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Using the ser2net extension with piCorePlayer

olivier.com 5 February 2022 pCP 8.1.0 Projects

So I achieved success with building my extension and it is working like a charm.

I will give a little walkthrough for people who want to build and use the ser2net extension with piCore (and specially with with piCorePlayer in order to control old DENON AVR)

ser2net cable

What was used

Hardware

Software

Steps

Step 1 - Assemble hardware

  • Plug in your USB to serial adapter.
  • Insert the SD card into the Raspberry Pi.
  • Connect the Ethernet cable if applicable.
  • Connect the power cable(s).
  • Turn the power on.

Step 2 - Add extensions to piCorePlayer

  • In the pCP web interface go to [Main Page] in “Beta” mode > [Extensions].

  • Under the [Available] tab, choose and [Load] the following extensions:

    • compile.tcz
    • squashfs-tools.tcz
    • usbutils
    • usb-serial-X.X.X-pcpCore-v7.tcz (match your set up)

  • Reboot piCorePlayer via [Main Page] > [Reboot]

Step 3 - ssh into piCorePlayer

usb 1-1.4: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now attached to ttyUSB0
  • Take note of the USB device name (ie. ttyUSB0) from the output of the previous command.

Step 4 - Change to tmp directory

  • Type cd /tmp

Step 5 - Download build script

  • Type wget http://tinycorelinux.net/8.x/armv7/tcz/src/ser2net/ser2net.build
#!/bin/sh
#
######################################################
# Build script                                       #
#                                                    #
# See .info for details                              #
######################################################

######################################################
# Configure extension creation parameters            #
######################################################

SRCNAM=ser2net-2.10.0.tar.gz
WRKDIR=ser2net-2.10.0
EXTNAM=ser2net
TMPDIR=/tmp/ser2net

######################################################
# Prepare extension creation                         #
######################################################

# Remove dirs and files left from previous creation

rm -r -f $WRKDIR

rm -r -f $TMPDIR
rm -r -f $TMPDIR-doc

# Crete temporary directory

mkdir -p $TMPDIR

######################################################
# Compile extension                                  #
######################################################

# Export variables needed for compilation

export CFLAGS="-O2 -pipe -march=armv6zk -mtune=arm1176jzf-s -mfpu=vfp"
export CXXFLAGS="-O2 -pipe -fno-exceptions -fno-rtti -march=armv6zk -mtune=arm1176jzf-s -mfpu=vfp"

# Unpack source in current directory

tar -xf $SRCNAM

# Configure it

cd $WRKDIR
./configure --prefix=/usr/local

# Compile

make -j4

# Install in base temp dir

make install DESTDIR=$TMPDIR

# Delete compilation work directory

cd ..
rm -r -f $WRKDIR

# Adjust directory access rights

find $TMPDIR/ -type d | xargs chmod -v 755;

# Strip executables

find $TMPDIR | xargs file | grep ELF | cut -f 1 -d : | xargs strip --strip-unneeded

# Move files to doc extension

mkdir -p $TMPDIR-doc/usr/local
mv $TMPDIR/usr/local/share $TMPDIR-doc/usr/local

###################################################
# Create base extension in temp dir               #
###################################################

cd $TMPDIR
cd ..
mksquashfs $TMPDIR $EXTNAM.tcz
cd $TMPDIR
find usr -not -type d > $EXTNAM.tcz.list
mv ../$EXTNAM.tcz .

# Create md5 file

md5sum $EXTNAM.tcz > $EXTNAM.tcz.md5.txt

# Cleanup temp directory

rm -r -f usr

###################################################
# Create doc extension in temp dir                #
###################################################

cd $TMPDIR-doc
cd ..
mksquashfs $TMPDIR-doc $EXTNAM-doc.tcz
cd $TMPDIR-doc
find usr -not -type d > $EXTNAM-doc.tcz.list
mv ../$EXTNAM-doc.tcz .

# Create md5 file

md5sum $EXTNAM-doc.tcz > $EXTNAM-doc.tcz.md5.txt

# Cleanup temp directory

rm -r -f usr

Step 6 - Make some modifications to ser2net.build script

  • Type sudo vi ser2net.build
  • Modifiy the source name and folder name variables to match new version of ser2net
SRCNAM=ser2net-3.5.4.tar.gz
WRKDIR=ser2net-3.5.4
  • Disable the uucp locking
    • add --with-uucp-locking=no option after ./configure --prefix=/usr/local
  • Make the build optimized for your RPi hardware:
Replace:
export CFLAGS="-O2 -pipe -march=armv6zk -mtune=arm1176jzf-s -mfpu=vfp"
export CXXFLAGS="-O2 -pipe -fno-exceptions -fno-rtti -march=armv6zk -mtune=arm1176jzf-s -mfpu=vfp"

With:
export CFLAGS="-O2 -pipe -march=native -mfpu=vfp"
export CXXFLAGS="-O2 -pipe -fno-exceptions -fno-rtti -march=native -mfpu=vfp"
  • Save and quit

Step 7 - Make script executable

  • Type sudo chmod 775 ser2net.build

Step 8 - Download ser2net sources

  • Type wget https://sourceforge.net/projects/ser2net/files/ser2net/ser2net-3.5.4.tar.gz/download

Step 9 - Build the extension

  • Type ./ser2net.build

Step 10 - Move your new extension on the optional extension folder

  • Type mv /tmp/ser2net/ser2net.tcz /etc/sysconfig/tcedir/optional/ser2net.tcz
  • Type mv /tmp/ser2net/ser2net.tcz.list /etc/sysconfig/tcedir/optional/ser2net.tcz.list
  • Type mv /tmp/ser2net/ser2net.tcz.md5.txt /etc/sysconfig/tcedir/optional/ser2net.tcz.md5.txt

Step 11 - Add the extension loading at boot

  • Type sudo echo ser2net.tcz >> /etc/sysconfig/tcedir/onboot.lst

Step 12 - Add the ser2net conf file

sudo touch /etc/ser2net.conf
sudo echo protocol,src_ip,port_to_reach_onRpi:raw:0:/dev/ttyUSB0:9600 8DATABITS NONE 1STOPBIT >> /etc/ser2net.conf
  • Replace with your params
    • for my configuration I use:
protocol ipv4
src_ip 0.0.0.0 (all source)
port_to_reach_onRpi 11111 (because I like 1)
Info

If you want more information about this conf file you can check man file of ser2net.

Step 13 - Save settings for future reboots

  • Type sudo echo etc/ser2net.conf >> /opt/.filetool.lst

  • Do a backup:

    • Type pcp bu

Step 14 - Add ser2net execution at boot

  • Type sudo vi /opt/bootlocal.sh

  • Add ser2net at the end of the file.

  • Save and quit.

  • Do a backup and reboot:

    • Type pcp br

More information

Batch file to robocopy
LMS Monitor
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