Sierra Wireless AirCard 555

[Anthony Naggs]

In article <20030419194101.W26314-100000 at maily.netdtw.com>, Steven J
Corso <steve at netdtw.com> writes
>
>I would be pleased to donate $300.00 to FreeBSD if there is someone out
>there who will make the above card work on FreeBSD 5.0 Release.

You may get a little further if you offer this as a reward to a
developer to write a driver.  However as far as I can see Sierra
Wireless don't publish enough information to do this properly.

The 2 card AirCard 210, for example, is relatively straightforward to
support.  The Cellular Data card just needs to be detected and given
power, the modem card looks like a serial port connected to a modem.  It
is given a sequence of AT commands to configure the Cellular Data Card
and to make a call.  The modem card can even be connected via a supplied
cable to a POTS line.

The AirCard 555/550, (also the 710 & 750), support much higher data
rates with CDMA2000, (7x0 work with GPRS).  Although everything is now
on one PCMCIA Type II card there are two interfaces to control.  A
serial interface again looks like a modem, and AT commands can be used
to control calls, send/receive SMS.  Data transfer is through a NIC,
which look like an Ethernet card.

The registers for the NIC are not documented, though with a card to hand
it may be possible decode how it works.  Whilst the AT command set is
documented it is insufficient to do things like configuring the cellular
modem for a particular network.  The AT command interface can also be
disabled (locked).  A proprietary, secret "CnS" or "Control and Status
language" command set is used for many of the functions of the Windows
"Watcher" program that manages the modem.  Even though you know the
unlock code CnS is the only method for locking and unlocking the modem.


Let me explain my interest, particularly as this going to the FreeBSD
mailing list too:
I'm currently looking at how to support USB Comms Data Class for
Wireless Mobile Communications Devices.  I'm not aware of any such
devices yet, but I'm sure they will appear this year.

I would like FreeBSD 5.x to include all kinds of support for mobile
phone devices: read/write address books; use as a wireless Internet
link; send/receive faxes; stream audio for voice calls; act as a print
server; send/receive SMS messages; send/receive picture messages; access
the phone's memory e.g. for pictures taken with the built-in camera;
etc...


Cheers,
Tony