Open-Source Hardware

SuperHouseTV is developing a Open-source Wifi access point, why can't this be done for a Open-source wifi router?

Wrt3200acm, made to work with OpenWrt!..,

donate a couple $100k to https://openwrt.org/donate, and it might actually happen ...

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not bad, if Openwrt starts a Kickstarter?
Home assistant yellow can be taken as an example

image

with poor wifi.
Open-source might means modular design, you could change the radios, CPU/rams as required.

Let's see how open source it really is, shall we? Start by sharing what hardware they'll use. I'm not watching a video to find that out, I'm not that intrigued.

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He is using raspberry Pi zero as as processor. Board is custom designed and if I understand correctly, PCB layout will be published.

For OpenWrt router what we need is just some kind of PCB board with spaces for a Raspberry Pi compute module and space for radios which can be easily swapped in future for better or worse.

Well, thanks but no thanks. Nothing open source about Broadcom.

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OpenWrt can go with another user swappable processor in that case. It is just an idea, there are ton of hardware out there, just need to find the right one for this design.

Does the CM4 really have the I/O for 2*1000BASE-T and 3* wifi6(e) via PCIe - I have my doubts about that.

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Such Prototype PCB likes a toys, cannot use it in your home, ugly and dangerous.

OpenWrt software is running on a Router which is a product of mass production / well tested / low-cost / UL/CE/FCC.....

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And a manageable switch to get a working router, else you have only a access point.

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A modular design is business class design. You buy a router and a switch and a access points and connect them and now you have a standard “home router” build in a modular interchangeable design.

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Home assistant yellow is also certified, if OpenWrt can start a kickstarter, I think that amount can used for the certifications too.

Cutting out CM4 wifi functions, bad idea, I donot know why?

I prefer a low-cost Mini-PC to do same things at that price (~us$200).

The Turris Omnia is open source, including CAD and schematics. It was financed by crowdfunding. The WiFi is on miniPCIE cards so they can be replaced. Some other hardware can be added, e.g. fiber interface. Memory and CPU are soldered, so it cannot be replaced. It is a few years old now, and Turris later also developed Mox, though I have not read up on that concept.

I mention this as an example of what is out there, possibly there are other examples. So crowdfunding a design is definitely possible, but some lessons are that the design shall be made into a product and sold to be useful. The Turris team was aware of that, but I guess they slightly underestimated that part, but in the end they did well and succeeded.

Update on the Open-source Wireless access point.

There are already a whole family of designed, released, and built open source routers. It's called Banana Pi.