[OpenWrt-Devel] lantiq DSL drivers / firmware info

[Aleksander Wałęski]

> If someone would like to search for differences on the pcb, I can make photos of both pcbs.

Please do, it might be interesting. Also, if they are not identical
(except for ADSL annex) it might be very difficult to find relevant
differences.
It sort of does not make sense to me that the only difference
hardware-wise would be pcb jumper. You would think that company like
TP-Link is trying very hard to save money where they can. They already
have different firmware for "B" versions (W8970B W8980B) so why not
use some spare GPIO to pull front-end configuration pin to state in
which it has to be (if this is really whats happening). You might say
that it's protection against cross flashing firmware from the other
model but it is already possible to crossflash W8980 to W9980 without
any hardware changes. Why not protect against that? Another theory is
that Lantiq might be enforcing such implementation on manufacturers
but it is also unlikely for me. All the other settings seem to be
changed only by firmware updates. Why not this one?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymmetric_digital_subscriber_line#/media/File:ADSL_annex_overview.svg
Looking at this graph it seems plausible that there is some kind of
additional high-pass filter before front-end or entirely different
chip adapted to upstream transmission on slightly higher frequency for
Annex B. However, w8970 in my country is advertised as supporting ALL
BUT Annex B in this graph and thus needs to cover full bandwidth.
_______________________________________________
openwrt-devel mailing list
openwrt-devel at lists.openwrt.org
https://lists.openwrt.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/openwrt-devel