Cudy AP1300 Outdoor and OpenWRT: Difference between revisions

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...OK kiddos, buckle up. Can the AP1300 run OpenWRT? Seems like it can.

=== Evaluation (See below links for a comparison) ===

===Evaluation (See below links for a comparison)===

* Cudy AP1300 Outdoor: https://techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Cudy_AP1300_Outdoor#Flashing_OpenWrt

*Cudy AP1300 Outdoor: https://techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Cudy_AP1300_Outdoor#Flashing_OpenWrt

** CPU Info: https://techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/MediaTek_MT7621

**CPU Info: https://techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/MediaTek_MT7621

* Cudy WR1300 v3: https://techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Cudy_WR1300_v3

*Cudy WR1300 v3: https://techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Cudy_WR1300_v3 (v2 and v3 are the same, confirmed by the fact that Cudy's "Intermediary Firmware" is in the same file, WR1300+V2-V3.zip)

** CPU Info: https://techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/MediaTek_MT7621

**CPU Info: https://techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/MediaTek_MT7621

Notice how the CPU link is the same for both? The AP1300 has an MT7621DAT and the WR1300 has the MT7621AT

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Bootloader reports from various devices (GL.iNet, Mikrotik, etc.)

Community decompilation and board testing (e.g. boot logs from U-Boot showing SoC IDs)

</syntaxhighlight>Wow, in a rare lucid moment for ChatGPT~~, this~~ seems like it ~~might~~ be ~~factual~~ and ~~accurate~~.

</syntaxhighlight>Wow, in a rare lucid moment for ChatGPT creates what seems to be something that passes for factual and accurate. Double checking it manually confirms it.

===Where's the Firmware?===

Nope (seems like it should be though): https://mirror-03.infra.openwrt.org/releases/24.10.0/targets/mediatek/

Yup (of course, it's obvious): https://mirror-03.infra.openwrt.org/releases/24.10.0/targets/ramips/ (mt7621 Directory)

Historical Note: RAMIPS = Ralink, which was the name of the entity before MediaTek bought it.

===Wait! What about the "Intermediary Firmware" that Cudy makes? That should make upgrading to OpenWRT firmware easy!===

The WR1300 V2 & V3 Firmware should work, right?[[File:Cudy AP1300 Firmware Upgrade Attempt with WR1300 v2 and v3 Intermediary Firmware FAILURE.png|alt=Cudy AP1300 Firmware Upgrade Attempt with WR1300 v2 and v3 Intermediary Firmware FAILURE|thumb|Cudy AP1300 Firmware Upgrade Attempt with WR1300 v2 and v3 Intermediary Firmware FAILURE|none]]Oh, well. Time to break out the screw driver.

===Taking the Dang Thing Apart (with a minor secret)===

There are two obvious screws and two not so obvious nuts.

The "nuts' are used to secure the RP-SMA Threaded Connectors at the top of the device. They're covered by white 'doughnut stickers'. Peel those off and unscrew the brass 'slotted nuts'.

[[File:Cudy AP1300 RPSMA Slotted Nuts Covered by Doughnut Stickers.jpg|alt=Cudy AP1300 RPSMA Slotted Nuts Covered by Doughnut Stickers|none|thumb|Cudy AP1300 RPSMA Slotted Nuts Covered by Doughnut Stickers]]

The entire unit should then slide out (with some resistance because of the o-rings around the RP-SMA Connector brass threads (PS: Don't loose them)

===Upgrading the Firmware===

In the same fashion as the Cudy AP3000 Indoor, the Pin Hole Headers for TTL / Serial communication is covered by the heatsink. No big deal, use the special devices noted in this article: [[Cudy AP3000 Indoor AKA Jupiter 2 and OpenWRT|Cudy AP3000 Indoor AKA Jupiter 2 and OpenWRT - Wiki.TerraBase.info]] Otherwise, unscrew the heatsink, solder in some pins on the bottom of the PCB so the heatsink can go back in place, then after programming be prepared to maybe trim them, but odds are they'll fit into the enclosure.

[[File:Cudy AP1300 Pin Headers under Heatsink.jpg|alt=Cudy AP1300 Pin Headers under Heatsink|none|thumb|Cudy AP1300 Pin Headers under Heatsink]]

Pins left to right, with the RP-SMA Connectors to the right and the Ethernet Jack to the left;

*TX

*RX

*GND

*3.3 + Volts

== ...as of 04.2025 NO Solution. U-Boot is hamstrung in that all it will do is TFTP a recovery file named recovery.bin and will attempt to 'install' that. InitRAMFS files don't load or run AND the TTL / Serial connection is wonky as all heck, just cannot predict its functionality, it vacillates between working, printing gibberish, or doing nothing at all. ==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ...OK kiddos, buckle up.  Can the AP1300 run OpenWRT?  Seems like it can.
-=== Evaluation (See below links for a comparison) ===
+===Evaluation (See below links for a comparison)===
-* Cudy AP1300 Outdoor: https://techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Cudy_AP1300_Outdoor#Flashing_OpenWrt
+*Cudy AP1300 Outdoor: https://techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Cudy_AP1300_Outdoor#Flashing_OpenWrt
-** CPU Info: https://techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/MediaTek_MT7621
+**CPU Info: https://techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/MediaTek_MT7621
-* Cudy WR1300 v3: https://techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Cudy_WR1300_v3
+*Cudy WR1300 v3: https://techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Cudy_WR1300_v3 (v2 and v3 are the same, confirmed by the fact that Cudy's "Intermediary Firmware" is in the same file, WR1300+V2-V3.zip)
-** CPU Info: https://techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/MediaTek_MT7621
+**CPU Info: https://techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/MediaTek_MT7621
 Notice how the CPU link is the same for both?  The AP1300 has an MT7621DAT and the WR1300 has the MT7621AT
@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 Bootloader reports from various devices (GL.iNet, Mikrotik, etc.)
 Community decompilation and board testing (e.g. boot logs from U-Boot showing SoC IDs)
-</syntaxhighlight>Wow, in a rare lucid moment for ChatGPT, this seems like it might be factual and accurate.
+</syntaxhighlight>Wow, in a rare lucid moment for ChatGPT creates what seems to be something that passes for factual and accurate.  Double checking it manually confirms it.
+===Where's the Firmware?===
+Nope (seems like it should be though): https://mirror-03.infra.openwrt.org/releases/24.10.0/targets/mediatek/
+Yup (of course, it's obvious): https://mirror-03.infra.openwrt.org/releases/24.10.0/targets/ramips/ (mt7621 Directory)
+Historical Note: RAMIPS = Ralink, which was the name of the entity before MediaTek bought it.
+===Wait!  What about the "Intermediary Firmware" that Cudy makes?  That should make upgrading to OpenWRT firmware easy!===
+The WR1300 V2 & V3 Firmware should work, right?[[File:Cudy AP1300 Firmware Upgrade Attempt with WR1300 v2 and v3 Intermediary Firmware FAILURE.png|alt=Cudy AP1300 Firmware Upgrade Attempt with WR1300 v2 and v3 Intermediary Firmware FAILURE|thumb|Cudy AP1300 Firmware Upgrade Attempt with WR1300 v2 and v3 Intermediary Firmware FAILURE|none]]Oh, well.  Time to break out the screw driver.
+===Taking the Dang Thing Apart (with a minor secret)===
+There are two obvious screws and two not so obvious nuts.
+The "nuts' are used to secure the RP-SMA Threaded Connectors at the top of the device.  They're covered by white 'doughnut stickers'.  Peel those off and unscrew the brass 'slotted nuts'.
+[[File:Cudy AP1300 RPSMA Slotted Nuts Covered by Doughnut Stickers.jpg|alt=Cudy AP1300 RPSMA Slotted Nuts Covered by Doughnut Stickers|none|thumb|Cudy AP1300 RPSMA Slotted Nuts Covered by Doughnut Stickers]]
+The entire unit should then slide out (with some resistance because of the o-rings around the RP-SMA Connector brass threads (PS: Don't loose them)
+===Upgrading the Firmware===
+In the same fashion as the Cudy AP3000 Indoor, the Pin Hole Headers for TTL / Serial communication is covered by the heatsink.  No big deal, use the special devices noted in this article: [[Cudy AP3000 Indoor AKA Jupiter 2 and OpenWRT|Cudy AP3000 Indoor AKA Jupiter 2 and OpenWRT - Wiki.TerraBase.info]]  Otherwise, unscrew the heatsink, solder in some pins on the bottom of the PCB so the heatsink can go back in place, then after programming be prepared to maybe trim them, but odds are they'll fit into the enclosure.
+[[File:Cudy AP1300 Pin Headers under Heatsink.jpg|alt=Cudy AP1300 Pin Headers under Heatsink|none|thumb|Cudy AP1300 Pin Headers under Heatsink]]
+Pins left to right, with the RP-SMA Connectors to the right and the Ethernet Jack to the left;
+*TX
+*RX
+*GND
+*3.3 + Volts
+== ...as of 04.2025 NO Solution.  U-Boot is hamstrung in that all it will do is TFTP a recovery file named recovery.bin and will attempt to 'install' that.  InitRAMFS files don't load or run AND the TTL / Serial connection is wonky as all heck, just cannot predict its functionality, it vacillates between working, printing gibberish, or doing nothing at all.  ==