I got a dockstar about a year ago because it seemed like an interesting device. It was designed to be a simple NAS for personal use, backups, media files, etc. It was mainly interesting because it ran a stripped down version of Linux as it’s stock OS and with a few commands, you could change out that version of Linux with one of your own. A few months back I learned about the Piratebox Project. I looked around and noticed that I had most of the parts to make one of my own already. I found a 3×5 card box at Walmart for the first design, but when I found a book box featuring a pirate ship on the cover, I knew I had to finish this project. I ordered a battery off Amazon along with the tiniest switch you’ve ever seen and I had all of the parts. A few minutes, some Velcro and double stick tape at the shop and I had assembled a battery completely wireless filesharing device. If you happen to have a cat5 cable, it could serve everything over that too. Details after the break.
BOM:
| Dockstar | $30 on a daily deal site |
|---|---|
| 320GB Laptop drive and enclosure | $40 |
| XP8000 | $90 Amazon |
| DWA-125 Wifi Dongle | $15 on a daily deal site |
| 5 port 10/100 usb powered switch | $30 Amazon |
| Book Box | $10 at Micheal’s with coupon. |
| Total | $215 |
I can get 3 hours 15 minutes out of it copying files to it through the switch the entire time. I expect more than 4 hours if I let the drive go into a powersaving mode. I’m running Debian Squeeze from emdebian.org’s project. Using hostapd, I can make this usb dongle function like an AP.
Just wondering, were you able to get the wireless adapter into master mode or is it just ad-hoc?
I’ve updated the post to include information about this. Using hostapd, I can make the usb dongle function just like Master mode, but apparently “iwconfig mode master” doesn’t work with more recent drivers.