Bleeding ASUS WL 500G Premium
On Habré, there were already a couple of articles about a very good ASUS WL 500G Premium router.
The device has quite a good potential - a rather nimble Broadcom BCM4704 processor, 32 MB of RAM, two USB ports (albeit not with a high bandwidth). Uploaded the Wi-Fi module, the limit of which is 54Mbps when using 802.11g. But for a laptop, netbook, communicator and other mobile devices is enough.
This stuffing just required more proper use than ASUS programmers wanted. Therefore, both modifications of the native firmware (firmware from Oleg`a oleg.wl500g.info ) and completely new projects (DD-WRT www.dd-wrt.com ) were created.
The ability to connect an external hard disk via a USB interface and install a torrent client (Transmission, rtorrent) to unload the big brother and sleep at night in complete silence proved to be in great demand.
All these operations were carried out (about this it will be possible to write another article) and a kind of seldbox was obtained, which did a very good job with its duties.
')
... the number of torrents being handed out did not exceed 150 pieces. With so many hands, the router began to slow down noticeably, the presence of a swap on the hard disk did not save the situation. Therefore, it was decided to add RAM to this wonderful piece of iron.
The basis for this was the article www.wl500g.info/showthread.php?t=7048 which was written by Oleg, the author of the firmware of the same name, and also, the subsequent discussion by the forum participants www.wl500g.info/showthread.php?t=7523 .
After reading this topic for a couple of days, I had come to terms with the loss of the router (for you always have to be prepared for the worst) and started searching for the required chips for the upgrade.
Only chips matching the following conditions were suitable for this operation:
1) DDR 1 microcircuits with a frequency of 333mhz or higher (it is desirable that the chip work with a Cl2 delay of 333Mhz stable).
2) The internal organization of the chip should be 32M x 16 (read as 32 megaslova to 16 digits).
3) 66-PIN TSOP IC Case
The list of tested chips and memory modules from which they were removed can also be found in the already mentioned forum www.wl500g.info/showpost.php?p=122252&postcount=630
A couple of days later, a 256Mb DIMM PC3200 module was found with the label Hynix HYMD532646CP6J-D43 and Hynix HY5DU121622CTP-D43 chips.
For transplantation were used:
So, we understand our router. To do this, it is enough to peel off the rubber feet at the bottom. Under them 4 self-tapping screws. Unscrew them and remove the cover. The board is mounted on four guides and you can remove it just by hooking it with your finger. Do not forget to disconnect Wi-Fi waveguide before this. In the photo at the bottom right we see a metal plate. This is a cover that protects the circuit connecting the processor and RAM from electromagnetic interference.
With a screwdriver, the cover is easily removed.
Under it are two chips of RAM from Samsung (there are also options with Hynix and Winbond), a processor, and a flash memory of 8 megabytes in which the firmware is stored. For the convenience of subsequent manipulations, I would recommend to remove the cross, cutting it with nippers near the ribs that go around the perimeter.
On the other side of the board, for the same shielding, a rectangular piece of foil is glued, which must be carefully removed. Below it are tracks of address lines with current-limiting resistors.
Before carrying out the replacement of memory, you will need to solder a 33 Ohm resistor to the empty spot under the number R43. This will allow the address line A12 to be used to address all 128 megabytes of memory that we install. A resistor of this size and size can be removed from the same DDR module that donated chips, or from defective IDE hard drives, or simply bought from a radio parts store.
So, the resistor is soldered.
Let's start replacing the chips. The chips are soldered to a refractory lead-free solder. In my case, the solder began to "float" at 420 degrees, according to the station indicator. Apply flux to the terminals of the chip - a little. Heat the legs gently on both sides and remove the chip with tweezers.
In the absence of a soldering station, you can use a 60-watt soldering iron with a flat tip. In this case, it will be necessary to pass a thread under the leads and, heating them with a soldering iron, before melting the solder, gently pull it up, first soldering one side of the chip, and then the other.
Repeat the operation for another chip.
Next, using a tape to remove solder, remove the remnants of the old solder. To do this, just put the tape on top of the remaining solder and heat it through the tape with a soldering iron.
The photo is not mine, but the process is clear
The tape is woven of thin copper veins and impregnated with flux, it will draw in solder. The area that is saturated with solder is cut off and thrown away. As a result, we get a clean contact pads.
Further, we apply flux on them, and with the help of a soldering iron we apply LC-60 solder, it is not so refractory and it is much easier to work with it. This eliminates the non-fouling, which could arise if you leave the old refractory solder. As a result, you should get well tinned contacts.
Focusing on the key, impose a chip on the board.
And we pass a thin soldering iron on each leg, causing the solder to melt under it and press it to the contact pad. The same operation for another chip.
Solder all, take a cotton swab, alcohol and wipe the traces of flux on the board and between the legs of the chips. Along the way, we inspect for the presence of "snot", i.e. unwanted connection of adjacent chip feet, which could result from an inaccurate touch with a soldering iron, shaking hands, and other terrestrial and extraterrestrial factors. We also inspect for possible non-soldering, i.e. not high-quality contact output and site of the printed circuit board.
If everything is all right, we wait while, alcohol will dry and we turn on the device. With a quality job, the router loads immediately: the “Power” indicator will light up and after 5-10 seconds “Air” will light up.
If you have turned on the device, and the Power indicator is off and Air is dim, this indicates that the router has not booted. The reason for this is, as a rule, not drinking (to eliminate, once again, walk around each leg with a soldering iron), or “snot” (take a magnifying glass or lens, a desk lamp, and carefully inspect the soldering sites) to remove excess we use a tape and a soldering iron.
After successful loading of the router, we go into its console via telnet or ssh and enter commands that will enable the programmatic addressing of all 128 megabytes.
Reboot the router
And using the
At the moment, after such an upgrade, the router successfully copes with the distribution of 213 torrents without any visible slowdowns.
PS In the same way, you can increase the amount of RAM in ASUS WL500G Premium v2 and D-Link 320 routers. But they have only one chip inside, so you can only increase it to 64 megabytes.
The device has quite a good potential - a rather nimble Broadcom BCM4704 processor, 32 MB of RAM, two USB ports (albeit not with a high bandwidth). Uploaded the Wi-Fi module, the limit of which is 54Mbps when using 802.11g. But for a laptop, netbook, communicator and other mobile devices is enough.
This stuffing just required more proper use than ASUS programmers wanted. Therefore, both modifications of the native firmware (firmware from Oleg`a oleg.wl500g.info ) and completely new projects (DD-WRT www.dd-wrt.com ) were created.
The ability to connect an external hard disk via a USB interface and install a torrent client (Transmission, rtorrent) to unload the big brother and sleep at night in complete silence proved to be in great demand.
All these operations were carried out (about this it will be possible to write another article) and a kind of seldbox was obtained, which did a very good job with its duties.
')
... the number of torrents being handed out did not exceed 150 pieces. With so many hands, the router began to slow down noticeably, the presence of a swap on the hard disk did not save the situation. Therefore, it was decided to add RAM to this wonderful piece of iron.
The basis for this was the article www.wl500g.info/showthread.php?t=7048 which was written by Oleg, the author of the firmware of the same name, and also, the subsequent discussion by the forum participants www.wl500g.info/showthread.php?t=7523 .
After reading this topic for a couple of days, I had come to terms with the loss of the router (for you always have to be prepared for the worst) and started searching for the required chips for the upgrade.
Only chips matching the following conditions were suitable for this operation:
1) DDR 1 microcircuits with a frequency of 333mhz or higher (it is desirable that the chip work with a Cl2 delay of 333Mhz stable).
2) The internal organization of the chip should be 32M x 16 (read as 32 megaslova to 16 digits).
3) 66-PIN TSOP IC Case
The list of tested chips and memory modules from which they were removed can also be found in the already mentioned forum www.wl500g.info/showpost.php?p=122252&postcount=630
A couple of days later, a 256Mb DIMM PC3200 module was found with the label Hynix HYMD532646CP6J-D43 and Hynix HY5DU121622CTP-D43 chips.
For transplantation were used:
- Soldering station with soldering iron and hairdryer Lukey 852D + Fan
- Flux for soldering electronic components F-2000
- Solder LC-60
- Solder removal tape (a very useful thing, allows you to easily and quickly remove excess solder and clean up blunders after soldering)
- Isopropyl alcohol. To remove flux residues after soldering
- Cotton swabs for ease of use of alcohol
- A lot of patience
So, we understand our router. To do this, it is enough to peel off the rubber feet at the bottom. Under them 4 self-tapping screws. Unscrew them and remove the cover. The board is mounted on four guides and you can remove it just by hooking it with your finger. Do not forget to disconnect Wi-Fi waveguide before this. In the photo at the bottom right we see a metal plate. This is a cover that protects the circuit connecting the processor and RAM from electromagnetic interference.
With a screwdriver, the cover is easily removed.
Under it are two chips of RAM from Samsung (there are also options with Hynix and Winbond), a processor, and a flash memory of 8 megabytes in which the firmware is stored. For the convenience of subsequent manipulations, I would recommend to remove the cross, cutting it with nippers near the ribs that go around the perimeter.
On the other side of the board, for the same shielding, a rectangular piece of foil is glued, which must be carefully removed. Below it are tracks of address lines with current-limiting resistors.
Before carrying out the replacement of memory, you will need to solder a 33 Ohm resistor to the empty spot under the number R43. This will allow the address line A12 to be used to address all 128 megabytes of memory that we install. A resistor of this size and size can be removed from the same DDR module that donated chips, or from defective IDE hard drives, or simply bought from a radio parts store.
So, the resistor is soldered.
Let's start replacing the chips. The chips are soldered to a refractory lead-free solder. In my case, the solder began to "float" at 420 degrees, according to the station indicator. Apply flux to the terminals of the chip - a little. Heat the legs gently on both sides and remove the chip with tweezers.
In the absence of a soldering station, you can use a 60-watt soldering iron with a flat tip. In this case, it will be necessary to pass a thread under the leads and, heating them with a soldering iron, before melting the solder, gently pull it up, first soldering one side of the chip, and then the other.
Repeat the operation for another chip.
Next, using a tape to remove solder, remove the remnants of the old solder. To do this, just put the tape on top of the remaining solder and heat it through the tape with a soldering iron.
The photo is not mine, but the process is clear
The tape is woven of thin copper veins and impregnated with flux, it will draw in solder. The area that is saturated with solder is cut off and thrown away. As a result, we get a clean contact pads.
Further, we apply flux on them, and with the help of a soldering iron we apply LC-60 solder, it is not so refractory and it is much easier to work with it. This eliminates the non-fouling, which could arise if you leave the old refractory solder. As a result, you should get well tinned contacts.
Focusing on the key, impose a chip on the board.
And we pass a thin soldering iron on each leg, causing the solder to melt under it and press it to the contact pad. The same operation for another chip.
Solder all, take a cotton swab, alcohol and wipe the traces of flux on the board and between the legs of the chips. Along the way, we inspect for the presence of "snot", i.e. unwanted connection of adjacent chip feet, which could result from an inaccurate touch with a soldering iron, shaking hands, and other terrestrial and extraterrestrial factors. We also inspect for possible non-soldering, i.e. not high-quality contact output and site of the printed circuit board.
If everything is all right, we wait while, alcohol will dry and we turn on the device. With a quality job, the router loads immediately: the “Power” indicator will light up and after 5-10 seconds “Air” will light up.
If you have turned on the device, and the Power indicator is off and Air is dim, this indicates that the router has not booted. The reason for this is, as a rule, not drinking (to eliminate, once again, walk around each leg with a soldering iron), or “snot” (take a magnifying glass or lens, a desk lamp, and carefully inspect the soldering sites) to remove excess we use a tape and a soldering iron.
After successful loading of the router, we go into its console via telnet or ssh and enter commands that will enable the programmatic addressing of all 128 megabytes.
nvram set sdram_init=0x0011
nvram set sdram_config=0x0062
nvram commit
Reboot the router
rebootAnd using the
free command, we see the available amount of RAM.At the moment, after such an upgrade, the router successfully copes with the distribution of 213 torrents without any visible slowdowns.
PS In the same way, you can increase the amount of RAM in ASUS WL500G Premium v2 and D-Link 320 routers. But they have only one chip inside, so you can only increase it to 64 megabytes.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/85128/
All Articles