
> give it a few minutes after the transfer to actually install the new binary.
> 
> Anyways, my new router is now ready and I plan to replace my venerable
> RT-N16 after the first of the year. Freshtomato has a bunch of new fun cool
> features, like domain black-holing right on the router and some kind of
> interesting scheduling capability.  I'll probly spend some quality time
> experimenting with that.
> 
> Doesn't _everyone_ spend Christmas reflashing their router?
> 
> -- CHS
> 
> On Fri, Dec 27, 2024 at 9:46 PM Leam Hall via Ale <ale at ale.org> wrote:
> 
>> Currently using a 3 year old ASUS RT-ACRH18 with two wired and 4-6
>> wireless clients, usually low load. It was having issues delivering a
>> video, and the log showed a bunch of dropped connections from all over the
>> IPv4 range.
>>
>> When I remotely rebooted, its IP pinged but the routing and web interface
>> didn't come back up. Tried a short power off, same issue. A little longer
>> power off worked, at least for the moment. Did a firmware update once it
>> came back up fully. After I send this I'm going to shut it off for the
>> night and see if it helps clear things out.
>>
>> However, having a backup is always a good idea. Recommendations? House
>> isn't too big, wood and whiteboard internal walls. Main issue is that my
>> wife's Mac is old and sometimes doesn't keep a good connection. Cost is a
>> consideration, still haven't found a job yet.
>>
>> Recommendations?
>>
>> Leam
>>
>> --
>> Linux Software Engineer   (reuel.net/resume)
>> Scribe: The Domici War    (domiciwar.net)
>> Coding Ne'er-do-well      (github.com/LeamHall)
>>
>> Between "can" and "can't" is a gap of "I don't know", a place of
>> discovery. For the passionate, much of "can't" falls into "yet". -- lh
>>
>> Practice allows options and foresight. -- lh
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> 
> 
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-- 
Linux Software Engineer   (reuel.net/career)
Scribe: The Domici War    (domiciwar.net)
Coding Ne'er-do-well      (github.com/LeamHall)

Between "can" and "can't" is a gap of "I don't know", a place of discovery. For the passionate, much of "can't" falls into "yet". -- lh

Practice allows options and foresight. -- lh