A few questions about the instructions

[Matt]

Hey, I'm planning on buying this router to play around with embedded linux but I've got a few questions about your compilation instructions. Firstly, I noticed that you specify to select "Select all packages by default" while also saying to select "kmod-sound-core, kmod-usb-core, etc." which would already be selected. Is there a reason for this? Also, you explain how to install these same packages using opkg in part 5; aren't they already compiled in? Secondly, where am I supposed to download the source code from? In the tutorial you say to get it from the svn trunk, but in your notacon slides you say to use the svn kamikaze release code. Thanks for the help.

[mightyohm]

Matt -

I think you're right, in that the packages should already be selected. However, I have had mixed results, and it could be entirely my fault. It's also possible that only the standard packages are selected when you "select all packages by default", not addons like mpc/mpd. At a minimum, just verify that the packages we really need are in fact selected.

opkg is required because packages don't get compiled into the base image if they are selected as modules (M). Modules can be optionally installed after you install the base image to the router. You could choose to include packages in the base image by changing the 'M' to a '*' next to them in the configuration.

The NOTACON slides were based on kamikaze 8.09, while the original tutorial was actually written for a version of the trunk somewhere between 7.09 and 8.09 (because 8.09 hadn't been released yet). If you are going to compile things yourself, go with Kamikaze 8.09 and follow the instructions at https://dev.openwrt.org/. If you just want to follow the wifi radio tutorial, I would use the precompiled images I provide instead.

If you are adventurous you could even try checking out whatever the current version of the trunk is, but in my experience the trunk almost never compiles 100% smoothly because of it's bleeding edge status.

[Matt]

Thanks for clearing things up, I'll probably try compiling an 8.09 image when I get the router. I also have a quick question about the recovery feature: is it independent of the firmware? For example, if I try to compile a trunk image but it doesn't boot or doesn't have a required kernel module installed can I restore back to a working firmware?

[mightyohm]

To date, every time I have screwed something up, I have been able to power cycle the router, hold down the reset button, and upload a new firmware image.

Despite this, there are probably some cases where something going seriously wrong with the firmware could corrupt the bootloader and TFTP rescue ability.

My solution? Keep a spare router handy.