[conspire] Pantech UM175 cellular modems and Linux

[Rick Moen]

Quoting kw6 at xmission.com (kw6 at xmission.com):

> I got a new laptop, purged Vista and loaded Suse 11.3.  Runs fine --
> unfortunately, I dunno what you guys did for me last year to make my
> Pantech UM-175 work on my (now deceased) desktop machine, but I need
> to do it to the laptop.

Hmm, let's see:  The Pantech UM175 is a USB-connected cellular modem
sold for use with Verizon's 3G/EVDO (Evolution-Data Optimized) wireless
CDMA network.  Just as background, at a certain level, all modems are
the same.  That is, you end up configuring drivers so it can be dealt
with like any other modem, e.g., sent Hayes-style 'AT' telephone dialing
commands.  Being a USB device, the Pantech gets addressed as a USB-type
serial device, /dev/ttyACM0.  Then, you set up some sort of PPP-class
dialup thingie, fire it up with your username/password (username
[yournumber]@vzw3g.com, password vzw) credentials for Verizon data
access, test, and you're done.

Here's one guy solving the problem using Ubuntu and the 'gnome-ppp' PPP
software:
http://www.jasons.org/2008/09/02/howto-verizon-um175-usb-evdo-card-under-ubuntu-hardy/

Here (in posting by 'Mikebat') is someone doing the same thing with
Ubuntu using the 'wvdial' PPP software:
http://www.evdoforums.com/thread9995.html

I gather from this page that the underlying USB serial support functions
only if kernel driver cdc_acm is loaded.
http://forum.slitaz.org/index.php/discussion/458/pantech-um175-modem-problems
(Not all of the stuff on that page is going to be generally applicable,
because it's specialised for a small Linux distro called 'SliTaz'.)

OpenSUSE 11.3 is a pretty cutting-edge distribution, so the odds are
that you'll just be able to plug and go with whatever PPP software it
comes with -- just addressing device /dev/ttyACM0.

Extra steps Ubuntu users (through release 'Hardy') need to take if they
want the 'Network Manager' software to deal with the Pantech
intelligently:
http://www.jasons.org/2008/09/12/using-networkmanager-with-pantech-um175-under-ubuntu-hardy/

Also mentioned in the comments (of the aforementioned page) is the
Pantech needing to be 'activated' in MS-Windows or OS X before Linux can
address it at all.  That appears to be a one-time (or at least
infrequent) thing, not needing to be performed every power-on or
anything like that.

More:
https://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?pid=95550

And somebody having problems with an old (unidentified) Linux distro and
kernel, being told that he'll have no problems with a newer distro:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-wireless-networking-41/um175-wireless-broadband-adaptor-hangs-up-after-connecting-727469/

And, last, somebody labouriously solving exactly such problems with a
rather old release of Ubuntu:
http://www.linuxscrew.com/2007/09/03/ev-do-internet-access-with-ubuntu-linux/


> I also need to know how to make it play DVDs, .flvs, etc.

Playing movie DVDs is usually a matter of retrofitting into the distro's
existing AV software the omitted DVDCSS decrypting software that the
distro left out so that the control freaks in Hollywood wouldn't come 
after them.


Let's see:  By '.flvs', you mean one of Adobe/Macromedia's Flash video
formats.  '.flv', if memory serves, means a SWF-format video file
embedded for video streaming.  Such as YouTube, blah blah blah.

Lots of different ways of handling that annoyance.  Most people just go
install the Linux release of that wretched proprietary Adobe Flash
plug-in for their Web browsers, and let the poor browser contends with
that miserable mess of horrible Javascript that the SWF is wrapped up
in.  Others install one of the de-obfucatiing and downloadign the SWF
file so you can have and play it locally:  youtube-dl, PyTube, clive, 
UTube Ripper, gvdown, GNetVideoPlayer, Get YouTube Video, ClipGrab,
yougrabber, etc.
See:  http://www.linux.com/archive/feature/133157

Your downloading tools can either auto-convert the FLV over to something
else and hand that to a good player program (as described in the
article) or you can hand it off to one of the two leading open-source
reverse-engineerings of Adobe's Flash player (gnash and swfdec) or to
the proprietary Flash player itself if you prefer.

Adobe doesn't permit Linux distributions to include the proprietary
Flash player, so you'd need to install that into your distro if you wish
to have it present.


By the way, Kevin, might I suggest, as a general suggestion, that
whenever you have a gang of Linux geeks help you solve problems, you
arrive with a legal pad or composition book, and insist on taking good
notes about what they do for you?  Then you'll be in a better situation
if, e.g., you get a new computer or reload the OS.