<jesperj> wpwrak whitequark roh : http://www.jx4.org/images/hardware/cell_phones/sws_f96/ images of the phone
<jesperj> reposting link to the pastebin with background info: (ignore the image links in the pastebin, they are included in the jx4.org gallery): http://pastebin.com/SMB2tsUG
<wpwrak> jesperj: i admire your persistence ;-) i hope you realize there's a 99.9% chance that this phone will be unfriendly. of course, there's 0.1% that it could actually be yet another viable platform for hacking
<jesperj> wpwrak: I have ocd and asperger's syndrome :P
<wpwrak> jesperj: the cans look hostile. almost certainly not removable. (which is to be expected - removable shields are more expensive than the not removable ones)
<jesperj> I have 25+ banana boxes of various electronics scrap 2 meters from me
<jesperj> I spend like 90% of my time at my computer with (to most people) boring and pointless projects
<jesperj> It's just how I am
<jesperj> ...
<wpwrak> jesperj: (ocd) oh ... i always thought there was something wrong with OpenOCD ;-))
<jesperj> heh
<jesperj> yeah it's a funny name for a project
<wpwrak> jesperj: alright. that chip with the birdshit is something minor, that much is clear. the MT6223CA is this: http://read.pudn.com/downloads153/ebook/673415/MT 6223 GSM GPRS Baseband Processor Technical Brief.pdf
<wpwrak> by the degree of integration, this seems to be a relatively old design. from the front screen shot it appears to be a feature phone. so it should have something like two chips :)
<wpwrak> jesperj: STM seem to have an M36 series of chips. but i can't get any useful information about them.
<wpwrak> heh, cool. their web site loads ~300 images just to tell me that "no sush product exists". we should bring back the good old custom of drawing and quartering. some "web designers" desperately need it.
<jesperj> "alright. that chip with the birdshit is something minor, that much is clear" LOL "birdshit" \o/
<wpwrak> nevertheless, some of the shady data sheet sites advertize information about such a chip (m36). if you have the patience to go through all the layers of advertising, you may even find out what it is :)
<jesperj> oh tell me about it. the web really needs a "back to basics" reform
<wpwrak> (birdshit) yeah, i've been working up the courage to properly name it all the evening ;-)
<jesperj> i hate all the javascript or flash crap for even being able to click a freakin link
<jesperj> and it was worth the time!
<jesperj> "birdshit" is the best word for it!
<wpwrak> jesperj: (flash) you should move to argentina. around here, everyone *loves* flash.
<jesperj> notes: move to exact opposite spot on the globe from Argentina
<jesperj> when I go browsing the web, I want html
<jesperj> thanks for the info you could dig out so far though
<wpwrak> hmm, that would be somewhere in china. japan isn't too far, though. if you don't plan to have children, or to live to an old age, not a bad choice. otherwise, taiwan is also a good candidate.
<jesperj> I am tempted to open those RF shields and see what is under
<jesperj> and I forgot to check under the display also
<jesperj> japan... doesn't sound very tempting atm heh
<wpwrak> jesperj: (RF shield) if you have only one phone, it may not be worth the trouble. if you have several, why not :) what you'll find are a few RF chips. they will all be very very poorly documented.
<jesperj> only one phone
<jesperj> and I think the guy who bought it got this in Algeria
<jesperj> but it could have been on one of several stops between Algeria and here on the trip back
<jesperj> didn't ask for details
<jesperj> and this seems to be a rare model
<wpwrak> yes, it certainly looks a bit odd
<wpwrak> i'd say the design is 5+ years old
<jesperj> yeah, it's not advanced compared to todays standard
<wpwrak> if you wanted to "dissect" it, you could put a scope to the TXD line and see what happens there. if it's dead, repeat with RXD.
<wpwrak> but again, this is an ancient freak. so there's no real value in doing this, except for personal satisfaction.
<jesperj> well it's got an arm chip on it. maybe os could be replaced with linux
<jesperj> i don't need a "smartphone" really, I would be happy with getting control of the OS on the phone
<jesperj> it doesn't matter that it's old and not super high tech
<jesperj> to me
<wpwrak> jesperj: well, you;d first have to find out how it boots. then find a way to change the content of the boot media - or change the boot media.
<wpwrak> jesperj: next, you'd have to find out where the modem is located and was language it talks. if you're lucky, it's AT (hayes). if you're not, it's something else.
<wpwrak> jesperj: there are some small details like power saving. it's almost certain that you'll never figure out how to do that without access to proper documentation of the modem.
<wpwrak> jesperj: of course, you could just shut down the modem and never even think of using it
<jesperj> we'll see. I might drop this tomorrow or I might be stubborn about it. :) It's hard for me to tell myself what projects I just abandon and which I will stubbornly continue forever.
<jesperj> there is no pattern....
<jesperj> nods
<jesperj> this is why we need *points to topic* Copyleft hardware
<jesperj> I totally support the channel goals
<wpwrak> jesperj: heh :-) well, the question is what values it really has. if you're capable of actually making the whole thing work well under linux, then your exceptional and rare talent would be wasted on a platform of which only one known implementation exists
<jesperj> Control should be in the hands of the users, not the corporations. When someone buys a product, they should be able to use 100% of it.
<jesperj> then your exceptional and rare talent would be wasted on a platform of which only one known implementation exists < very true.
<jesperj> but... I just get these ideas and feel like I have to do them
<jesperj> it is quite dumb I know that
<jesperj> since it is a waste or resources
<wpwrak> jesperj: ever thought of joining osmocom ? they have roughly the same goal, but they have a platform that's pretty wide-spread
<jesperj> I just checked it out. It does seem like an interesting project.
<jesperj> Good that it is out there.
<wpwrak> jesperj: or if you prefer the "lone ranger" approach, at least pick a platform that's produced in large quantities and where the devices are found in mainstream markets
<wpwrak> jesperj: there are a lot of cheap feature phones, many of them based on MTK chips
<jesperj> Osmocom actually looks REALLY interesting. Thanks for mentioning it :)
<wpwrak> hehe, glad that you like it :)
<jesperj> Thanks for the info and chat wpwrak. I should try to get ready for sleep soon. It's 05:20 here.
<jesperj> I'll be around.
<wpwrak> jesperj: sweet dreams ! :)
<jesperj> Thanks :)
<kristianpaul> still alive
<rejon> what's the best page for a ben-wpan summary?
<rejon> tuxbrain
<rejon> wpwrak ?
<rjeffries> if you have an Android phone, this device might be interesting: http://ytai-mer.blogspot.com/2011/04/meet-ioio-io-for-android.html
<wpwrak> rejon: (wpan page) there ain't none so far. it's all on the mailing list :)
<rejon> cool, would be good to have a summary
<rejon> its cool
<rejon> had to cobble something together to explain to nlnet.nl
<wpwrak> rejon: here's tuxbrain's page on the topic: http://www.tuxbrain.com/en/content/we-will-put-wireless-nanonote
<Jay7> hm.. another idea for nanonote - QR-code generator
<Jay7> and use it as your mobile business-card
<rjeffries> wpwrak how do these specs for iPad addon scope measure up, for the money?
<wpwrak> rjeffries: a pretty poor device. it would be barely sufficient to properly show a 1 MHz rectangle signal (in the analog domain. the digital domain might be good up to about 3 MHz)
<wpwrak> rjeffries: still, i'd consider it a waste of money. add ~USD 120 more and you can get a real scope, with two analog inputs, 50 MHz usable bandwidth, deep memory, etc.
<wpwrak> rjeffries: ah yes, and the memory is also ridiculously small. 240 samples ! that's by far the smallest i've ever seen. this is little more than a toy.
<rjeffries> wpwrak thanks and understood.
<wpwrak> rjeffries: at such low sample rates, they ought to be able to just stream the data to the host (pc, ipad, etc.). that would give them at least "infinite" memory. kinda odd that they don't even do that much.