KeepGood2006
Inactive User
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2005
- Messages
- 552
- Reaction score
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Hi folks.
This is going to be a little post mainly for people who are new to this scene. Others may find some of the info useful though. I'm writing this because I actually stopped posting here for quite a while because I was sick of seeing 'What the latest news on....' and 'Its not working for me.....'. The answers to those two are simple, the first one is 'get off your arse and do some work yourself' and the second is 'Use the search button!'. Most of the time, your answer has probably already been answered alot of times. Read back more than one page on the forum, there are alot of posts, so recent posts can easily be 3 or so pages back. The latest new will almost always be posted anyway, so there is no need to constantly ask for it.....more to the point.....search for it, or even better, find it yourself and tell us all about it.
There will be alot of info in this post that isnt in detail, there will actually be alot more to it, but you should get enough info to do searches that will give you results. Also, when you dont know what something is, put it into google and search on that term, then when you think you've found out enough about that thing, go back and start reading again.
Right, I've done my griping, now onto the info.
Cable modems...firmware...console...Whats it all about?
The best way to think of a cable modem is like a PC. It has a processor (CPU), memory (RAM), storage (Flash ROM) and software (firmware). A modem usually uses a MIPS CPU, this is much like the Intel compatible chips used in PC's and the PowerPC based chips in alot of mac's, the MIPS chip is just more suited to modems. This small computer can be reconfigured just like a PC. Unfortunately taking to a modem directly isnt as easy as plugging in a monitor, keyboard and mouse. The main method used to talk to a modem is through a console, a console can be a telnet session, a shell in a web interface or terminal emulator using a max adapter (more to follow on a max adapter). The console on your PC is the keyboard, the thing you use to enter commands.
What do I need to get me started in this modem hacking business?
There are a few items it helps to have before digging into modem hacking. these item arent required but will make life easier. Try to get (or build) some of these...
Tools:
Soldering iron
Flux
Braid
Tweezers
Cleaning fluid
Multimeter/Circuit Tester
Electronic stuff:
MAX232 Adapter
JTAG Adapter
The tools I have mentioned are handy for dealing with modems, you will find you might need to d a bit of soldering during your hardware hacking days. A good soldering iron is a must. Dont try to use a big chunky thing then wonder how you managed to burn a hole on the modem. The last thing we want to hear is 'I used my dads mig-welder...what went wrong?'. A brain and a tad of common sense is a requirement! When it comes to a good iron, try to find something small, about 10 to 15 watt (no more than 15w!). I like Antex irons, 12w being my favourite. Like this one....
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?criteria=12w antex&doy=21m5&source=15
Flux and braid are very handy. Flux is a kind of paste that help metals bond together when soldering. Solder does have some flux in it but having a seperate pot of the stuff is better. When you see the smoke coming off the tip of your iron when you put some solder on it, its the flux burning away that makes most of that smoke. Braid is a fine copper braid that mops up excess solder. You can get these at electronics stores like Maplins and RS.
A good set of tweezers are needed when solder those tiny wee components You can hold the components carefully with the tips of your fingers if you want but say goodbye to your skin if you decide to do that.
Some kind of circuit tester or multimeter is good for simply checking if your soldering was successful, checking the connection etc.
Keep in mind, too much heat is bad. Dont hold your iron on the modem or components for too long or your start burning the board and/or the components. There really is no excuse for burning stuff with your iron, that just means you are rushing. Take your time, practice some soldering on old PC cards or motherboards, actually anything of relative size will do. Dont make your modem the first (and last) thing you ever solder.
After you have been playing around in your modem, clean up the area you were working in. Some nail varnish remover and some cotton buds works perfectly (bird/wife/sister 's makup bag is an excellent source for these). You can also get pcb cleaners in spray tins which is good too. Cleaning the work area will allow you to go back to it time and time again without making a mess of anything.
The electronics stuff I mentioned are really a requirement if you plan on doing alot of messing about with modems. The Max Adapter is a small adapter you either plug into or solder onto your modem. It has a small chip on it, usually a max232 (where the adapter gets its name). The max chip simply converts voltages. The modems CPU has a built in UART, this is the device thats speaks in the same language as your PC's com ports. It doesnt run at the same voltage though, thats what the max adapter does, it converts the signals coming in/out of the modem into the same voltages as your pc's com port. Then with a program called a terminal emulator you can watch the info coming from the modem. This is like attaching a keyboard and monitor to the modem.
The other device is a JTAG adapter. JTAG is a standard used by developers to talk to the devices (CPU, Flash etc) in embedded systems. The adapter allows you to debug the system you are working on. The main handy thing about this is it allows you to read/write the flash memory in the modem, the flash being the modems own storage, lke your pc's hard drive. You can use this to make a backup of the flash chip or reprogram it with new software. (like reinstalling windows on your pc). This means that you can try messeing about with your modem as much as you like (in the console) and you can always put it back to its original state. The JTAG interface commonly used to talk to a modem is called a Black Cat. Its a very simple interface that only uses one chip and some wire (at its minimum) to build. The schematics (plans to build it) are easy to find in the forums.
A little practice with the tools above and you'll be making JTAG's and max adapter's in your sleep.
Okay, I've made my interfaces. How do I talk to it?
I mentioned before the Terminal Emulator. That is the program used to talked to the modem. If you can every remember seeing those really crappy screens that had an old keyboard plugged into the side of them in offices, then you've seen a real terminal (and yes, if your dad has one in the garage you can plug it into your modem). Terminal Emulators will allow you to talk to your modem through your computers com port or over the network, this gives you the ability to see the info coming from your modem and allows you to type commands back to it.
Excellent, we're happening. Now how I give it commands?
The best place to start is by typing 'help' and press enter. Then try what it tells you. Dont worry about breaking it, you have a JTAG interface to make it work again.
So where do I get these different firmwares to try out?
I would start in the downlaods section. Its always a good place.
Oh no, it didnt work!
Well do it again, and again, and again. Then after 500 mugs of coffee (you can substitute this with Cola or beer) and three days later you can start scouring the forums for the problems you are having. You are rarely the first person to see that error.
That should get you started in the world of modem hacking. Now find out what modem you have, what firmwares it can run and go break it!
This is going to be a little post mainly for people who are new to this scene. Others may find some of the info useful though. I'm writing this because I actually stopped posting here for quite a while because I was sick of seeing 'What the latest news on....' and 'Its not working for me.....'. The answers to those two are simple, the first one is 'get off your arse and do some work yourself' and the second is 'Use the search button!'. Most of the time, your answer has probably already been answered alot of times. Read back more than one page on the forum, there are alot of posts, so recent posts can easily be 3 or so pages back. The latest new will almost always be posted anyway, so there is no need to constantly ask for it.....more to the point.....search for it, or even better, find it yourself and tell us all about it.
There will be alot of info in this post that isnt in detail, there will actually be alot more to it, but you should get enough info to do searches that will give you results. Also, when you dont know what something is, put it into google and search on that term, then when you think you've found out enough about that thing, go back and start reading again.
Right, I've done my griping, now onto the info.
Cable modems...firmware...console...Whats it all about?
The best way to think of a cable modem is like a PC. It has a processor (CPU), memory (RAM), storage (Flash ROM) and software (firmware). A modem usually uses a MIPS CPU, this is much like the Intel compatible chips used in PC's and the PowerPC based chips in alot of mac's, the MIPS chip is just more suited to modems. This small computer can be reconfigured just like a PC. Unfortunately taking to a modem directly isnt as easy as plugging in a monitor, keyboard and mouse. The main method used to talk to a modem is through a console, a console can be a telnet session, a shell in a web interface or terminal emulator using a max adapter (more to follow on a max adapter). The console on your PC is the keyboard, the thing you use to enter commands.
What do I need to get me started in this modem hacking business?
There are a few items it helps to have before digging into modem hacking. these item arent required but will make life easier. Try to get (or build) some of these...
Tools:
Soldering iron
Flux
Braid
Tweezers
Cleaning fluid
Multimeter/Circuit Tester
Electronic stuff:
MAX232 Adapter
JTAG Adapter
The tools I have mentioned are handy for dealing with modems, you will find you might need to d a bit of soldering during your hardware hacking days. A good soldering iron is a must. Dont try to use a big chunky thing then wonder how you managed to burn a hole on the modem. The last thing we want to hear is 'I used my dads mig-welder...what went wrong?'. A brain and a tad of common sense is a requirement! When it comes to a good iron, try to find something small, about 10 to 15 watt (no more than 15w!). I like Antex irons, 12w being my favourite. Like this one....
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?criteria=12w antex&doy=21m5&source=15
Flux and braid are very handy. Flux is a kind of paste that help metals bond together when soldering. Solder does have some flux in it but having a seperate pot of the stuff is better. When you see the smoke coming off the tip of your iron when you put some solder on it, its the flux burning away that makes most of that smoke. Braid is a fine copper braid that mops up excess solder. You can get these at electronics stores like Maplins and RS.
A good set of tweezers are needed when solder those tiny wee components You can hold the components carefully with the tips of your fingers if you want but say goodbye to your skin if you decide to do that.
Some kind of circuit tester or multimeter is good for simply checking if your soldering was successful, checking the connection etc.
Keep in mind, too much heat is bad. Dont hold your iron on the modem or components for too long or your start burning the board and/or the components. There really is no excuse for burning stuff with your iron, that just means you are rushing. Take your time, practice some soldering on old PC cards or motherboards, actually anything of relative size will do. Dont make your modem the first (and last) thing you ever solder.
After you have been playing around in your modem, clean up the area you were working in. Some nail varnish remover and some cotton buds works perfectly (bird/wife/sister 's makup bag is an excellent source for these). You can also get pcb cleaners in spray tins which is good too. Cleaning the work area will allow you to go back to it time and time again without making a mess of anything.
The electronics stuff I mentioned are really a requirement if you plan on doing alot of messing about with modems. The Max Adapter is a small adapter you either plug into or solder onto your modem. It has a small chip on it, usually a max232 (where the adapter gets its name). The max chip simply converts voltages. The modems CPU has a built in UART, this is the device thats speaks in the same language as your PC's com ports. It doesnt run at the same voltage though, thats what the max adapter does, it converts the signals coming in/out of the modem into the same voltages as your pc's com port. Then with a program called a terminal emulator you can watch the info coming from the modem. This is like attaching a keyboard and monitor to the modem.
The other device is a JTAG adapter. JTAG is a standard used by developers to talk to the devices (CPU, Flash etc) in embedded systems. The adapter allows you to debug the system you are working on. The main handy thing about this is it allows you to read/write the flash memory in the modem, the flash being the modems own storage, lke your pc's hard drive. You can use this to make a backup of the flash chip or reprogram it with new software. (like reinstalling windows on your pc). This means that you can try messeing about with your modem as much as you like (in the console) and you can always put it back to its original state. The JTAG interface commonly used to talk to a modem is called a Black Cat. Its a very simple interface that only uses one chip and some wire (at its minimum) to build. The schematics (plans to build it) are easy to find in the forums.
A little practice with the tools above and you'll be making JTAG's and max adapter's in your sleep.
Okay, I've made my interfaces. How do I talk to it?
I mentioned before the Terminal Emulator. That is the program used to talked to the modem. If you can every remember seeing those really crappy screens that had an old keyboard plugged into the side of them in offices, then you've seen a real terminal (and yes, if your dad has one in the garage you can plug it into your modem). Terminal Emulators will allow you to talk to your modem through your computers com port or over the network, this gives you the ability to see the info coming from your modem and allows you to type commands back to it.
Excellent, we're happening. Now how I give it commands?
The best place to start is by typing 'help' and press enter. Then try what it tells you.
Dont worry about breaking it, you have a JTAG interface to make it work again. So where do I get these different firmwares to try out?
I would start in the downlaods section. Its always a good place.
Oh no, it didnt work!
Well do it again, and again, and again. Then after 500 mugs of coffee (you can substitute this with Cola or beer) and three days later you can start scouring the forums for the problems you are having. You are rarely the first person to see that error.
That should get you started in the world of modem hacking. Now find out what modem you have, what firmwares it can run and go break it!
