Hello,

I am Daan Pape from DPTechnics, a tech startup from Belgium. We really like all electronics and software enthusiasts and therefore decided to sell OpenWRT modules based on the AR9331 chipset. Our webshop is just finished and we are waiting
for the first batch of hardware arriving at our office.

https://dptechnics.com/shop/?q=productdisplay/openwrt-module

This module is for the advanced projects requiring something more specialized than a Hacked router. You can virtually make anything you want and OpenWRT comes preinstalled on these modules.

As for the last I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New year from the DPTechnics team.

(Last edited by dpape on 23 Dec 2013, 15:25)

Great was just about to chop up a router
Anyway i see that the board runs on 3.3v how much tolerance is on that? can I just use a cheap ass adapter the rougly delivers 3.3v?

Also what is the time you will have them in stock?

Also it is worth mentioning in the webshop what openwrt version comes installed on it.

Also your subscription mail goes straight to the spam folder (gmail). Seems some more formatting of the email would prevent that issue.

For some reason I also get an activation email with link and an reset password email. (before activating)

(Last edited by FriedZombie on 24 Dec 2013, 02:22)

Hi Daan,

what is the wifi module used? 2.4Ghz?

(Last edited by elppaapp on 24 Dec 2013, 03:32)

You may find the same modules on Ali, eBay, Taobao, etc. For example (it is not mine offer!): http://www.aliexpress.com/item/FREE-SHI … 47330.html

Hello,

@FriedZombie: thank you for your website feedback, we will work on our email settings as soon as possible. The 3.3V is quite strict, but we have succesfully run the board on 3.5V also. For optimal working of the module I would advice to use a simple LDO after your adapter. We are working on some reference designs. We expect the first batch of these modules this week, maybe the week after that.

@elppaapp: the WiFi module used is 2.4GHz and uses WiFi g/n

@pepe2k: I know these modules can be found on several chinese trading sites. But they are always sold in lots of 2 or more pieces. We are the only shop offering this module per piece and we will feature this module in various tutorials and good technical documents based on testing in our electronics workshop.

Kind regards,
Daan

Yeah I found other modules as well, but compared to a cheap router they still are double in price. If that's the case it is tempting to just buy a router and toss the shell of it and use that instead.

I also don't need that many gpio ports, but it is nice the devboard does have them. and the price is cheap compared to others.

(Last edited by FriedZombie on 24 Dec 2013, 16:13)

I am glad to inform you the module is now in stock. The datasheet is also available:

https://www.dptechnics.com/datasheets/openwrtmodule_datasheet_rev1.pdf

The new version of the module is now in stock and has CE/FCC certification

Ok, but it is still expensive...

You can get a Carambola2 for 22.99€, including VAT + 7€ shipping to the EEC:
http://shop.8devices.com/carambola2

These are also CE/FCC/RoHS certified, have the same Flash/DRAM capacities and are smaller (28 x 38 mm vs. 27.5 x 52 mm). they don't have a PCB antenna, but I don't really consider this as a drawback, more as an advantage.

And 8Devices provide OpenWrt-based firmwares, have a good Wiki and forum too!

You won't sell a module at this price to hackers who can find a full GL.iNet for 22.50€ (http://www.ebay.com/itm/321374631987), nor to professionals that can get the same module you propose for half this price in small quantities directly from Gainstrong on Alibaba (http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/openwrt-11n-wireless-router_1718626918.html)...

... and 30 modules on stock

Hello,

Low stock quantities is company policy, we can have new stock withing a few days. We are busy working on a very cheap development board but with many capabilities. Because of optimization we could lower the price to only €24,95 including VAT and only €3,5 international shipping. This makes it just a little bit cheaper than the Carambola 2.

We really like the OpenWRT community and are busy with setting up our git repository. Please visit our site soon for updates.

Kinds regards,
Daan

At this moment, without any hardware/software support from your side, this offer is, IMHO, not very attractive... anyway, I can buy the same modules in China for ~8 EUR (without VAT and shipping, of course), in small quantities (like your stock) and even cheaper in larger OQ.

So, what I can get from you for another ~12 EUR (VAT and shipping not included) for the same hardware, from the same manufacturer in China?

(Last edited by pepe2k on 29 Apr 2014, 12:06)

As Pepe2k pointed out above, €30 can get someone a nice and better equipped hardware (with enclosure/casing + an AC/DC adapter) from China (with mostly free S/H) to readily run OpenWRT.

For a more adventurous individual with a budget around €20, it really is not hard to find a dual-core Android miniPC with 1/8 GB RAM/NAND from China (free S/H) to hack and run OpenWRT. For a €30, perhaps one can easily find a quad-core Android miniPC with 2/8 GB RAM/NAND from China. FYI, such an Android device comes with a built-in mediocre WiFi module and an AC/DC adapter, too.

Hello,

You are absolutly right that without the development board it is less attractive. But we plan to release our development board within one month from now without making the price much higher. Software support will be released at the same time. The product now is a little cheaper that Carambola 2 and for early adopters.

As our company embraces hardware enthusiasts we will always answer and work with you to reach your project goals and you get your product faster and without additional customs costs. When our development board comes available I will certainly post it in this topic.

As I pointed out before the module offers much more IO and is smaller than some china routers. This enables one to build some really cool Internet of Things devices.

Thank you for your feedback on our products.

Mvg,
Daan

(Last edited by dpape on 29 Apr 2014, 14:23)

@mazilo
Fully agree, but... there is something, that may be worth of extra cash - good software and/or hardware support. Take a look for example at WE-IO project: http://www.we-io.net. It's based on Carabola 2 module with custom made board, with Cortex-M0 MCU and custom software, based of course on OpenWRT

It won't be "cheap" like stuff from China, but IMHO it will be worth paying more for such a great support in software.

@dpape
At this moment, all you have is just an AR9331 based module from China. I have a bunch of them on my desk (the same, new version which you are trying to sell here)... You are just a reseller of them, nothing more, at least for now IMHO, you should first make a real product, then start selling it. What you are doing now is just "selling promises".

As you pointed out above, even the product dpage tries to sell is not only from China, but identical. In other words, I don't consider the Android miniPC from China is cheap, but rather inexpensive. There is a huge difference between cheap and inexpensive. The former lacks quality (as in lemon) while the later is a more in savings with good (if not the same or even better) quality as the comparable expensive products. For instance, a lot of folks jumped into bandwagon and paid more or less 2x the price of an Rpi system by the time they finish building the Rpi to start hacking it. This includes the price of the base Rpi unit (US$25) + enclosure casing ($10) + an AC/DC adapter ($10) + several S/H charges from many different vendors. They all will easily add up to US$50+. At the same time, I spent a little less than US$50 + 6% local sale TAX to buy five units of Seagate GoFLEX NET while some friends spent about US$15 (already includes S/H fees) to buy a used and/or new Seagate Dockstar from e-bay. Granted an Rpi comes with a newer CPU clocked @800MHz and more RAM than any Seagate Dockstar and/or GoFLEX NET. But, the Seagate devices CPU is clocked @1.2GHz and that makes any application runs smoother.

BTW, I visited the link you provided above and noticed the software is under a GPL3. Do you know the link to download the source code of the software?

(Last edited by mazilo on 29 Apr 2014, 15:46)

They have a repository on GitHub: https://github.com/nodesign/weio

Thank you. I believe this package has already include scripts to build under the OpenWRT environment.

Not for hackers, but for somebody building a product it is not acceptible to buy not certified and not calibrated parts like GL.iNet you mentioned!

I wouldn't mind paying extra for similar device to GL.iNet but that is fully certified and with proper wifi calibration data (ART partition).

Availability is also a really important thing for processional use, for example link that you posted it not selling anymore. If I was using these devices for my professional project I would be in real problem.

We have used Carambola 2 devices and they are really great, but support from the company is really lacking! We would gladly pay more and especially if you offer special payed support and if your devices are quickly available in EU.

Good luck guys, you are on the right track!

(Last edited by valentt on 8 Jun 2014, 18:38)

Whoow, this WeIO looks really nice! @pepe2k do you know of any other interesting products like WeIO or similar ones based on OpenWrt?

This is why I mentioned both solutions

It looks like GL.iNet is putting a lot of efforts to get things right, having these routers both properly calibrated and certified.

Please check again: they have been out of stock for over a month, but they are available again. And if I believe pepe2k (which I do!), they have been available to professional customers without any interrupt in the meantime.

I don't think so: proposing modules at 2x the price you can get them on the Chinese market in small quantities with only a limited stock of 30 units and support from what looks like a single one person is not interesting for hackers, nor for business users IMHO.

You were just complaining above about the Carambola2 because of its availability

Hello,

I'm not just selling promises I think, I'm selling exactly what is on the site. And that is a certified (CE/FCC/RoHS) AR9331 module, we are setting up our github repositories and our second revision of the breakout board is now built in the PCB factory. You can follow our progress on https://www.facebook.com/dptechnics

We have written some custom software for easy GPIO control and as soon as it is available we will release it on our gitHub. We want to make everything open source, even our development processes. Therefore we like to keep people up to date on facebook and twitter.

Kind regards,
Daan

@dpape, can you please share which are all GPIO pins on Carambola 2 that are freely used, and that don't cause bootloader to stop loading or any other issues. Thanks.

Hello,

I don't own a Carambola 2 device, we sell an other module with similar capabilities and built in WiFi antenna. The GPIO information can be found in the datasheet https://www.dptechnics.com/datasheets/openwrtmodule_datasheet_rev2.pdf

Kind regards,
Daan