Reyee RG-E5 - Serial Pins?

Installing and Using OpenWrt
1

Just bought this router & it's quite an upgrade in range & bandwidth over my old EA-7500. It just needs OpenWRT....

This helpful thread mentioned I need a TTL 3.3 V serial cable. The photo in the hardware page show holes in the PCB for the serial connection.

Do I also need to solder in header pins?

2

Soldering is the most reliable option (soldering in the pins and using DuPont cables from there), but more temporary options might suffice. It's effectively an electrical connection, as long as you manage to keep firm contact during the flashing (and don't slip during the critical steps), you're good to go (be it with paper clips, sewing needles, DuPont pins, pogo pins, etc.)…

Just be aware that soldered pins (and short DuPont cables) reduce the risk of intermittent connection loss best, as it gives you a firm and reliable electrical connection - everything else is at your own risk.

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I've discussed this with a couple of forum members via PM, since
I wrote most of the info on the device page.

They simply held the wires in place using fingers, or taped them.
Personally, I would have used tooth picks as ghetto solution, but I soldered them instead :wink:

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Thanks for the replies.

For others trying the same upgrade, in addition to the steps linked to above:

  • I used this cable: ADAFRUIT Industries 954 USB-to-TTL Serial Cable.
  • To get serial comms working:
    • Installed the correct drivers
    • Installed PuTTY.
    • Then figured out that in serial comms RX and TX labels are with respect to the device itself (so the RX from one device should go to the TX of the other, and vice-versa)
  • Physically I held everything in place with blue painters tape, which worked well.

The most nerve wracking steps were:

  • Popping the cover off - there were 3 clips on each side & they look easy to break. Patience and various small tools (spudgers?) from iPhone battery replacement kits helped.
  • Keeping everything balanced so that the tiny soldered wires on the main board didn't get ripped off. Again, blue painters tape helped.
  • Reinstalling the UFL antenna clips - I was using a pair of tweezers and the clips got pretty scratched up, but eventually went into place.

Everything else went smoothly & I now have 23.05 RC3 up and running :grinning:

5

That's why the wiki says to push it open using the holes for the screws...

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I saw that, and it is the easier method, but the wiki also warns about damaging the antenna wires - as a noob this put me off. My memory is fuzzy, but I think I ended up freeing some of the clips and pushing from the bottom.

Anyway, it's all up & running and I'm happy with the router.