Author: Ellie
All posts by Ellie
OpenWRT on RTL8196E in WiFi repeater – pt2.2
Part 2.2 : Rebuilding So, since I have to do some coding in order to get the firmware out and that I can get the data without having the chip off the board, I decided to resolder everything to be sure that it was still working. It was also a good way to test my […]
OpenWRT on RTL8196E in WiFi repeater – pt2.1
Part 2.1 : The sad realization So, I’ve been fiddling with the memory chip on the WiFi repeater, thinking it was a MX25L1606E, but I got a little surprise when I closely examined the chip after desoldering it. it is NOT a chip from Macronix, I was a bit shattered… instead the chip is a […]
Simple Wall-Mount Power Switch for rPi – pt2
Part 2 : Designing the box After a patient wait, I have finally received all the pieces I need to assemble design the box. I opted for a new approach this time. I normally model my contraptions in Blender as I have learned 3D modeling with this tool and STL files are 3D models, but […]
Wall-mounted USB Hub for the bench.
Hey folks, just a quick update to share that little addition to the bench! Initially, I had to plug in all the USB devices in the rPi directly, which wasn’t bad when it wasn’t hooked to the wall. Then the wall mounting started, which complicated my life a LOT with the ports. It still wasn’t […]
OpenWRT on RTL8196E in WiFi repeater – pt2
Part 2 : Unknown device So, I DID receive my new test clip to read ICs. It is quite a lovely little tool to work with and didn’t thought I’d appreciate it that much. so, YaY? Review post coming soon. Back to the WiFi repeater, it didn’t fully solve my problem of reading the chip. […]
OpenWRT on RTL8196E in WiFi repeater – pt1.1
Part 1.1 : Tool failure… So, I figured out that I would need to extract the firmware from the Flash memory. I found the tools needed (flashrom and binwalk) for the rPi and they installed great! Also found the correct pinout for the chip!… mega good news right? Indeed, It went super well for gathering […]
Simple Wall-Mount Power Switch for rPi – pt1
Part 1 : The idea So, I’ve been using a Raspberry Pi as my bench computer due to it size and that I can use the GPIOs from it. It worked great so far but the power supply that I purchased has a On/Off switch on it that is not extremely convenient. I had the […]
OpenWRT on RTL8196E in WiFi repeater – pt1
Part 1 : Talk to me… So, I’ve been fiddling with this old device from 2013ish. it’s a WiFi repeater from an unknown brand. On the bright side, I managed to crack it open and find out the potential UART port (without pins obviously), and the chip inside seems to be a genuine Realtek RTL8196E, […]
The Etek journey …
Hello world! Hopefully you will find this blog to be as helpful as I wish it to be. Feel free to leave messages on posts and I’ll do my best to reply to these as soon as I can. Who is ETek Lab you might ask?Just a Canadian woman, software architect/developer that is passionate about […]