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    Intel Desktop Board DN2800MT Build

    Hardware
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    • U
      Unubtanium
      last edited by

      @stephenw10:

      Nope!

      Steve

      Damn, so in you best opinion should i just give it up and get a cheap HD44780 LCD??
      Would be like a small defeat, but i can take that..

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      • D
        dreamslacker
        last edited by

        @Unubtanium:

        Damn, so in you best opinion should i just give it up and get a cheap HD44780 LCD??
        Would be like a small defeat, but i can take that..

        Probably the most cost effective method.  A HD44780 LCD can be had for less than US$12 inclusive of shipping on ebay.  i'm sure your time spent trying to reverse engineer the Firebox LCD would be worth more than that.

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        • stephenw10S
          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
          last edited by

          I'd be surprised if it isn't a standard parallel port header. Everything else on the board is standard.
          Give the firebox LCD a go first, you've got nothing to loose.  ;)

          Steve

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          • D
            dreamslacker
            last edited by

            @Unubtanium:

            After taking the LCD board of the 2nd board with the 4 buttons on, it shows 16 pins connector.
            See pics attached, so here is the question, is there ANY chance that they are using a HD44780 controller and that i can use this schema to connect it??   http://lcdsmartie.sourceforge.net/circuits.htm

            Will look for and old PC with a parallel port and test.. Have nothing to loose  ;D  ;D

            Do try mate…  It looks like that could be a regular HD44780 LCD module that was previously piggybacked onto another controller (hence the need for a different protocol to communicate with the intermidiary mcu).

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            • stephenw10S
              stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
              last edited by

              Re-reading what I wrote it's not clear.
              What I meant to say is that the 2nd board is almost purely passive. It serves only to add the keypad to the LCD module and provide a common mounting.
              Removing the 2nd board simply leaves you with the same interface but no buttons.

              Steve

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              • D
                dreamslacker
                last edited by

                Based on the picture of that LCD unit and the brand…  I reckon that should be a KS0066U lcd.  Do try running it with a parallel port and as a HD44780 LCD.  It should work.  Pins 15 & 16 will be the backlight pins if that's the case.

                Update:  Based on the driver used, that's definitely HD44780 capable.  Just that the mapping was somewhat different when used with the Watchguard backplane and keypads.

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                • U
                  Unubtanium
                  last edited by

                  Thanks alot both of you for helping me with this. i will  give it a go and if it do not work, at least i will have everything ready for a  HD44780 LCD.

                  So now i am looking for a good wiring drawing to see if i need one or two potentiometers , some say one and some say two…

                  Dreamslacker do you know if the KS0066U is compatible with the HD44780 wiring? some sites say it is.

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                  • D
                    dreamslacker
                    last edited by

                    @Unubtanium:

                    Thanks alot both of you for helping me with this. i will  give it a go and if it do not work, at least i will have everything ready for a  HD44780 LCD.

                    So now i am looking for a good wiring drawing to see if i need one or two potentiometers , some say one and some say two…

                    Dreamslacker do you know if the KS0066U is compatible with the HD44780 wiring? some sites say it is.

                    Yes, it is.  Seems that the LCD is from SDEC anyway so the connection to the parallel port should be similar to connecting a HD44780 LCD.  The only caveat is that if they do not use a HD44780 controller, then you need to test with Linux/ pfSense and LCD proc with the sdeclcd.so files.

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                    • stephenw10S
                      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                      last edited by

                      I agree looking at the hardware it seems it should be HD44780 compatible. However it has a custom part number so it could be a special for Watchguard. Anyway it's an easy enough test to run and I can confirm that it doesn't work, at least not in 8-bit parallel mode with lcdproc 0.55. It's locked up my box now so I'm rebooting to test 4 bit mode.

                      Steve

                      Edit: I'm fairly sure it won't work since the backlight is controlled via the strobe bit, pin 1.

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                      • U
                        Unubtanium
                        last edited by

                        @stephenw10:

                        I agree looking at the hardware it seems it should be HD44780 compatible. However it has a custom part number so it could be a special for Watchguard. Anyway it's an easy enough test to run and I can confirm that it doesn't work, at least not in 8-bit parallel mode with lcdproc 0.55. It's locked up my box now so I'm rebooting to test 4 bit mode.

                        Steve

                        Edit: I'm fairly sure it won't work since the backlight is controlled via the strobe bit, pin 1.

                        Thanks for this Steve, i am now just going to find a pc with a printer port so i can test it and as mentioned if not working i at least are ready for my HD44780 LCD

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                        • U
                          Unubtanium
                          last edited by

                          Next on my list is to decide on is, wifi card, psu, storage device.

                          Here is what i am thinking:

                          Wifi:
                          Found a Intel WM3945ABG(wish it had N) when did go through my old laptop scrapyard, so thinking of using that with external antennas -> (http://www.broadbandstuff.co.uk/product_info.php?sku=Draytek_ANT-1005_-5dBi_Antennae(3_pack)&products_id=427)

                          PSU:
                          Here i go three choices of what i found in my scrapyard
                          1 X 12V 3.36 AMP
                          1 X 12V 4 AMP Think i will start with this one and check how much it will draw of power and if i can change to the  12V 3.36AMP
                          1 X 16V 3 AMP

                          Storager
                          Here i am not sure at all, i want to run snort and other things that might use some swap space.
                          Tried running snort on my current one with some rules and VERY quickly did not start saying not enough swap space.. SO i want to make sure that i have enough space for this.
                          So this leads me to thinking of not doing a embedded install and go down a install maybe on a laptop hdd or a small ssd. again NOT sure at all…

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                          • W
                            wallabybob
                            last edited by

                            @Unubtanium:

                            Wifi:
                            Found a Intel WM3945ABG(wish it had N)

                            Are you wanting a WiFi card that can act as an Access Point? Access Point mode is not supported by FreeBSD on many Intel WiFi cards.

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                            • U
                              Unubtanium
                              last edited by

                              @wallabybob:

                              @Unubtanium:

                              Wifi:
                              Found a Intel WM3945ABG(wish it had N)

                              Are you wanting a WiFi card that can act as an Access Point? Access Point mode is not supported by FreeBSD on many Intel WiFi cards.

                              You hit the nail on its head, that is just what i want it for, guess it is back to the scrapyard and pick out all the Wifi cards and check the all and HOPE i find one that i can use..

                              Edit: Only found a bcm94312mcg…  Now to look for info about using them as Access point with Freebsd

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • stephenw10S
                                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                last edited by

                                That particular Intel card is the only one that does support AP mode.  :)

                                https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AojFUXcbH0ROdHgwYkFHbkRUdV9hVWljVWl5SXkxbFE&hl=en#gid=0

                                Steve

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                                • W
                                  wallabybob
                                  last edited by

                                  @stephenw10:

                                  That particular Intel card is the only one that does support AP mode.  :)

                                  Interesting! The FreeBSD 8.1 man page for wpi (http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=wpi&apropos=0&sektion=0&manpath=FreeBSD+8.1-RELEASE+and+Ports&arch=default&format=html) says wpi supports 3945 but the modes listed don't include hostap. I don't have one to test  :)

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                                  • stephenw10S
                                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                    last edited by

                                    JimP vs man page, fight!  ;)

                                    Steve

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                                    • D
                                      dreamslacker
                                      last edited by

                                      Will be completely my last exam tonight.  I shall pop a pfSense usb livecd in my X60 laptop and check on the 3945 hostap mode.

                                      @OP:
                                      US$2.95 nets you a HD44780 2 x 16 LCD with free S&H:

                                      http://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/New-Character-LCD-Module-Display-LCM-1602-16X2-HD44780-Blue-Blacklight-/350499581767?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519b672f47

                                      Just have to take note that the seller is located in China and the Chinese Lunar New Year is on this coming Sunday so most of them will not be working for about 3 to 4 days (factory workers get up to a month off because it takes some of them up to 12 days to get home from work via public transport).

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                                      • U
                                        Unubtanium
                                        last edited by

                                        @dreamslacker:

                                        Will be completely my last exam tonight.  I shall pop a pfSense usb livecd in my X60 laptop and check on the 3945 hostap mode.

                                        @OP:
                                        US$2.95 nets you a HD44780 2 x 16 LCD with free S&H:

                                        http://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/New-Character-LCD-Module-Display-LCM-1602-16X2-HD44780-Blue-Blacklight-/350499581767?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519b672f47

                                        Just have to take note that the seller is located in China and the Chinese Lunar New Year is on this coming Sunday so most of them will not be working for about 3 to 4 days (factory workers get up to a month off because it takes some of them up to 12 days to get home from work via public transport).

                                        Damn, 12 days to get home… I am so glad that i am living where i live, takes me only 50 min..

                                        IN regards to the hostap mode, i will get it tested when i get this build done.

                                        So just to confirm, when they say on a ebay listing that it is KS0066U (Equivalent Hitachi HD44780 Controller), i can use that as it was a HD44780 and use the same connection schematics??  If so i will order this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LCD-16x2-Blue-White-HD44780-equivalent-Display-Module-/110802743481?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item19cc5bb0b9
                                        UK Stock and quick delivery  ;D

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                                        • U
                                          Unubtanium
                                          last edited by

                                          @ stephenw10

                                          Do you think it would be hard to make a small build with 2 LED's to indicate "armed green/red" and "alarm/ from snort/ipblocker green/read" that i can connect to the com2 header and have a software to control like you armed software for x500??  I can programing for Windows but have NOOOO clue for freebsd.. Maybe its time to learn  8)

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                                          • D
                                            dreamslacker
                                            last edited by

                                            @Unubtanium:

                                            Damn, 12 days to get home… I am so glad that i am living where i live, takes me only 50 min..

                                            IN regards to the hostap mode, i will get it tested when i get this build done.

                                            So just to confirm, when they say on a ebay listing that it is KS0066U (Equivalent Hitachi HD44780 Controller), i can use that as it was a HD44780 and use the same connection schematics??   If so i will order this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LCD-16x2-Blue-White-HD44780-equivalent-Display-Module-/110802743481?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item19cc5bb0b9
                                            UK Stock and quick delivery  ;D

                                            Yes.  KS0066U is identical in function to HD44780 (the difference lies in the speed of the controllers in the past).  You can get that if it ships faster, I just picked the cheapest option.  ;D

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