Hello everyone.

Hope the subject title isn't too generic.
I'm new here, and my name's Xander, and i'm currently in posession of a WRT54G v3.1 router.. possibly planning on a WRT54GL depending on success modding the WRT54G.
I purchased it in The Netherlands (Europe) and so far it's been a gem, apart from little problems such as occasional lockups.. which I mostly blame on the rather tacky Motorola Surfboard cable modem i'm stuck with.
Anyway, i've been aware of OpenWRT since before my purchase, I came upon OpenWRT when I was looking to de-brick a D-Link DI-604
When that took too long I purchased the WRT54G, and on the day of it's arrival.. I succeeded in de-bricking the DI-604. such luck.. but anyway, i'm better off with the WRT54G.
I've been trawling through the Wiki and the forums in search of information for hardware hacks/mods for my WRT54G, specifically version 3.1 which I have.
I've found a lot of information, but I must admit.. even though i'm not -that- old (27) I got a little lost after some 40 odd pages, as I couldn't find anything conclusive for the v3.1 regarding COM-port and SD/MMC card hacks.. and that is the reason I am posting here.

The plan is, or was, as follows:

1. Build myself a JTAG cable. This seems to be the preferred first step.
2. Flash with suitable OpenWRT made firmware, obviously.
3. add two COM-ports, first for a console, second for perhaps a thermal sensor, or lcd display..?
4. Possible RAM upgrade and/or overclock, plenty of suitable heatsinks available.
5. add one SD/MMC card slot
6. Enjoy.

So what i'm specifically seeking an answer on is.. what of the above is possible with a WRT54G 3.1?
I won't be able to buy the prebuilt COM-port modules, they will be too expensive to justify their purchase thanks to our local tax office and one of their 1997 laws regarding non-EU purchases being sent here by mail from abroad, so I will have to fashion my own based on the images I saw on this website, I might need help determining some component values since they aren't listed on the site (for obvious reasons ofcourse, can't make it too easy) or base it off of some other design.
Same for the SD/MMC card slot, i'm still looking for an alternative, might end up with a Micro SD card adapter and use that instead if I can't find something nicer.

Hoping i've not overstepped some rule posting this i'll scoot now and go to bed, since it's 1.19AM at the moment.
Actual hacking will have to wait a little. Thanks in advance for any advice or comment given.

Why don't you just start by flashing the router (through the web interface) after reseting to defaults.

Then start getting crazy with your mods.

just MHO.

Aaron

JTAG is no necessary unless you have a very recent version of WRT (not yours) or a bricked one, use TFTP, it's the actual preferred step for this.

If you got lost on the documentation you're probably not about to do a ram upgrade as it's very complex (I get lost to mind you).

Overclocking is possible not particularly a good idea, you'll need a JTAG for this as you'll probably brick it if you try overclocking. FYI I've had two out of 4 WRTs bricked for minor overclocking, JTAG brought them back.

SD/MMC is really only necessary if you're installing a lot or working with big files, it's not really going to improve normal performance.

I'll start on the firmware next weekend when i'm home, i'm just keeping a shopping list for myself.. firmware would only take 5 minutes, i'm looking for a challenge.
Not too worried about bricking it, a replacement WRT54GL is waiting for me in another town, plus making the JTAG cable gives me something to do.
I'm doing it for the challenge and the practise as well to be honest, not as much for performance really. I have soldering equipment begging for attention.
Reason (for me at least) I got lost on the documentation is because it's all a bit scattered and there's bits missing all over. That's okay, I think we're trying to gather information while learning anyway, which is ultimately my goal too.
So just need to fill in the gaps from the list above a little bit more.
I might actually have the exact same RAM chips on a pair of sticks, type as described by booBot, but will check later again to be sure. They are Kingston DDR-SDRAM modules.
SD/MMC; As far as installing a lot might go, depends on the packages I suppose. a small Samba or Shoutcast server might be nice but i'll worry about that later.

Thank you for replying.

Edit: speEling eeroooorrrss.

(Last edited by Xolo on 3 Oct 2007, 00:05)

Weekend is here.
Going to try freeing up some time to tinker with some firmwares, hopefully I won't get called away however.
As for the SD/MMC; I think I found a suitable device:product code 731133 - 89 on this site.
It's a 4 in 1 card holder, but looks usable and it's not expensive either, if it's unusable no big loss, but the downside is I have to wait
roughly a week before I get it, but I digress.
Forgot to take the RAM home with me, so that will also have to wait.

Flawless Flash: WRT54G v3.1 is now running Kamikaze 7.09 - using it right now.
I've saved the first dmesg output in case someone besides myself would be interested.
Next step is putting wireless back on air.

Wireless back up again with WPA PSK, no mac filtering yet though.

Brought the RAM home. It is a Kingston KVR400X64C3A/512, 8 chips double sided 512MB PC3200 CL3 184-pin module, not the exact same as as seen here as it's missing the 'S' in the middle of 'X64C3A'.