SLQ Wiki facilities:fablab:equipment-custom:library_for_all

LFA Case Version 1.0

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 07 May 2019 14:31:30 +0000

LFA Case Version 1.0

Case Design

Components

Pelican iM2875 case
Custom Foam insert
8 * 500mm power cables
8 Socket powerboard
8 * Lindy USB power chargers

Assembly

Grab the 500mm power leads and coil up until you have about 50mm of play at each end, then cable tie tight.

Slide the first PSU in the top slot

Flip the foam round and plug-in the first power-cable

Repeat for the remaining cables

Plug in all the cables to the powerboard

Wedge the powerboard into the bottom of the foam - make sure the powerboard lead is fed up through the hole.

Fit the foam in the case

Files

Current

Fusion360 Model

IGS (IGS format)

Old

Original Foam Cutting files (IGS format)

LFA Hotspot

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 16:51:57 +0000

LFA Hotspot

The LFA hotspot is built on top of the Asus RT-AC68U running Asusmerlin custom firmware. The hotspot runs as simple http server to provide access to a mirror of the LFA repositories.

RT-AC68U Case Modifications

Warning! This section will void your ASUS warranty!!

To fit the AC68U inside the pelican kit, a number of modifications have to be made to the case.

LFA Hotspot Install

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 07 Mar 2020 08:11:49 +0000

LFA Hotspot Install

01 Getting Started

This guide assumes you have

linux laptop (Ubunutu)
ASUS RT-AC68U connect to laptop via ethernet LAN (the yellow ports)
ASUS RT-AC68U WAN port (blue port) is connected to internet access ¹⁾ .
Two USB sticks - preferably USB3.0 speed.

Install Asus-Merlin Firmware

Download the asus-merlin firmware.

Connect via ethernet port then go to http://192.168.1.1/index.asp

Create username and password at the prompt

Go to http://192.168.1.1/Advanced_FirmwareUpgrade_Content.asp and upload your new firmware:

Once this is complete, go to http://192.168.1.1/Advanced_System_Content.asp and Enable SSH (LAN only) and Enable JFFS custom scripts.

02 LFA Hotspot Quick Install

The quick install builds on the basic steps outlined above to include a basic config, jffs folder settings and a USB data drive image.

Settings and JFFS

First we upload our custom settings and jffs folder. Grab this zip file and uzip it, then go to http://192.168.1.1/Advanced_SettingBackup_Content.asp

First upload the .CFG file as settings.

And the backups_jffs.tar partition

Caution!!

Please note the wifi networks are open!! Please configure with a password before using in public.

Test the router over ssh

Test the SSH with the credentials you set up earlier.

You may have to remove the existing ssh keys for your connection to work, as all routers have the same IP.

Make USB Storage

The USB storage is used to store the entware packages and our webserver files. The USB stick should be USB3.0 and big enough to store your LFA files.

Download the image file and unzip it. You will get a disk image (.img) ready to be restored or clone with linux (or maybe mac?). Note this img is small for easy download - you will need to expand it to suit the size of your USB stick to maximize your storage space. We will use gnome-disk-utilities.

You can install this with

sudo apt update 
sudo apt install gnome-disk-utilities

Insert your USB stick (mine is a sandisk cruzer) and launch disks

then select the “restore disk image” option.

The image should be about 100mB - start restoring it.

Once this is complete - select resize

and drag the slider to resize to close the maximum (always leave a bit of space at the end of the disk)

Once the resize is complete, eject the disk from your computer (safely!!) and go to http://192.168.1.1/index.asp to check the USB ports on your router. It should be empty.

Check that the USB drive shows up

Then reboot the router.

And your hotspot is ready to set-up

LFA Hotspot from Scratch

Building the hotspot from scratch involves formatting a USB drive using the router, installing the required opks , then copying the AULFA develop files from github.

SSH into your ASUS

ssh user@192.168.1.1

Now its time to make a USB formatted flash drive for storage. Follow the guide below and make a EXT4 formatted disk on the device itself, or use your linux disk utility of choice²⁾

https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin/wiki/Disk-formatting

Install Entware (OPKG)

https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin/wiki/Entware

install required packages:

opkg update
opkg install daemontools-encore haveged lighttpd lighttpd-mod-accesslog lighttpd-mod-alias 
lighttpd-mod-cgi logrotate lua rsync uuidgen

Download the lfa hotspot files:

https://github.com/AULFA/hotspot.lfa.one/archive/develop.zip

and unzip on local machine.

cd into it then use rsync to copy the files - remember to replace user with your username:

 rsync -aP jffs/ user@192.168.1.1:/jffs

 rsync -aP storage/ user@192.168.1.1:/tmp/mnt/sda1

now reboot

/sbin/reboot

¹⁾

Internet access for the hotspot is not essential for the simple install instructions

²⁾

use only ext2 or ext3 format in this case to avoid unsupported feature errors

LFA Hotspot Set-up

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 17:32:42 +0000

LFA Hotspot Set-up

The LFA hotspot serves the LFA releases over wifi to the LFA Updater app, automatically upgrading when a correctly formatted USB stick is inserted. LFA tablets can then be updated from the hotspot, with no internet required.

Getting Started

You will need a laptop (PC/Mac/Linux) to set-up the hotspot, then a tablet to check the update process.

Check connectivity over HTTP

We are using port 8080 for the hotspot - connect to your hotspot (using wifi or cable) and go to: http://192.168.1.1:8080/apk/

You should see an index of the files in the hotspot.

Download LFA Updates

Go to

 https://builds.lfa.one/apk/

And pull down the releases.xml file and any LFA releases required.

Make sure your releases.xml has the correct UUID for the hotspot repository!

Making an LFA updates USB stick

The upgrade process requires folders to be named clearly in ascending alphabetical order, so the latest update always appears last in the list. The easiest way to do this is to use the date and time in the folder name. You want your folder structure to look something like this:

Lets step through the process:

format a USB stick as a simple FAT32 volume (you can just use windows standard disk format tool for this)
create an empty text file called “upgrade.txt” or download this one
add the upgrade.txt file to your USB stick
create a folder called “www” on your USB
Inside “wwww” create an update folder, named with the format “yyyymmddThhminmin” where:
- yyyy is the year
- mm is the month
- dd is the day
- T stands for time
- hh is the hour (24 hour time)
- minmin is the minutes.
Create a folder called “apk” inside your update folder
Copy all the files you downloaded earlier into this folder.

Mount Upgrade USB

Plug your upgrade USB into the USB2.0 port on the hotspot (make sure you don't unplug the USB storage drive!!). Go to http://192.168.1.1/index.asp and check that the hotpot has mounted the upgrade USB.

The hotspot will find the upgrade.txt, then copy across the files to the USB storage drive. You should see a spike like this.

Check Upgrades from web browser

You should now be able to browse to http://192.168.1.1:8080/apk/ and see a directory listing:

~~Check that http://hotspot.lfa.one:8080/apk/ takes us to the same directory too.~~

The DNS address re-writing is currently broken!!

LFA updater App

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 07 Jan 2020 12:20:41 +0000

LFA updater App

The LFA Updater app is used to update and install all the LFA apps, including the online and offline LFA App versions, the LFA Launcher and the LFA updater app itself. The app connects to the LFA repositories (repos) either locally from the LFA hotspot or over the internet.

If the LFA updater is not already installed on the tablet, you can either copy it onto an SD card and install (you may be asked for permissions), or if you have an LFA hotspot,

Join hotspot network:
- there are two networks available with wifi SSID “lfahotspot” and “lfahotspot_5G”
navigate to http://192.168.1.1:8080/apk/
and download (click) the latest version of the updater.
find the .apk file in your downloads and click to install. (you may have to confirm give permission)

Launch the LFA Updater app

You should see you list of repos ready to be connected too.

If you are online, you can go to the LFA Releases Repository

Or you can go to to the LFA Hotspot Mirror. A mirror is an exact copy of a repo on another server - in this case our hotspot.

facilities:fablab:equipment-custom:library_for_all:sidebar

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 15:11:42 +0000

01 Library For All

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 11:54:07 +0000

01 Library For All

Library For All is an Australian non-profit organisation with a mission to make books and educational resources accessible to all. ¹⁾

Library For All LFA has built an innovative digital library to deliver quality educational materials in communities where history, poverty or remoteness limits access to books. State Library of Queensland (State Library) has partnered with LFA and building upon previous work with remote and regional delivery of workshops and prototypes, the Applied Creativity team used the fabrication lab at The Edge to develop, prototype and deliver the hardware solution for their digital library.

If you are interested in the development and prototyping of the LFA project - read below, or jump to instructions on how to build your own case, or case server.

The Brief

LFA hardware brief is based around forty (40) low cost android tablets, packaged in a robust case, with a built in charging and sync solution. Wherever possible custom hardware/software design has been avoided, with the aim of producing a solution that can be adapted re-used and modified to suite future needs and with low initial investment.

The key LFA software requirement is the LFA app installed on each device. The devices ideally would run in kiosk mode (or a functional equivalent), restricting use to the LFA app, with a few chosen alternatives. Later in the project mobile device management system was scoped to provide device management.

The LFA hardware needs to be field upgradeable, with low-cost Consumer Off the Shelf (COTS) hardware wherever possible. The charging solution is separate from the sync solution to lower complexity of the build.

The Case

The volume of a 40 android tablets is the key constraint, and dictated the minimum dimensions. An industry standard Pelican case was specified, to be used without external modification (no cutting/penetration of the box). The case foam is the most customised part of the build, relying on specialist manufacturing and assembly to cut and build the foam.

Tablets

The manufacturer and model of tablet will shift the course of the project, requiring the case foam insert be modifiable. Custom silicon tablet cases were specced by LFA, which adds to the external dimensions.

Charging

5 port USB chargers were specced early in the project, requiring eight chargers per box.

Syncing

Initial discussion revolved around creating a local (in the box) server for deployment. This server would cache the app, providing a local hosted version to minimise bandwidth requirements.

Case Prototype

The first prototype consisted of just the case foam and charging solution, cut out of expanded PVC foam.

Cut on the Fabrication Lab CNC router - using an oscillating knife.

With a polypropylene protective insert cut on the Fabrication Lab Laser Cutter

Web Server

Several consumer wifi routers were evaluated to scope suitability to act as local webservers (hotspot) with the following requirements identified.

Custom firmware option for extending functionality (access to opkg repository)
Robust/reliable, with sufficient CPU (dual core) and RAM (256 miB - min) and Flash RAM (128 MiB).
4g/3g modem support (either built-in or USB)
USB flash drive support (2 ports)
Price (less than $180 AUD)

To complicate matters, each device would be required to be adaptable in the field to suit the available 3G/4G mobile networks for PNG. The two ²⁾ major networks sell their own re-branded devices, with varying coverage so all devices would have to work with all networks. This pointed towards a wifi-router with the capability to host a USB 3G/4G modem.

Firmware

OpenWRT supported hardware were researched, as the longest running open source router firmware, this is the ideal option, - but finding a stable, fully supported device at a suitable price point proved difficult.

Other custom firmwares investigated include DD-WRT, Tomato and Asus-Merlin and a short list of devices was compiled, along with the PNG network requirements, coverage and supported hardware.

AsusWRT-Merlin with ASUS RT_AC68U

Asusmerlin firmware, paired with Asus hardware seems most suitable, with regular updates supporting multiple consumer grade (cheap) devices, and an active community.

The Asus RT-AC68U.

For detailed build instructions.

PNG Network Settings

Telikom PNG

APN Settings:

name - Telikom Mobile Internet
APN name - internet
MCC - 537
MNC - 02

Digicel

APN: internet.digicelpng.com

Files

¹⁾

https://libraryforall.org.au/

²⁾

Digicel and Telikom PNG