Mobile Broadband

[twobit]

Okay, so assuming WiFi isn't up and running at release, I think I can survive without it. It just means *cringe* I'll have to use my eeepc for browsing or at worst, my PSP3k.

Anyway. My plan is to get roaming broadband through my ISP. My current ADSL2 plan allows me to pickup roaming broadband for $5.00 a month, gives me 500mb of bandwidth. Any excess will come off my 60gb plan. Upstream isn't charged, only downstream - sweet.

So, the USB modem they send out. Is it likely to work on the Pandora? Am I going to be able to check email, connect to my LPMUDS (discworld MUD!), browse the net while I'm on a train headed to work? The coverage here in Adelaide, Australia is great. It's not until you get far out of the city that you lose connectivity, but there's hot-spots all along major highways... anyway, I'm getting off track.

Am I going to be able to plug in a roaming/mobile broadband modem into my Pandora and get my internet on? I don't really want to do tethering... it means I'd have to convince my missus to let me buy a phone capable of it...

Cheers,
Twobit

 

[kingoddball]

If its a HighSpeed certified device. MOST new 3g dongles are. You should be fine.

 

[gruso]

See if you can find out what kind it is. Chances are it'll be a Huawei and you'll probably be fine. Who is your ISP? Got a link to the plan?

 

[Dead1nside]

Quite a lot of these 3G USB dongles are supported inside the Linux kernel itself (although I think the Pandora is using a slightly older kernel, for stability reasons). I don't think you'd have too many problems. A lot of the main ones here in the UK should be supported.

 

[twobit]

My plan is grandfathered through Internode (and mates rates due to a friend who works there). The modem is indeed Huawei. A Huawei E1762 to be exact. I can opt for the other E160E. Both are free with a 24 month contract.

 

[Prometheus]

The E160 (I've not heard the E160E mentioned before now, I must admit, so take this with a pinch of salt), is tested and working, apparently.

EDIT: It's also USB 2.0, so wouldn't need to be run through a USB hub.

 

[Trey]

Okay, so assuming WiFi isn't up and running at release, I think I can survive without it. It just means *cringe* I'll have to use my eeepc for browsing or at worst, my PSP3k.

I don't know about you but I still plan on using wifi. I'm getting one of these, http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/15/buffalos-802-11n-wifi-dongle-small-in-size-tiny-in-price/ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833162030 . Can't beat $31 USD either.

 

[gruso]

Google tells me that people are using the Huawei E1762 under Linux. Not tested on Pandora hardware of course, but it's likely to be fine. If not, you could probably swap it for an E160 later on.

@Trey, nice little product! Unfortunately for us Aussies, wifi isn't that useful outside the home. Getting a free (or cheeky) hotspot takes a bit of effort, even in the middle of Sydney.

 

[emil10001]

Here's a post I made back in '08 about using a bluetooth phone for a connection. I used to do this for a couple of years, but stopped once I got my G1, and now have wifi tethering. Bluetooth DUN might be easier since you shouldn't need any specific drivers for it.

EDIT:
Here's the old post:

Software:
bluez-utils (if using bluetooth for dialup instead of usb)
ppp
wvdial (not entirely necessary, but it's a good tool)

After installing openSuSE 11 natively on my MacBook Air, dial-up is one of the first things that I needed to get going. I've been favoring USB over bluetooth lately because I get longer up-times (connected without issue for several hours), so after a bit of looking around, wvdial seems to be the best tool to do both. It's pretty straight-forward and you only need one config file to set up both profiles. For anyone who's wondering, there are ARM and ARMEL versions of wvdial for Debian, so I'm sure that there won't be any issues getting it to run on the pandora.

When you install wvdial, it creates a config file called /etc/wvdial.conf and a ppp peers script called /etc/ppp/peers/wvdial; both files need to be edited.

CODE##/etc/ppp/peers/wvdial

plugin passwordfd.so
noauth
name wvdial
lcp-echo-failure 500000
lcp-echo-interval 600000


CODE##/etc/wvdial.conf

[Dialer Defaults]
Modem = /dev/ttyACM0
Baud = 12000000
Init1 = ATZ
Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
Area Code =
Phone = ATDT#777
Username = <Your Number>@vzw3g.com
Password =
Ask Password = 0
Dial Command =
Stupid Mode = 1
Compuserve = 0
Force Address =
Idle Seconds = 0
DialMessage1 =
DialMessage2 =
ISDN = 0
Auto DNS = 1
Auto Reconnect = 1
Dial Attempts = 3

[Dialer bluetooth]
Modem = /dev/rfcomm0


The following two lines are verizon specific, and would need to be modified for other carriers:
CODEPhone = ATDT#777
Username = <Your Number>@vzw3g.com

To create a "/dev/rfcomm0" (for a bluetooth connection), as root:

CODE#!/bin/bash
mknod /dev/rfcomm0 c 216 0
rfcomm bind 0 <BT Addr> 8


Then you just need to run "wvdial" (for usb) or "wvdial bluetooth" (for bluetooth) as root.

 

[LineOf7s]

Unfortunately for us Aussies, wifi isn't that useful outside the home. Getting a free (or cheeky) hotspot takes a bit of effort, even in the middle of Sydney.

Also unfortunately for us Aussies, wireless broadband is still extortionately-priced. Nevertheless, it's always nice to hear talk about stuff that's somewhat Aussie-specific.

 

[twobit]

Unfortunately for us Aussies, wifi isn't that useful outside the home. Getting a free (or cheeky) hotspot takes a bit of effort, even in the middle of Sydney.

Also unfortunately for us Aussies, wireless broadband is still extortionately-priced. Nevertheless, it's always nice to hear talk about stuff that's somewhat Aussie-specific.

Just a note that while I got a good plan from internode for dirt cheap, they offer plans for $15.00 p/month too. Pricey, but not too bad. Great ISP too, particularly for downloaders/gamers/software addicts.

 

[RajTakhar]

you could get what I use

An un-locked huwaei usb 3g dongle with a sim from an o2 Iphone

O2 give UK pay as you iphone users the option to spend £10 and have un-limited internet for a year

I got mine off ebay - it works great and was well worth £100 for 1 years unlimited 3G broadband service

I did look at plans - but they were ridiculous to say the least £15 a month for 5GB

I'm looking forward to using the 3G dongle on the pandora over using wi-fi (i got rid of the wi-fi as it was constantly being hacked into)

 

[ThaDSman]

Does anyone know if these will work? http://www.mycricket...oadband/devices (company sucks btw)
or maybe these from clear http://www.clear.com.../devices/mobile ?

Edit: Nevermind cricket, I could never work with 0.27 Mbps

 

[emil10001]

I'm still planning on using my android phone for tethering. It will do bluetooth in addition to wifi. So, that should work for me, if I need it.

 

[Dead1nside]

you could get what I use

An un-locked huwaei usb 3g dongle with a sim from an o2 Iphone

O2 give UK pay as you iphone users the option to spend £10 and have un-limited internet for a year

I got mine off ebay - it works great and was well worth £100 for 1 years unlimited 3G broadband service

I did look at plans - but they were ridiculous to say the least £15 a month for 5GB

I'm looking forward to using the 3G dongle on the pandora over using wi-fi (i got rid of the wi-fi as it was constantly being hacked into)

That's bloody brilliant. You don't happen to still have the seller's name do you? Unlimited 3G internet on a dongle for £100 for the year is amazing.

In reference to the person who posted the bluez-utils tutorial, is there a reason you can't use the GUI method now? NetworkManager's mobile broadband provider info database is pretty extensive, no manual settings, just a few clicks.

I've just been all around the forums saying that today