This is an unofficial port of the OpenWRT Linux distribution for the ZipIt Z2 handheld.
Note that this is an unofficial port of “OpenWRT trunk” at this stage.
23 April 2013 - Nightly builds re-enabled again (had stopped in November.) Added some notes about alternative installations, package sources.
18 March 2012 - Package snapshots should be back & current now, after being incomplete/old for a few weeks.
29 June 2012 - “ZipIt” packages feed has been moved to openwrt-zipit-packages (no longer forked from Qi Hardware.) Development can be found on github.
Two images you can install to an SD card (see instructions, below):
See below for instructions.
There is also this image for installation to the internal flash:
slug_’s recent build with gmenu2x launcher, for installing to internal flash.
The tool z2uFlashstock will install this build (and uboot bootloader) onto a stock ZipIt Z2.
Packages are built nightly on this site, directory here. The nightly build comes with opkg configured to install packages automatically from this repository.
Mozzwald’s image with gmenu2x is configured to use his package repository. There may be packages available in this repository which have failed in the nightly build.
If you wish to switch between the package repositories used by opkg update, you can edit the file /etc/opkg.conf on the ZipIt. URLs are
http://chainxor.org/openwrt-zipit/snapshot/packages (nightlies)
http://mozzwald.homelinux.net/zipit/openwrt/pxa/packages (mozzwald’s.)
Very lightweight, OpenWRT is designed for low end devices.
Nearly 3000 prebuilt binary packages available via ‘opkg’ package manager.
The 4.52b base install includes wifi support, ssh server, ZipIt-friendly console. By trimming it’s possible to get down to 2Mb or less for a base system.
A good base for building a more feature-heavy ZipIt installation.
Not as many packages as Debian z2sid. In particular, not as many graphical packages (some have been ported from the Ben Nanonote OpenWRT port.)
OpenWRT is officially a router firmware (although it runs on lots of other devices), so some aspects are more router-friendly than handheld-friendly.
A ZipIt Z2 and a spare MiniSD card.
uboot already installed. If your ZipIt is stock, I recommend downloading the latest version of FlashStock from Mozzwald’s downloads page. Or try z2uFlashstock.
Set up your miniSD card with a single ext2 partition.
Download the latest build snapshot tarball.
Untar the tarball as root onto the SD card (be sure to run ‘sync’ when done.)
Edit the file etc/config/wireless on the miniSD card and follow the prompts to preconfigure the wireless (easier than doing it on the device.)
Eject the SD, then insert it into the ZipIt and boot. Press “Enter” to start a new console as root.
After you boot, use ‘passwd’ to set a root password. This is important: until you do this, passwordless telnet will be available to the ZipIt.
After you set a root password, you will be able to ssh to the ZipIt.
Use “opkg update” to refresh the list of packages. Use “opkg install packagename” to install one.
For tons more information, see the OpenWRT Wiki.
Because this is an early image, most things will need some experimentation to get right. Here are some things to get you started, though:
Edit the files /etc/config/network & /etc/config/wireless to set up a wifi client, there are comments to guide you.
For a complete reference, check the OpenWRT wireless network docs.
Anarsoul has ported gmenu2x. opkg install gmenu2x to use. The ZipIt will automatically boot into gmenu2x if it is installed.
opkg install kmod-sound-zipit-z2 alsa-utils to get Linux audio support.
To hear audio, run ‘alsamixer’ then scroll right until you see “Left Mixer” then “Right Mixer” and press ‘m’ to unmute them. It’d be nice if someone makes a little alsactl script to automate this, we can put it in the kmod-sound-zipitz2 package. :)
To exit alsamixer, type Ctrl-C (the … & C keys.)
One command line audio player is moc. opkg install moc then mocp to run.
mutt is a great console email client. opkg install mutt msmtp will give you mutt w/ secure IMAP & POP support, and you can configure msmtp as a secure sendmail for SMTP.
kmod install mouse-emul and you can press ‘Option’ to toggle using the keypad as a mouse.
OpenWRT for ZipIt development all on github.
The openwrt-zipit repository has the base system. Anarsoul has written a guide to getting started with building from source (he’s using his git repositories, you can either use these or replace them.) The OpenWRT build documentation is also very complete.
openwrt-zipit-packages is a ZipIt-specific fork of new user interface packages. Thank to mozzwald for starting this repository. Many packages were originally ported by Qi Hardware for the Ben Nanonote.
Contributors are extremely welcome, just fork on github if you want to get hacking!
If you’re wondering what is left to do, there are still several of the Qi Hardware packages that don’t build for ZipIt. Or take a look at the Issues List for OpenWRT-ZipIt. Or, port your favourite program!
Please send us Pull Requests or patches via github so changes can be incorporated.
Should run once a day and attempt to build all packages in the openwrt-zipit repositories. Logs and the build script are uploaded after each build
Worked on by many #zipit folks - projectgus, anarsoul, mozzwald, deeice & slug_, and many others.
Big thanks to the OpenWRT developers for the original distribution.
If it pertains to the core OS, please report it via the github Issues for openwrt-zipit.
If it pertains to a package taken from openwrt-zipit-packages, please report it via that project’s Issues page.
If it is another program from the core OpenWRT distribution, you can either report it on github or report it back to the OpenWRT team. Bear in mind that we are grabbing packages from OpenWRT development versions, so it is likely packages will break from time to time. Also please remember that ZipIt is not a supported configuration for OpenWRT, so they may not be familiar with your configuration.