Linksys by Cisco WRT160NL

Atheros AP81 reference design with USB & 802.11 b/g/n WiFi.

Supported versions

Version/Model S/N OpenWrt Version Supported Model Specific Notes
v1 CUR01 Kamikaze trunk r17250 & later WORK IN PROGRESS

Hardware Highlights

CPU Ram Flash Network USB Serial JTag
Atheros 32MB 8MB 4x10/100 Yes Yes Yes

Installation

WORK IN PROGRESS DO NOT FLASH IF YOU LACK SERIAL CONSOLE
OpenWrt 10.03 has problems with ath9k driver and newer devices shipped with U-boot 1.1.6. These problems are resolved in RC version of OpenWrt 10.03.1. It seems installing 10.03.1 (even in RC stage) provide better stability than final version of 10.03.

Using ready build

You can download 10.03 build called openwrt-ar71xx-wrt160nl-squashfs.bin. After using it you will have to install kmod-ath9k to get WiFi working

opkg update; opkg install kmod-ath9k
rm -rf /etc/config/wireless; wifi detect > /etc/config/wireless

…and to add wpa encryption if you plan to use it.

Building OpenWrt yourself

People who want more up-to-date OpenWrt may build a copy of trunk with the WRT160NL profile selected.

WRT160NL Profile Selected

WRT160NL Profile Selected

OEM easy installation

Can be flashed from the original web interface with file openwrt-ar71xx-wrt160nl-squashfs.bin

OEM TFTP install

Set a PC on same network to some address in IP range 192.168.1.[2-254]. Download either Linksys or OpenWrt firmware image (openwrt-ar71xx-wrt160nl-squashfs-factory.bin), store as code.bin. From serial console abort the U-boot process. Enter this on u-boot command line

ar7100> upgrade code.bin
check link duplex:Full/speed:100
dup 1 speed 100
Tftpd start listening on port[69]!
Load address: 0×80060000

Send file from windows PC with TFTP:

C:\tmp> tftp -i 192.168.1.1 put code.bin

For linux TFTP

tftp -m binary 192.168.1.1 69
tftp> put code.bin

You should see this on console wait for flash to finish:

Receiving firmware [code.bin] from [192.168.1.10]
Write File : CODE.BIN

Once U-boot command prompt returns enter

ar7100 > go

Upgrading OpenWrt

Sysupgrade

In trunk changeset 17202 sysupgrade got enabled for the WRT160NL.

cd /tmp
wget ...
sysupgrade -n openwrt-ar71xx-wrt160nl-squashfs.bin

The sysupgrade -n command line switch tells sysupgrade to not keep the configuration files.

mtd

cd /tmp
wget ...
mtd -r write /tmp/openwrt-ar71xx-wrt160nl-squashfs.bin firmware

Basic configuration

Basic configuration After flashing, proceed with this.
Set up your Internet connection, configure wireless, configure USB port, etc.

Support history

  1. Preliminary support was added in trunk changeset 16068.
  2. Switch code added in Kamikaze trunk changeset 17057.
  3. Sysupgrade feature added since trunk changeset 17202, enabling a firmware upgrade alternative.
  4. Various fixes & addition of profile resolved major issues by changeset 17249 and 17250.

Hardware

Note that port 5 on the internal Ethernet switch is not connected to or used for anything.

Info

Architecture: Atheros AP81
Vendor: CyberTan
Bootloader: U-boot 1.1.5 / 1.1.6
CPU: Atheros 9130-BC1E 400 Mhz
Flash-Chip: cFeon EN25P64 8 MiB
RAM: Samsung K4H561638J-LCCC 32 MiB
Wireless: Atheros 9102 802.11 b/g/n (integrated)
antenna: 2 removable external RP-SMA dipoles
Ethernet: RTL8306SD
USB: Yes 1x 2.0
Serial: Yes
JTAG: Yes
More Info
System:Atheros AR9130 rev 2
Processor:MIPS 24Kc V7.4
Firmware: Backfire (r22689)
Memory: 29456

Photos

Annotated photos available here

Model Number

Front:

This is the Front of WRT160NL

Back:

This is the Back of WRT160NL

These are the ports of WRT160NL

Circuit Board - Front:

This is the Circuit Board Front of WRT160NL

Circuit Board - Back:

This is the Circuit Board Back of WRT160NL

Opening the case

Note: This will void your warranty!

  • To remove the cover simply unscrew and remove the antennas, remove the 4 phillips-type screws on the bottom, and pry the case apart.
  • There are no screws holding the PCB to the bottom cover once open.

Serial

Typical 3.3 volt TTL serial console present in 3 locations. The parameters are 115200 8-N-1

Location J3 on PCB with pin-header installed:

pin function
1 3.3V
2 TX
3 RX
4 NC
5 GND

Initial successful efforts used a short Nokia DKU-5/CA-42 cable, these Atheros platforms seem to be difficult to work with using FTDI long cables.See more details here. EDIT - If you don't want to short your cable, use an old lynksys non-switching power adapter with transformer (switching adapters are generating noise which breaking serial console comunication)

There are duplicate serial console contact points inside WAN & LAN4 ports on PCB edge. You can modify an RJ45 plug with wires in the appropriate spots to access serial console without cracking open the case. Here is an example crafted by users retracile and EraZor:

WAN & LAN4 ports - by retracile @ Flickr

WAN & LAN4 ports - by retracile @ Flickr

cisco-console-adapter-small

JTAG

There is a micro-JTAG connector present.

The programmer needed to access the SPI flash through the Jtag points is a USBJTAG NT from http://www.usbjtag.com/.

The JTAG should be 2mm spacing. IR length 5 The pinout is the same as regular 14 pin JTAG.

To read the flash you need to send a poke command bf000000,1 (using TJTAG) not needed in NT software as it is already implemented. Programming can only be done by USBJTAG NT for now.

http://www.usbjtag.com/jtagnt/router/wrt160nl.php shows a rough connection to Jtag points. More information can be found on the USBJTAG forums.

GPIO

pin function
6 LED_WLAN
7 BTN_WPS
8 LED_WPS_BLUE
9 LED_WPS_AMBER
14 LED_POWER
21 BTN_RESET

Specific configuration

Interfaces

The default network configuration is:

Interface Name Description Default configuration
br-lan LAN & WiFi 192.168.1.1/24
eth0 LAN ports (1 to 4) None
eth1 WAN port DHCP
wlan0 WiFi Disabled

Switch Ports (for VLANs)

External Label Port
1 3
2 2
3 1
4 0

Port 4 is the internal/cpu port. Port 5 is probably unconnected.

Failsafe mode

generic.failsafe

If you forgot your password, broken one of the startup scripts, firewalled yourself or corrupted the JFFS2 partition, you can get back in by using OpenWrt's failsafe mode.

Boot into failsafe mode

  • Unplug the router's power cord.
  • Connect the router's LAN1 port directly to your PC.
  • Configure your PC with a static IP address between 192.168.1.2 and 192.168.1.254. E. g. 192.168.1.2 (gateway and DNS is not required).
  • Plug the power on and wait for the DMZ LED to light up.
  • While the DMZ LED is on immediately press any button (Reset and Secure Easy Setup will work) a few times .
  • If done right the DMZ LED will quickly flash 3 times every second.
  • You should be able to telnet to the router at 192.168.1.1 now (no username and password)

What to do in failsafe mode?

NOTE: The root file system in failsafe mode is the SquashFS partition mounted in readonly mode. To switch to the normal writable root file system run mount_root and make any changes. Run mount_root now.

1. Forgot/lost your password and you like to set a new one

passwd

2. Forgot the routers IP address

uci get network.lan.ipaddr

3. You accidentally run 'ipkg upgrade' or filled up the flash by installing to big packages (clean the JFFS2 partition and start over)

mtd -r erase rootfs_data

If you are done with failsafe mode power cycle the router and boot in normal mode.

Buttons

There are 2 buttons. They are Reset and WiFi Protected Setup. The buttons can be used with hotplug events. E. g. [#wifitoggle WiFi toggle].

BUTTON Event
Reset reset
WiFi Protected Setup wps

Hardware mods

Antenna

The supplied short dipole antennas can be easily replaced with large omni or directional antenna.

Other info

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toh/linksys/wrt160nl.txt · Last modified: 2011/10/05 15:01 by treq