Siglent 1104X-E/1204X-E - Software/hardware hacks - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: puterboy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 31, 2020, 03:57:03 pm
content: Would like to use this thread to collect the various existing and potential software and hardware hacks available for the Siglent 1104X-E/1204X-E scopes.What hacks have you done on the 1104/1204?What hacks are you looking to create?So far on the forum I have seen multiple threads for:Unlocking the various licensesModding the fanAchieving telnet accessAdditional hacks that I would be interested in would be:Hardware shell access- Has anyone tried connecting the RX/TX pins on the internal PCB to a serial port to see if you get access to Uboot on boot and then to a (root) shell after it boots?Unpack/repack root filesystem- I have done this before on ARM-based plugs allowing me to modify and compile new firmware. Anybody know what processor is used and what toolchain is needed to compile new kernels and modules for the Siglent 1104/1204 as well as how the firmware is packed. On the plug computer, I was able to use Uboot to boot from a USB so perhaps one could even create the ability to boot custom firmware from a USB stick. Potentially even without modding the firmware itself by bootstrapping and using the existing kernel/firmware to reboot a new kernel/firmwareCompile custom modulese.g., to allow for other Wifi devicesIntegrate 3rd party AWG's other than the expensive Siglent one- Are there cheaper (even if less capable) AWG's that can be integrated into the 1104/1204?Integrate 3rd part MSO's other than the expensive Siglent one- Are there cheaper (even if less capable) MSO's that can be integrated into the 1104/1204?Play videos or even TV on the screen- OK here I am stetching and getting a little silly perhaps but if you have a HDMI->USB converter stick (<$20) and you compile the right kernel modules, perhaps you can...Add more memory to the board- There are 4 surface mount pads for memory on the PCB but only 3 are populated. Could one just add another chip and get more memory? Or would one need to change the firmware?Please share your experiences and your wish list...

author: tv84
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 31, 2020, 04:12:52 pm
content: Thisthread has some information that you should read.

author: puterboy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 31, 2020, 04:42:15 pm
content: It seems like the 1104/1204 are ARMv7... which should make things easy as I have modded the firmware on many ARM-based devices ranging from plugs to tv-devices to NAS devices...The cool thing is that with access to the shell one can bootstrap a new kernel say from the USB drive by loading it directly into memory and rebooting. Similarly, one can then use a modded version of the root filesystem on the USB -- all this allowing one to try new firmware mods without changing anything on the stock firmware... I used code like this on the DNS-323 NAS to boot debian on it (the code is a combination of C and assembler) and I assume similar principles would apply on this ARM device.

author: puterboy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2020, 03:59:15 am
content: I saw that several posters complained that the passphrase is easily viewable on the scope.The following hack allows you to obscure the passphrase from easy view and has the side benefit of:Allowing you to type in the ssid & passphrase from a terminal rather than having to use the knob to spell out long SSID's and passphrases via the 'knob'Locking the ssid/passphrase so that you don't accidentally erase it and have to manually enter it again (see #1 above)Allowing you to have multiple network SSIDs & passphrases stored at once in case you use your scope on multiple different WiFi networksProcedure is as follows:Gain telnet access to your scopeType: mount /usr/bin/siglent/usr -o remount,rwType: cd /usr/bin/siglent/usr/wifiType: mv wpa.conf wpa.conf.origType: wpa_passphrase <SSID#1> <passphrase#1> >| wpa.confFor each additional, network desired, type: wpa_passphrase <SSID#N> <passphrase#N> >> wpa.confType: chattr +i wpa.confGo to the WIFI SET screen on the scope and blank out the SSID (or type in some random one) and enter in any 8 random characters for the PSK (I chose '00000000')Enjoy...