5 ms·

I think an overlooked category here is small, cheap Linux-based routers running something like OpenWRT. A great example is TP-Link's TL-WR703N which is as littl

by nemik 14y ago

I think an overlooked category here is small, cheap Linux-based routers running something like OpenWRT. A great example is TP-Link's TL-WR703N which is as little as $24USD. It has very little RAM and memory, but OpenWRT is an excellent, stable and simple Linux distribution for making internet connected devices and interfacing with other hardware as well through a USB port. It also allows for easy scripting with Lua and beyond that, Lua can also be used with LuCI to create MVC web applications inside these tiny computers, with Wifi built in!

polshaw 14y ago
Completely agree, there is definitely a place for a lower-cost headless device with lower specs. Although no linux, the stm32f4discovery ($10, yes, ten) which is based on the cortex-m4 is also very interesting to an embedded hacker. Another area overlooked is the chinese tablets. There are many from $60 up (eg stuff based on the arm9 via8650) and a little over $100 based on the allwinner A10, which will both run linux happily.
- ippisl 14y ago
  When you use the stm32fdiscovery , you can also write code in lua which is a pretty nice scripting language with easy c integration, using the Arduino API, and use a remote REPL from the pc to try out things. https://github.com/SalemHarrache/ricm4-Easy-Elua https://github.com/SalemHarrache/ricm4-Easy-Elua
joshu 14y ago
Btw the 703n is really easy to brick, be careful. I am on my third.
- nemik 14y ago
  Easy to unbrick also though, don't throw out your bad ones! Follow the instructions at: http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-wr703n#back.to.original.image http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-wr703n#back.to.origin... And don't worry about soldering the serial leads to those pads. If you suck at soldering as much as I do, you'll just end up lifting the pads. Instead just take some wires and tape them to the board. Like this http://twitpic.com/9ftjme/full http://twitpic.com/9ftjme/full and yea they look weird in that image, because I had lifted the pads before I came up with this idea :/
  - joshu 14y ago
    I dunno, soldering and "easy to unbrick" seem like opposites to me :)
    - exDM69 14y ago
      If you need to do any serious hacking, you need to have a serial port in there. That usually requires a little soldering, and sometimes the pads on the PCBs can be a little tricky to solder to. But after that you can access the bootloader and early kernel console and you can get a lot more stuff done if you need to. Like unbricking after a screwup.

by nemik 14y ago

polshaw 14y ago

Completely agree, there is definitely a place for a lower-cost headless device with lower specs. Although no linux, the stm32f4discovery ($10, yes, ten) which is based on the cortex-m4 is also very interesting to an embedded hacker. Another area overlooked is the chinese tablets. There are many from $60 up (eg stuff based on the arm9 via8650) and a little over $100 based on the allwinner A10, which will both run linux happily.

ippisl 14y ago
When you use the stm32fdiscovery , you can also write code in lua which is a pretty nice scripting language with easy c integration, using the Arduino API, and use a remote REPL from the pc to try out things. https://github.com/SalemHarrache/ricm4-Easy-Elua https://github.com/SalemHarrache/ricm4-Easy-Elua

joshu 14y ago

Btw the 703n is really easy to brick, be careful. I am on my third.

nemik 14y ago
Easy to unbrick also though, don't throw out your bad ones! Follow the instructions at: http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-wr703n#back.to.original.image http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-wr703n#back.to.origin... And don't worry about soldering the serial leads to those pads. If you suck at soldering as much as I do, you'll just end up lifting the pads. Instead just take some wires and tape them to the board. Like this http://twitpic.com/9ftjme/full http://twitpic.com/9ftjme/full and yea they look weird in that image, because I had lifted the pads before I came up with this idea :/
- joshu 14y ago
  I dunno, soldering and "easy to unbrick" seem like opposites to me :)
  - exDM69 14y ago
    If you need to do any serious hacking, you need to have a serial port in there. That usually requires a little soldering, and sometimes the pads on the PCBs can be a little tricky to solder to. But after that you can access the bootloader and early kernel console and you can get a lot more stuff done if you need to. Like unbricking after a screwup.