fc-host-tools-r13 release, fluid-mnf, end of FreeCalypso

Mychaela Falconia mychaela.falconia at gmail.com
Sun Mar 15 20:10:55 UTC 2020


Hello FreeCalypso community,

The new FC host tools release is out:

ftp://ftp.freecalypso.org/pub/GSM/FreeCalypso/fc-host-tools-r13.tar.bz2
ftp://ftp.freecalypso.org/pub/GSM/FreeCalypso/fc-host-tools-latest.tar.bz2

The most significant change from previous versions is that the new
version of fc-loadtool uses new binary protocols for memory dumps and
flash programming, producing about 2x improvement in speed.  fc-xram
has likewise been changed to use a binary protocol, producing even
more dramatic performance improvement of 3.5x to 5x.

Because our new fc-loadtool, despite the improvement from previous
versions, is still not as fast as TI's FLUID, I have also produced my
own Linux port of the latter:

ftp://ftp.freecalypso.org/pub/GSM/FreeCalypso/fluid-mnf-r1.tar.bz2

FLUID cannot serve as a replacement for fc-loadtool (our FCDEV3B flash
is supported only by fc-loadtool and not by FLUID, likewise with Mot
C1xx and Pirelli DP-L10), but I have produced this fluid-mnf port (my
own port of FLUID from Windows to Linux) as an act of restorative
justice, to right the wrong of the Original Modem company not having
released their Linux port in source code form back when they made it
in 2007 or earlier.

The README file inside the fluid-mnf-r1.tar.bz2 tarball provides a lot
of explanation (437 lines, 24825 characters), but the short version is
that FLUID (both TI's original and fluid-mnf) works only on D-Sample
and Leonardo/Caramel boards and on Openmoko devices, aside from other
TI platforms which no one in our community has.

Which tool should people use, fc-loadtool or fluid-mnf?  In most use
cases fc-loadtool is the only practical option, but if you are flashing
a firmware update into an Openmoko device, FLUID is a little faster:

fluid-mnf   at 115200 baud: 2m28s
fc-loadtool at 115200 baud: 4m02s
fluid-mnf   at 812500 baud: 0m40s
fc-loadtool at 812500 baud: 1m12s

(fc-loadtool numbers are for fc-host-tools-r13 version, using the new
flash e-program-m0 command.)

And no, I have NOT been able to reproduce OM's paranormal magic of
fluid -oO: with fluid-mnf only the -oo (Calypso boot ROM) mode works
on Openmoko devices and other Calypso 26 MHz targets, whereas both -oo
and -oO modes work on the D-Sample board with 13 MHz CLKTCXO input,
exactly like in TI's original.

In other not-so-great news, this release I just made is likely the end
of FreeCalypso.  I still stand by the same core moral principles that
have been underlying FC from the beginning:

1) It is morally impermissible to use ANY cellular phone or modem whose
manufacturer refuses to officially publish its source code, for as long
as there exists at least one cellular phone or modem manufacturer
(in the present case FreeCalypso) who does officially publish its
source code.

2) When the rulers of most Earth regions shut down their GSM/2G
services very soon, it is better to not have any working cellphone at
all than to use a proprietary phone (3G/4G/whatever) whose manufacturer
refuses to publish their source code with the same degree of openness
and transparency as FreeCalypso.

At this point the only way I will be able to continue FreeCalypso
forward would be if we can gather more people who have the same strict
morals as I do.  I say that we need at least 10 people who would be
willing to take the same principled stand in favor of GSM/2G and
against proprietary 3G/4G/etc, namely:

* If you have a 3G or newer phone, immediately stop using it.

* If you have service from any operator who provides 3G/4G service but
not GSM/2G, immediately cancel that service.

* If you are fortunate to live in a land where GSM/2G service is still
available, you need to make a point of using it as heavily as possible:
get a 2G-only phone if you don't have one already, stick your SIM in
it, and make as many calls as you can, talking on the phone just for
the sake of talking on the phone if need be.

* Take a vow to never-ever-ever use 3G or 4G or newer technologies and
instead live without any working cellphone at all if GSM/2G gets shut
down in your area.

I already live by all of the above principles, but at the present time
I don't know of anyone else who does, thus we still need to find 9
more people.  And if we do find 10 people willing to take the high
moral stance, then we would need to take the following steps:

1) Find some place where all 10 of us can gather together and
peacefully and quietly live out the remainder of our natural
biological lifespans;

2) Buy a sysmoBTS 1002 unit from Sysmocom and set up our own GSM/2G
network for us to use, independent of all those uncaring and
indifferent national operators;

3) Finish FreeCalypso proper, i.e., produce that FreeCalypso Libre
Dumbphone handset which I have been wanting to produce all these years.

Note that even if steps 1 and 2 were to somehow miraculously happen
tomorrow, step 3 would still have to wait until after my sex correction
surgery (currently rescheduled for 2021-05 because I didn't have the
money by 2020-02), unless one of our still-not-found 10 people also
happens to be someone rich who can make a donation of 15 kUSD.

That financial situation is another important point: if I lived in
some place where GSM/2G service was guaranteed (by govt orders etc) to
remain through 2050, then I would have no thoughts of dropping the
project and I would be very eager to continue with my original plan of
producing my long-desired FreeCalypso Libre Dumbphone.  But even if
having continued GSM/2G service weren't an issue, the task of producing
that FC Libre Dumbphone would still cost money - and in the absence of
outside donations, I currently have to save every dollar toward my
upcoming surgery cost so I can get it done in 2021-05, cannot afford
to spend ANY of my own money on projects currently.

Of course someone is bound to ask why I am so fixated on GSM/2G, why
am I not willing to work on the newer stuff instead.  Here is my two-
part response to that inevitable question:

1) I am not willing to skip 3G and jump directly to LTE/4G - thus if I
am going to work on something newer than GSM/2G, it would have to be
UMTS/3G, not LTE.

2) I would be willing to start researching UMTS/3G and delving into it
immediately if someone were to make a donation of 15 kUSD toward my
SRS, but not otherwise.

Hasta la Victoria, Siempre,
Mychaela aka The Mother


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