Custom Firmware Adds Capabilities to Handie Talkie https://hackaday.com/2025/01/03/custom-firmware-adds-capabilities-to-handie-talkie/ #customfirmware #handietalkie #radiohacks #firmware #hamradio #handheld #spectrum #tidradio #radio #td-h3 #td-h8 #usb #ht

so i recently softmodded a #WiiU with Aroma and Tiramisu and i was wondering how much work it'd take to make modern #OpenSSL, #JavaScript and #WebGL be comaptible with the console. that way, a third party browser could potentially be made that supports TLS 1.2 and up

OpenSSL has been used in homebrew apps before, at least one that i use, that being the homebrew appstore (i read it on GBATemp), so maybe that's somewhere to start looking?

unfortunately i do not have the skills i need in order to do such thing so i thought i'd put the thought out. idk if it's even possible either

#nintendo #customfirmware

📬 Jailbreak-Kette soll Start der PS4 und PS5 erleichtern
#Jailbreaks #Szene #AlAzif #customfirmware #Fehlkonfiguration #GitHubRepo #HomebrewEnabler #JailbreakKette #Zecoxao https://sc.tarnkappe.info/3450a0

Das neuste Android auf einem über 10 Jahre alten Gerät? Das geht! Mit Custom Firmware, wie LineageOS.

Es ist überhaupt nicht nötig, dass du deine Geräte alle zwei Jahre austauschst, nur weil es dir dein Mobilfunkbetreiber oder Smartphonehersteller so suggeriert.

Es ist ein Businessmodel keine neue Software für alte Geräte auszuliefern, doch wir müssen uns dagegen stellen, da es eine massive Verschwendung von Ressourcen ist.

Holt eure alten Geräte aus den Schubladen und Kisten und gibt sie zum Flashen einem Nerd und bringt die Geräte wieder in den Umlauf.

Solche Geräte können auch an Bedürftige und Flüchtlinge gespendet werden. Dafür gibt es einige wohltätige Organisationen, die sich darüber freuen.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2QORzm7Bpps

#nachhaltigkeit #android #diy #smartphone #tablet #technik #customfirmware #umweltschutz #flashing

📬 Google blockiert RCS auf gerooteten Android-Handys
#Smartphones #customfirmware #customROMs #MagiskModul #PlayIntegrityAPI #PlayIntegrityFix #RCSMessaging #RootZugriff #SafetyNetAPI https://sc.tarnkappe.info/d95e4d

Dunque, l’altro giorno accennavo che usare il telefono per #emulare i #giochi del #DS fa #schifo, perché appena cambio app (visto che il mio smartphone dovrebbe essere il mio PC tascabile, quindi mi serve per tante cose spesso quasi insieme) arriva Android a fare pulizia non autorizzata della RAM (a uccidere il processo)… eh vabbè, diciamo pure che va bene (ma non va bene). 😮‍💨️

…Però poi pure a usare la consolina #originale ci son le #rogne, #mannaggia!!! Sempre ieri ho accennato che sul #3DS è un continuo di scheda #SD che si #corrompe totalmente a caso, causando #problemi di diversa #gravità… ed è una cosa con cui faccio la #guerra da #anni, e si, ho verificato che a livello #hardware la #scheda è bona. ⚒️

Oggi pomeriggio comunque ho perso un sacco di tempo a ricopiare tutti i #file sul PC, #formattare la scheda, e rimettere a posto i file, per #rimediare ancora una volta al fatto che si fosse tutto spaccato e avvenissero #crash nel menù home e nel loader di giochi #NDS. Però ne ho approfittato per cercare e boh, appunto tutti dicono “la #SDcard è marcia/farlocca/consumata” (no), “il #CustomFirmware è corrotto” (no), “dovresti ripartizionare la scheda” (già fatto)… ma qualche spunto utile nuovo l’ho visto:

• https://gbatemp.net/threads/arm9-error-data-abort.558494/
  • Che la mia #microSD non sia propriamente brutta in uno dei modi descritti sopra (comuni), ma abbia questo problema (mai sentito prima) del controller I/O è lezzo? 🧐️
  • https://gbatemp.net/threads/new-2ds-xl-microsd-card-error.534480/
    • La #tecnica della “quadrupla formattazione”: in pratica, visto che tutti i #software in circolazione per formattare le #memorie sono ancora progettati attorno agli hard disk, danno sulle #flash un risultato molto peggiore della preformattazione di fabbrica… combinando 4 programmi si riesce ad apparare, a quanto dice il tizio. 🤯️
    • Quella tecnica è Windows-centrica però; riguardo #UNIX, un utente (che ingiustamente non è stato cagato) ha scritto dei suoi #esperimenti per replicarne i risultati con #utility libere… c’è molta meno #speculazione e molto più senso; ho potuto ad esempio creare la partizione #FAT32 senza LBA con la misura standard di settori, teste, e cilindri, come dicevano quelle #note (a dire il vero scritte a culo, maremma), ma l’allineamento perfetto dei #settori non l’ho potuto fare, mformat mi da errore coi parametri che ho ottenuto dopo dolorosi quarti d’ora di confusissimi calcoli (sarebbe utile sapere che versione del #tool ha usato). 🥴️
• Su #thread misti c’è chi specula che la colpa sia di #TwilightMenu, ma dalla mia esperienza passata e dalla maggior parte delle opinioni #online tenderei ad escludere questa #ipotesi… ma è anche vero che, se mi affidassi alle stesse #opinioni, allora statisticamente le #corruzioni che ho io dovrebbero essere statisticamente impossibili, cosa che evidentemente è falsa. 😩️

Con questa piccola #differenza che ho potuto alla fin dei conti apportare alla #formattazione, vedremo se cambierà o meno qualcosa. Però, ammesso e non concesso che la causa sia #TwilightMenu++ o #nds-bootstrap, ossia i programmi #homebrew che mi permettono di avviare le #ROM NDS senza #schedina dedicata… quale sarebbe l’alternativa? ☠️

L’ho detto altre volte che, elettricamente, il formato delle #schede [3]DS fa #schifo, a lungo andare il contatto diventa sempre più lasco e addirittura salta in-game (cosa inaccettabile, in quanto risulta sempre in un crash). Questo è un #problema invece ben più conosciuto, ed è il motivo per cui uso praticamente sempre i #dump, anche di quei pochi giochi che possiedo su #cartuccia. Ho pulito tante volte tante schede, e a volte il #casino si #risolve, ma altre volte poi ritorna. 🧽️

Tutto questo #discorsone per dire: nella #vita non c’è #divertimento, non c’è #spensieratezza, non esiste #svago, perché potrei accettare che con gli homebrew escano fuori #magagne ma, #ahinoi, anche con hardware tutto originale, non funziona un cazzo bene. (Non) grazie #Nintendo, per aver creato un tipo di collegamento tra #gamecart e #console così #grezzo. 🗑️

https://octospacc.altervista.org/2024/01/10/corruzioni-del-3ds-e-i-thread-forse-a-vuoto-forse-no/

#3DS #ahinoi #anni #cartuccia #casino #console #corrompe #corruzioni #crash #CustomFirmware #differenza #discorsone #divertimento #DS #dump #emulare #esperimenti #FAT32 #file #flash #formattare #formattazione #gamecart #giochi #grezzo #guerra #hardware #homebrew #ipotesi #magagne #Mannaggia #memorie #microSD #NDS #Nintendo #note #online #opinioni #originale #problema #problemi #rimediare #risolve #rogne #ROM #scheda #schede #schedina #schifo #SD #SDCard #settori #software #speculazione #spensieratezza #svago #tecnica #thread #tool #TwilightMenu #UNIX #utility #vita

Found a PS3 Slim at a yard sale for $20. Everything works. So excited. I will be installing some custom firmware on it. I have been running CFW on my PSP and 3DS. So this will be my first console mod.

#customfirmware #CFW #videogames #homebrew

Aquí lo tienes.
Conoce en este #LinuxConnexion a #NinohFox, desarrollador de #CustomFirmware y parte del equipo #ParadiseTeam que realiza #Koriki para la #Miyoo #MiyooMini #MiyooMiniPlus.
🌐 Web: http://podcastlinux.com/PL191
🎙 Feed: http://podcastlinux.com/feed

Novedades del pirateo de mi psp.
Al final, como estuve comentando, el emulador de N64 iba como la mierda y crasheaba muchísimo, así que he decidido jugar a juegos de PS1.
Tras bajarme cositas y ver un par de vídeos, lo he conseguido.
Ésto ha sido posible gracias a @VicentePrecio
Y ahora estoy enganchadisima jugando a este maravilloso juego, que jugué en PC cuando era una teen y me encantó.
Dios, sigue siendo igual de difícil que entonces!
#retrogamig #psp #customfirmware #dracula

No te lo puedes perder.
Escucha y comparte este #LinuxConnexion con @eduardofilo, linuxero y parte del equipo de la #CustomFirmware #AdanImage.
Conoce el trabajo que hay detrás de las distros para consolas. 🎮
🌍Web: http://podcastlinux.com/PL166
🎙Feed: http://podcastlinux.com/feed

PSP Turned Robot Remote With Custom Software

There's no question that Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP) was an impressive piece of hardware when it was released in 2004, but for all its technical wizardry, it wasn't able to shake Nintendo's vice-like grip on the handheld market. Perhaps that explains why we still see so many nostalgia-fueled hacks for Nintendo's Game Boy and Dual Screen (DS) systems, while PSP hacks tend to be few and far between.

But looking at projects like this one that turn the PSP into a capable robot controller (video, embedded below) we can't help but wonder if the community has been missing out. Thanks to an open source software development kit for the system, [iketsj] was able to write a WiFi controller program that can be run on any PSP with a homebrew-compatible firmware.

The other side of the equation is a simple robot powered by an ESP32. To take control of the bot, the user connects their handheld to the WiFi network being offered by the MCU and fires up the controller application from the main menu. It's all very slick, and the fact that you don't need to make any modifications to the PSP's hardware is a huge plus. From the video after the break we get the impression that the remote software is pretty simplistic in its current form, but we imagine the only really limitations are how good you are at writing C code for what by today's standards would be considered a fairly resource constrained system. We'd love to see that widescreen display lit up and showing live first-person video from the bot's perspective.

Many of the PSP hack's we've seen over the years have been about repurposing the hardware, or in some cases, replacing the system's internals with something raspberry flavored. Those projects have certainly been interesting in their own ways, but we really like the idea of being able to push a largely stock system into a new role just by writing some custom code for it.

#playstationhacks #robotshacks #softwarehacks #customfirmware #playstationportable #psp

How SanDisk Made its New SD Cards Faster Than Should Be Possible

#equipment #news #customfirmware #memorycard #microsdcard #proprietary #quickflow #sandisk #sandiskextreme #sandiskextremepro #sdcard #uhsi #uhsii

ESP8266 Adds WiFi Logging to IKEA’s Air Quality Sensor

Introduced back in June, the IKEA VINDRIKTNING is a $12 USD sensor that uses colored LEDs to indicate the relative air quality in your home depending on how many particles it sucks up. Looking to improve on this simplistic interface, [Sören Beye] tacked an ESP8266 to the board so it can broadcast sensor readings out over MQTT.

Just three wires link the ESP8266 to the PCB.

While some of us would have been tempted to gut the VINDRIKTNING and attach its particle sensor directly to the ESP8266, the approach [Sören] has used is actually quite elegant. Rather than replacing IKEA's electronics, the microcontroller is simply listening in on the UART communications between the sensor and the original controller. This not only preserves the stock functionality of the VINDRIKTNING, but simplifies the code as the ESP doesn't need to do nearly as much.

All you need to do if you want to perform this modification is solder a couple wires to convenient test pads on the VINDRIKTNING board, then flash the firmware (or write your own version), and you're good to go. There's plenty of room inside the case for the ESP8266, though you may want to tape it down so it doesn't impact air flow.

While not required, [Sören] also recommends making a small modification to the VINDRIKTNING which makes it a bit quieter. Apparently the 5 V fan inside the sensor is occasionally revved up by the original controller, rather than kept at a continuous level that you can mentally tune out. But by attaching the sensor's fan to the ESP8266's 3.3 V pin, it will run continuously at a lower speed.

We've seen custom firmware for IKEA products before, but this approach, which keeps the device's functionality intact regardless of what's been flashed to the secondary microcontroller, is particularly appealing for those of us who can't seem to keep the gremlins out of our code.

[Thanks to nexgensri for the tip.]

#homehacks #microcontrollers #airquality #customfirmware #esp8266 #ikea #particulates #sensor

ESP32 Turned Handy SWD Flasher for nRF52 Chips

Got an nRF52 or nRF51 device you need to flash? Got an ESP32 laying around collecting dust? If so, then firmware hacking extraordinaire [Aaron Christophel] has the open source code you need. His new project allows the affordable WiFi-enabled microcontroller to read and write to the internal flash of Nordic nRF52 series chips via their SWD interface. As long as you've got some jumper wires and a web browser, you're good to go.

In the first video below [Aaron] demonstrates the technique with the PineTime smartwatch, but the process will be more or less the same regardless of what your target device is. Just connect the CLK and DIO lines to pins GPIO 21 and GPIO 19 of the ESP32, point your web browser to its address on the local network, and you'll be presented with a straightforward user interface for reading and writing the chip's flash.

As demonstrated in the second video, with a few more wires and a MOSFET, the ESP32 firmware is also able to perform a power glitch exploit on the chip that will allow you to read the contents of its flash even if the APPROTECT feature has been enabled. [Aaron] isn't taking any credit for this technique though, pointing instead to the research performed by [LimitedResults] to explain the nuts and bolts of the attack.

We're always excited when a message from [Aaron] hits the inbox, since more often that not it means another device has received an open source firmware replacement. From his earlier work with cheap fitness trackers to his wildly successful Bluetooth environmental sensor hacking, we don't think this guy has ever seen a stock firmware that he didn't want to immediately send to /dev/null.

#microcontrollers #softwarehacks #customfirmware #esp32 #flasher #nrf52 #swd #voltageglitch

Custom Firmware Teaches USB Relay Board New Tricks

If you're looking for a quick and easy way to control a few devices from your computer, a cheap USB relay board might be the ideal solution. These are fairly simple gadgets, consisting of little more than a microcontroller and a handful of relays. But that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement, and as [Michał Słomkowski] recently demonstrated, flashing these boards with a custom firmware allows the user to modify their default functionality.

In his case, [Michał] wanted to build a power strip that would cut the power to any devices plugged into it once his computer went to sleep. Unfortunately, he couldn't just check to see if there was 5 V on the line as his motherboard kept the USB ports powered up all the time. But with some modifications to the relay board's firmware, he reasoned he should be able to detect if there was any USB activity by watching for the start-of-frame packet that goes out every millisecond when the bus is active.

Wiring up the ATtiny45 for flashing.

Now [Michał] isn't claiming to be the first person to come up with a custom firmware for one of these boards, in fact, he credits an existing open source firmware project as an inspiration for his work. But he did create an entirely new GPLv3 firmware for these ATtiny45 powered devices, which includes among other improvements the latest version of V-USB. As it so happens, V-USB includes start-of-frame packet detection out of the box, which made it much easier to implement his activity detection code.

With the new firmware flashed to the relay board's chip, [Michał] put it in an enclosure and wired up the outlets. But there was still one missing piece of the puzzle. It seems that Linux won't actually send out the start-of-frame packets unless its actively communicating with a USB device, as part of the so-called "selective suspend" power saving feature. Luckily there is support for disabling this feature for specific devices based on their Vendor/Product ID pair, so after a little udev fiddling, everything was working as expected.

We love custom firmware projects here at Hackaday. Not only do they keep proprietary software out of our devices, but they often unlock new and expanded capabilities which otherwise would be hidden behind artificial paywalls.

#attinyhacks #peripheralshacks #attiny45 #customfirmware #relay #usb

Exploring the World of Nintendo 3DS Homebrew

When Nintendo officially ended production of the 3DS in September 2020, it wasn't exactly a surprise. For one thing, some variation of the handheld system had been on the market since 2011. Which is not to say the product line had become stagnant: the system received a considerable mid-generation refresh, and there was even a more affordable variant introduced that dropped the eponymous stereoscopic 3D effect, but nearly a decade is still a fairly long life in the gaming industry. Of course Nintendo's focus on the Switch, a hybrid device that blurs the line between console and handheld games, undoubtedly played a part in the decision to retire what could effectively be seen as a competing product.

While putting the 3DS out to pasture might have been the logical business move, a quick check on eBay seems to tell a different story. Whether it's COVID keeping people indoors and increasing the demand for at-home entertainment, or the incredible library of classic and modern games the system has access to, the fact is that a used 3DS in good condition is worth more today than it was when it was brand new on the shelf this time last year.

I've certainly made more expensive mistakes.

In short, this was the worst possible time for me to decide that I finally wanted to buy a 3DS. Then one day I noticed the average price for a Japanese model was far lower than that of its American counterpart. I knew the hardware was identical, but could the firmware be changed?

An evening's worth of research told me the swap was indeed possible, but inadvisable due to the difficulty and potential for unexpected behavior. Of course, that's never stopped me before.

So after waiting the better part of a month for my mint condition 3DS to arrive from the land of the rising sun, I set out to explore the wide and wonderful world of Nintendo 3DS hacking.

Joining The Fun

Here's the best part about homebrew on the 3DS: every version of the hardware, no matter what region it's from or what firmware version it's running, can be hacked with just an SD card and some open source software. What's more, since Nintendo has now moved on to bigger and better things, it's fair to assume that the community has won. There's no new hardware revision coming, and even if Nintendo felt inclined to push out another firmware update just to confound anyone running unofficial software on their 3DS, there's no way they could force you to install it. It's a party, and everyone's invited.

The first step down the rabbit hole.

There are various exploits that can be used depending on the current firmware your 3DS is running, but the easiest and most expedient method of getting your 3DS running non-Nintendo software is through a vulnerability in the system's Internet browser. With the appropriate files on the SD card, you just need to point the 3DS browser at a specific URL to trigger the exploit. Thanks to the browser's ability to read QR codes, you don't even need to type it in: just scan the special code, and you're on the way to homebrew nirvana.

To be clear, there's still quite a bit more you need to do. Getting the files on your SD card and triggering the exploit is only the first phase. Before it's all said and done you'll need to restart the 3DS a few times, put more files on the SD card, and install a number of programs on the system. None of it's difficult , but there are a dizzying number of steps and it would be easy to get lost without a good guide.

Thankfully, members of 3DS community have produced some of the most comprehensive and user friendly documentation I've ever seen. The guide they've created walks you through each step of the process in exacting detail, and as long as you don't skip any steps, in the end your system will be loaded up with the latest version of the Luma3DS custom firmware.

Unlocked Potential

Homebrew software installed in Luma3DS

Personally, when I hear the term custom firmware I think of something like DD-WRT or Aaron Christophel's work with Xiaomi Bluetooth thermometers. In other words, firmware replacements that leave you with essentially a completely different device. So part of me was surprised when I rebooted my system into Luma3DS and everything appeared to be exactly the same. I even wondered for a minute or two if I'd done something wrong.

After a closer look at the project's GitHub repository, the situation became clearer. While the community refers to it as a custom firmware, it would be more accurate to say that Luma3DS patches the system's stock firmware to enable an extended feature set. A major part of that is enabling the user to install and run non-Nintendo applications, but there's also a system menu, accessed with a special button combination, that lets you tweak more advanced settings.

With Luma3DS installed, the 3DS retains 100% of its original functionality. You can still play all your games, connect to the eShop to download new titles, and play online with others. It's apparently even safe to install an official firmware update with it installed, though again, it's unlikely any more of those are coming down the pike.

Getting the Goods

Generally speaking, 3DS software comes in two distinct forms. Smaller tools and programs are likely to be offered as a .3dsx file, which is a self-contained executable that you can run through a tool called Homebrew Launcher that gets installed along with Luma3DS. This works well enough for one-off applications, but can become annoying as it takes several steps to start the software from a cold boot.

The alternative, preferred for larger and more complex pieces of software, is the CTR Importable Archive (CIA) or .cia file. These archives contain not only the software itself, but the necessary metadata to actually install them as if they were an official game or application downloaded from the Nintendo eShop. Since software installed via CIA appears on the 3DS's main menu, it's much faster and easier to access than going through the Homebrew Launcher first.

prboom for the 3DS

But there's a catch. Installing a CIA file isn't as easy as just dragging and dropping it onto the system's SD card. The archive needs to be properly unpacked by a so-called title manager, the most popular of which is known as FBI and runs on the 3DS itself. Once unpacked and installed, the original CIA file can be deleted, as otherwise each application would end up taking up twice as much space as necessary on the SD card.

It's a bit awkward, but there a few tricks to speed up the process. For one thing, FBI can load a CIA file from the local network or Internet by scanning its URL from a QR code, thereby removing the need to manually place the CIA file on the SD card prior to installation. This has become a very popular way of distributing homebrew on the 3DS, and you'll often see these codes posted on messages boards or GitHub.

Even still, unpacking a CIA on the 3DS itself is rather slow due to the system's inherent hardware limitations. For those who aren't willing to wait, there are projects such as custom-install that allow you to process CIA files on your computer. Running on a vastly more powerful processor and with the benefit of high-speed access to the SD card, these tools can get software installed and ready to go on the 3DS in a fraction of the time it would take with FBI.

Cultural Differences

Just like the custom firmware installation process, switching your system's region is very well documented. I had no problem getting the US firmware on my 3DS, though it should be said the process takes considerably longer than getting Luma3DS installed in the first place. Unfortunately, once the region is switched, you can no longer access Nintendo's official services for purchasing software, downloading updates, or playing online. That said, local wireless multiplayer with American consoles works as expected and you can still run physical retail games.

I've noticed a few odd glitches as well, though nothing really critical. One time, the system claimed it needed to install a firmware update, and then after a minute or two of downloading files, tossed up an error message. The firmware will also lock up after I check the system notifications, but they are fairly annoying in the first place so I just turned them off.

So is switching regions worth it? I'd say that depends on how you plan on using the system. If you're more interested in running your old favorites through RetroArch than you are playing modern games, absolutely. But if you want to get the most out of the system, including its various online functions, the downsides from switching regions will likely outweigh the financial savings.

A Rekindled Interest

Before buying this 3DS, it had been over a decade since I owned a portable console. I barely have time to play games at home, let alone on the go. But the incredible back catalog of titles that are either directly playable on the system or can be run through one of the open source emulators available for it, was extremely compelling. Add to that a wide array of original homebrew games and the ongoing effort to port Linux to the system, and it was just too much to pass up. Installing a custom firmware on the 3DS turns an excellent system into an incredible one, and these days I find myself spending quite a bit of time fiddling around with this dual-screen wonder. I'm even thinking of updating to one of the later models of the 3DS, but that'll be a story for another time.

While it's always difficult to predict the future, it's not hard to imagine that the Nintendo 3DS may well be the last true portable game system. Smartphones and tablets have largely taken over the market, and while the Switch is technically mobile, it just can't compare with the svelte clamshell design that's been a hallmark of Nintendo's portables since the Game Boy Advance SP. So if this is the last of the purebred portables, at least we can say that the homebrew community is making sure it goes out with style.

#handheldshacks #nintendohacks #softwarehacks #consolehacking #consolemodding #customfirmware #emulation #homebrew #nintendo #nintendo3ds #retroarch

📬Nintendo Switch: Firmware-Update dank Atmosphère 0.11 schon geknackt📬 https://tarnkappe.info/nintendo-switch-firmware-update-dank-atmosphere-0-11-schon-geknackt/ #customfirmware #NintendoSwitch #Atmosphere #sarbaaz37 #Artikel #sciresm #imgur #CFW

A few days ago I was fixing my TP-Link WR740N router.
Connected it to my PC via TTL Serial adapter, soldered the pins on to the board and also wired the CPU(tx) pad and the back to the tx pad of the pins.
Overall the router now runs DDWRT and is revived and ready for daily use.

Ignore the messy desktop. I cleaned it up after that.

#ddwrt #serialterminal #tplink #customfirmware

Nintendo Switch: Atmosphère 0.9.4 funktioniert mit FW 9.0.0 https://tarnkappe.info/nintendo-switch-atmosphere-0-9-4-funktioniert-mit-fw-9-0-0/ #customfirmware #NintendoSwitch #Off-by-onebug #Atmosphere #Homebrew #Artikel #sciresm #hekate