Linksys 300N - Bricked due to no power cycle [Solved]

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Murrkf
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Joined: 22 Sep 2008
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 18:08    Post subject: Reply with quote
it is fixed.

Here's the story. I REALLY didn't want to try to solder that itty bitty jtag header. Besides. I didn't have an itty bitty jtag header. I didn't even have a normal jtag header.

Pictures don't do this justice. This thing is TINY. It was almost on the same scale as soldering in a processor chip.

Barryware had told me horror stories about that header, and I wanted to try to solder that in about as much as I wanted to run into a bear in the woods after reading autopsy reports...about a guy...who ran into a bear...in the woods.

Redhawk had given good advice about how to do it, but I still doubted my solder skills. We settled on telephone wire as being about the right size for soldering in. I had some.

I also did't have a torx 10 security handy, so I used a small flat screwdriver to remove the short screws....so much for security heads.

So, I started to work on this, and I noticed that the wire was almost big enough to fill the hole in the jtag port. In fact, if i bent it slightly wrong, it wouldn't go in. So I got the idea of doubling it over so it filled my jtag female on one end, and just pushing it through the hole of the port.

I used tjtag 3. I did a probeonly and it recognized the chip. I did tjtag -erase:nvram, and it sat for a while. Too long. So I adjusted the connection slightly, and it worked in about 1 second. Took 27 seconds to tjtag -erase:kernel. And I had a blinking light. Success.

I had to tjtag a trailed build so I used BS12533, and then I upgraded to 12548 through the webgui, being careful to do a power cycle before I did the hard resets.

This build is incredibly faster than the 12307 I had on there previously. I have reached internet speeds faster than I have ever seen before. I am posting a bunch of picts on the jtag and how to reassemble the linksys wrt300N router. Disassembly is the reverse.



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Murrkf
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Joined: 22 Sep 2008
Posts: 12675

PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 18:10    Post subject: Reply with quote
More picts...(3 is the max you can post?)


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SIG:
I'm trying to teach you to fish, not give you a fish. If you just want a fish, wait for a fisherman who hands them out. I'm more of a fishing instructor.
LOM: "If you show that you have not bothered to read the forum announcements or to follow the advices in them then the level of help available for you will drop substantially, also known as Murrkf's law.."
Murrkf
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 18:11    Post subject: Reply with quote
And 3 more...


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SIG:
I'm trying to teach you to fish, not give you a fish. If you just want a fish, wait for a fisherman who hands them out. I'm more of a fishing instructor.
LOM: "If you show that you have not bothered to read the forum announcements or to follow the advices in them then the level of help available for you will drop substantially, also known as Murrkf's law.."
HardReset
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Joined: 07 May 2009
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 18:14    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nice job.. Thanks for the pics
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Murrkf
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 18:14    Post subject: Reply with quote
Last pict. You have to slide the slides on the blue part into the slots at the front, and then push down on the round ones at the back for final assembly.


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SIG:
I'm trying to teach you to fish, not give you a fish. If you just want a fish, wait for a fisherman who hands them out. I'm more of a fishing instructor.
LOM: "If you show that you have not bothered to read the forum announcements or to follow the advices in them then the level of help available for you will drop substantially, also known as Murrkf's law.."
redhawk0
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Joined: 04 Jan 2007
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 18:15    Post subject: Reply with quote
nice job...now...you gotta get a permanent header installed for the next time....seeing that you are a dd-wrt HO!....there WILL be a next time.

redhawk

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barryware
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Joined: 26 Jan 2008
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 18:24    Post subject: Reply with quote
I wish I would'a just used the wires in the holes. I purchased and soldered in a pin header. Looks really nice but is completely un-workable. I bought mating sockets and have crashed & burned three times trying to get wires soldered to the socket pins. It is just so f$cking small.

If you want something permanent, I would do it the other way around. Solder the socket to the pcb. Then just plug in wires to the socket, or solder your jtag wires to the male pin header. Then plug that into the socket on the pcb.

Congrats on your recovery Murrkf.

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Murrkf
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Joined: 22 Sep 2008
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 18:42    Post subject: Reply with quote
barryware wrote:
If you want something permanent, I would do it the other way around. Solder the socket to the pcb.


Would the socket be easier to solder than the header? You are underestimating how small it is when you say "It is just so f$cking small." I don't think I could solder this in place without running solder into every other hole at the same time.

Thanks you guys. You know I couldn't have done it without you.

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SIG:
I'm trying to teach you to fish, not give you a fish. If you just want a fish, wait for a fisherman who hands them out. I'm more of a fishing instructor.
LOM: "If you show that you have not bothered to read the forum announcements or to follow the advices in them then the level of help available for you will drop substantially, also known as Murrkf's law.."
Darr
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Joined: 03 Oct 2008
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Location: Michigan USA

PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 16:26    Post subject: Reply with quote
Murrkf wrote:
...
I don't think I could solder this in place without running solder into every other hole at the same time.

...


If you have old PCBs to practice on, sometimes it works best to stand them up on edge (if no panavise, vacuum-mount hobby vises can be found pretty cheap at various places) so you can see both sides at the same time. Use a dab of rosin flux (never use acid flux on electronics) on each pin/wire and stick them through the holes so you can heat from one side and apply solder (buy the 1/32'' solder for fine work) to the other side... when it reaches melting temp it will draw the solder right into the joint from capillary action (a function of the melted solder's surface tension) without running all over the board. Remove the heat as soon as you see the solder start to wick in, then just touch the point of the tip against the solder wire where it meets the joint to 'break' it off.

Oddly enough, I first observed this phenomenon while sweating copper pipe joints and adopted the technique to electronics from that experience.
Hopefully, you will find it useful too.

Curved tip hemostats work somewhat as makeshift heatsinks if you don't have the spring clamp-on type, btw.
Murrkf
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Joined: 22 Sep 2008
Posts: 12675

PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 17:29    Post subject: Reply with quote
I appreciate the input. Since this thread is done, and linked in the peacock as a "what not to do", if anyone else has any helpful soldering tips, go ahead and place them here. Thanks.
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SIG:
I'm trying to teach you to fish, not give you a fish. If you just want a fish, wait for a fisherman who hands them out. I'm more of a fishing instructor.
LOM: "If you show that you have not bothered to read the forum announcements or to follow the advices in them then the level of help available for you will drop substantially, also known as Murrkf's law.."
digitelle
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Joined: 11 Jun 2010
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 21:13    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks for the tip of using a flathead for the torx screws, worked like a charm. Very Happy
willmon22
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Joined: 08 Oct 2013
Posts: 28

PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 4:42    Post subject: Reply with quote
Wow this is an old thread. Anyways I thought I would add a comment to this. I happen to have the same router a WRT300N and I am glad I didn't have this issue. Sounds like something I wouldn't have been able to do if this was to happen to me as I don't have the things required to do a jtag. I am happy that I didn't do this to mine surprisingly considering I have never flashed a router in my life to a custom firmware. I have only flashed my router once to a firmware from linksys when I knew there was an update. I am hoping I will be able to learn even more about routers and this custom firmware as it really helped me out when getting a repeater from just flashing it with a custom firmware. Anyways I guess that is about it I hope to post more in the forums about my experiences with my router and this custom firmware.
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