OpenWrt on RAVPower RP-WD03

WARNING: Once I put OpenWrt on my FileHub Plus, I couldn't restore back to the original firmware.  I am not saying it is impossible, I just couldn't find any working directions.

Recently, I decided that I wanted to play around with OpenWrt  I was aware of it, but never really took the time to try it out.  I had a RAVPower RP-WD03 travel router that I really wasn't using, and it seemed like a good starting point.  I didn't take detailed notes unfortunately, so this post will just be a high level summary.  Also this information was current as of 8/17/2021, but as time goes on of course some of it might change.

Using the directions in the OpenWrt Wiki ( https://openwrt.org/toh/ravpower/rp-wd03 ) I was able to get OpenWrt installed.  I ended up using a snapshot build, which didn't have LuCI installed so I had to figure that part out.  As a note, the directions under the "Installation section" shows two files being renamed to kernel and rootfs, but when you look lower in the "OEM installation using the TFTP method" section you will see the file two method is used for snapshot builds and recent releases.  As of right now the latest stable build is 19.07.8, you can grab the correct file using the firmware selector ( https://firmware-selector.openwrt.org/ ).  You end up renaming that one file to "kernel" when you share it via TFTP, instead of the two file method for snapshot builds.

While getting familiar with OpenWrt, I started to play around with adding software and quickly ran into space issues since the WD03 only has 8MB of storage.  At that point, I set the WD03 aside and shifted my attention to getting OpenWrt working on my Raspberry Pi 4.  I might pull together another post later on that.

Once I was a bit more comfortable with OpenWrt, I decided that I needed to do something with the WD03.  I tried my best to restore the original factory image, but despite following the directions I could find online nothing worked.  For some reason I had it in my mind that the low RAM was the issue, but then I remembered it was the storage space not the RAM.  Next thing I did was start to read up on what I could safely remove from OpenWrt.  It turns out that, due to the way OpenWrt uses SqashFS you don't really save space just by deleting files.  The best option to save space on OpenWrt is to do a custom image.

So making a custom image was my next focus, as always first step was to read up on it a bit.  The OpenWrt Wiki ( https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/additional-software/imagebuilder ) again was very helpful.  I used those directions, and the information on saving space ( https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/additional-software/saving_space ) to setup a custom build for my WD03.  It worked great, and best part is while I am messing around with the WD03 if I decide to reset things my custom build already has LuCI installed so I am ready to go right from the start.  I even set it so the OpenWrt wi-fi access point was on by default so I could easily connect and change settings.  I would probably avoid putting anything too specific in your custom build, for example don't save your home wi-fi password since one day you might get rid of your device and you don't want certain information saved on the device even after a reset.

Overall, if you are looking to play around with OpenWrt then go for it - just make sure you read directions carefully, and understand you could mess up your device if you are not careful.  I don't think I can get my WD03 back to stock firmware, but I am ok with that.  Of course, having an understanding of things like networking and linux commands is very helpful, but I am guessing the type of person who is interested in OpenWrt is probably familiar enough with those concepts or willing to learn.

Useful links from this article:

• https://openwrt.org/toh/ravpower/rp-wd03
• https://firmware-selector.openwrt.org/
• https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/additional-software/imagebuilder
• https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/additional-software/saving_space

OnePlus 8T hotspot and tether

I recently upgraded my phone from a Samsung S9+ to a OnePlus 8T thanks to a pretty good T-Mobile trade-in deal.  So far I have been happy with my OnePlus 8T, but based on my research I knew that I would lose the ability to share a wi-fi connection.

For anyone that has not used wi-fi sharing on Samsung (or other devices that support it) basically you use your phone to connect to wi-fi, then you turn on your phone hotspot feature to share your connection to other devices.  Why would you do this?  Here are a few possible scenarios that it could help:

1) On travel, you might have devices that do not work well with wi-fi connections that direct to a login page (hotels for example).

2) On travel, out of just being lazy, you rather not configure multiple devices (laptops, tablets for kids, game systems).

Really the why is not important.  In my case, the important thing is that the OnePlus 8T does not support this feature.  When you are connected to wi-fi and try to enable your mobile hotspot, your wi-fi connection is turned off.  However, when I was looking at my OnePlus 8T options I noticed an interesting option labeled "Ethernet tethering" which got me interested in exactly what I could do.  Luckily I happened to have a HooToo USB-C hub ( HT-UC011 ) with an Ethernet connector.  So, to get right into it here are a few connectivity options I tested.

Laptop > USB-C hub (Ethernet) >  OnePlus 8T (Wi-Fi)

So this was a simple setup.  I used an ethernet cable to connect a laptop to the HooToo USB-C hub, which was connected to my OnePlus 8T.  The OnePlus 8T was connected to my home internet using wifi, and the "Ethernet tethering" option was turned on.  Using this setup, I was able to get online.  I used the Fast app (and fast.com website) and the download speeds were exactly the same and upload was about 0.3 Mbps faster on the phone.  The unloaded latency went from 13ms on the phone to 25ms on the laptop.  One quick note, my laptop was setup to DHCP and I didn't have to do any manual configuration for things like IP address or DNS.

Laptop > USB-C hub (Ethernet) > OnePlus 8T (Cellular)

Since I basically had everything setup from the prior test, I disabled wi-fi on my phone so it would go to cellular signal.  On my T-Mobile plan I have unlimited 3G tether so I knew the speed would take a huge hit.  The laptop Fast.com test got 540 Kbps.

OnePlus 8T > USB-C hub (Ethernet) > Home network

Just to continue testing, I connected USB-C hub to my home wi-fi router using Ethernet.  I also disabled cellular data and w-fi on my phone, and it seems that my phone was using the Ethernet for internet connectivity.

Laptop (Wi-Fi) > OnePlus 8T (Hotspot mode) > USB-C hub (Ethernet) > Home network

Once I was able to get my phone using ethernet for Internet access, I decided to turn on the hotspot mode to see what would happen.  My laptop was able to connect to the wi-fi hotspot, and based on some quick tests it seems that I was using my home network connect to get to the Internet.  Basically my phone was acting like a portable wi-fi router, similar to my RAVPower FileHub.

So that is the testing I have done so far.

RAVPower PD Pioneer 65W 4-port Desktop Charger ( model RP-PC136 ) Review

I recently purchased a RAVPower PD Pioneer 65W 4-port Desktop Charger ( model RP-PC136 ). It just came with the charger itself and the power cable (detachable) but most people will have the cables they need so the fact it doesn’t come with cables is fine.

For a size comparison, it was about the same size as two portable wall chargers that I have: a 1-port USB-C 60W charger and a 2-port USB-A/USB-C 65W charger.  The fact I am able to get 4-ports for something that is still small enough to travel with was nice.

Charger and power cable

2x USB-C and 2x USB-A

Size comparison: 2-port charger on left, this product in the middle, and 1-port charger on right

Size comparison: 1-port charger on left, this product in the middle, and 2-port charger on right

To test the charger, I used various devices and a USB-C volt/amp meter to help track what was going on.  The numbers I use are just an estimate for watts, I wasn’t focused on accuracy I just wanted a rough idea of how the charger acted with various devices.

Test scenarios and outcomes:

- Lenovo Chromebook C330 connected alone on USB-C was charging around 14.5V / 2.07A, basically 30W.

- Lenovo Chromebook Duet connected alone on USB-C was charging around 8.52V / 2.39A, basically 20W.

- Samsung S9+ connected alone on USB-A was charging around 8.9V / 1.5A, basically 14W (fast charge mode).  

- RAVPower 26800 mAh battery pack connected alone on USB-A was charging around 4.86V / 1.81A, basically 9W.

- Putting both Chromebooks on the charger dropped the Duet to 16W, and the C330 stayed at 30W which was expected based on the product info.

- Putting both Chromebooks and the S9+ all at the same time dropped both Chromebooks to 16W each (as expected based on the product info), and the S9+ was charging at around 13W.

- Putting all 4 devices (2 Chromebooks, S9+ and the battery pack) left the Chromebooks with 16W each, S9+ around 8.6W and the battery pack at 10W.

I didn’t have any devices that pulled over 30W, so I wasn’t able to really max it out but the fact it was able to charge multiple devices without issue was nice.  I did notice that the USB-A ports could charge above 5V (supporting QC) but only if you were using one of the USB-A ports.  If you used both USB-A ports, they were limited to 5V.  After the fact I looked at the product info on the RAVPower site and saw this was reflected in the information.

Here are the main points I noticed about this product:

Compact: This wasn’t much bigger than two different wall chargers that I have, and those were just one and two port chargers (both supported USB-C PD).  This charger had 2 USB-C and 2 USB-A ports.

Compatibility: It was nice that the charger supported PD on the USB-C ports and QC on the USB-A ports.

Bottom line: Great 4-port desk charger that is also compact enough for travel.

MakerHawk (Keweisi) USB-C meter Review

I recently purchased a MakerHawk USB-C test meter ( back of the device says Keweisi model KWS-1802C ) for a product review. The device comes alone, no cables or anything which is fine.

I don’t know if the average user would have a need for such a device, but since I like to play around with technology and post on my blog I figured it would be a nice addition to my toolkit.  I already have a USB-A to USB-C cable with a built-in V/A display, and a USB-A to microUSB cable with built-in V/A display but I didn’t have anything for USB-C to USB-C.

The charger shows voltage, amps, time charging, watts, mAh and temperature.

To test the charger out, I tried various things:

- Tested a Choetech and Inateck USB-C PD charger against various devices ( two Chromebooks and a Samsung S9+ ).  I saw a range of voltages from 5V on the S9+ all the way to 15V from my Lenovo Chromebook C330.

- I tested a RAVPower powerbank with my Lenovo Duet.  It was interesting because I was able to have the Duet charge the powerbank, and also have the powerbank charge the Duet.  In both cases, the meter property showed the direction of flow.

- The highest voltage was when I was charging the RAVPower powerbank, it was almost 20V (about 30W) which seems to be the max charging input.

Here are some product pictures:

Some of my equipment

The MakerHawk shows the USB-C measures,
and the Choetech shows the voltage on the USB-A.

Chromebook Duet is charging the battery pack
(arrow shows current flowing out)

Battery pack is charging the Chromebook Duet
(arrow shows current flowing in)

Here are the main points I noticed about this product:

Easy to use: Just plug it in and use it, nothing special

Reversible: It measures flow in both directions, so you can plug the meter into your charger or the device being charged.

Budget friendly: Very inexpensive little gadget to help you with any testing you need to do.

Bottom line: Neat addition to the toolkit of anyone that is into technology.

HDMI Video Capture ( HDMI to USB ) Review

I recently purchased a HDMI Video Capture device. This is a generic device that you will find on Amazon on Ebay, probably in the $30 range - I got mine on Amazon from the seller “ZI YOUREN”, the link is at the end of this page.  I didn’t have a specific need for one, but it looked cool so I figured why not give it a try.

The device is very simple.  A small adapter with USB plug on one side, and HDMI socket on the other.  For whatever you connect via USB, that device will likely just see it as a webcam so you don’t need special drivers or anything.

Just in the first day I playing around with it, I was able to test the following:

- Connected to Windows 10 device, and used the camera app as a quick test to see if the video worked (which it did).
- Connected to an Android phone ( Samsung S9+ ).  Since my phone is USB-C, I used a USB-C dock and plugged this device into the dock.  I was able to see video, you do have to find software designed to view video from a USB webcam.
- Connected to a Chromebook.  Again, it seemed to register as a webcam and from there I was able to see video input.
- On the Windows PC, I set up OBS ( Open Broadcaster Software ).  Now, I have never used it before but the manual that came with it suggested this app.  It seems to be designed for people that do video streaming, but it allows recording as well.
- Used OBS to record, and stream (via Facebook live) some video using a Nintendo Switch as my input.

The only issue I noticed is sometimes, especially when first starting the capture, the video would get artifacts.  Now, I have no clue if it is the adapter, or something else like the software or just the fact I don’t have a powerful PC.  I did change one setting in Windows ( I think it was disabling the Game bar ) that may have helped address it, the video I recorded from the Switch looked pretty good.

Also there is a small amount of lag on the video, it wasn’t an issue with Animal Crossing but if you are going to play a fast paced game you may want to get a HDMI mirror device that will take 1 input and output to two HDMI devices ( a monitor and the capture device ).  To see a short sample of video I captured from Animal Crossing: New Horizons check out this link ( https://youtu.be/RuPB3_cEiTk ).

Here are the main points I noticed about this product:

Simple setup: You just plug it into the computer, and then hook it to your HDMI source.

Simple use: Your device just sees the input as a webcam.

Useful tool: This could have a wide range of uses for a variety of users.  You can take video from a wide range of devices - computers, gaming consoles, devices like a Raspberry Pi, cameras that have HDMI output really anything that can output HDMI video.  Once you have the video signal, you can record it, stream it, or probably use it in collaboration software.

Bottom line: Just based on these quick tests, it seems like a good budget level entry device into video capture.

Amazon Product Page: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C7CSD2D/