I have a Vodafone internet subscription, with a Huawei E172 USB modem.
However, in some cases the reception with that Huawei is bad.
So I tried the Vodafone Simcard in my Nokia 3110 Classic GSM phone,
but the network wizard on the eeePC could not create a working connection.
Googled a bit, and found some scripts here:
http://siam035.wordpress.com/2007/09/19/accessing-gp-internet-from-linux/
The scripts you need are:
edge.doc
edge-connect-chat.doc
edge-disconnect-chat.doc
I have modified some of these for the Vodafone network, you can find my scripts here:
ftp://panteltje.com/pub/eeepc/nokia-3110-classic/
Those are not ms-word files, but simple text files.
Become root, by opening an xterm with control alt t, and typing:
sudo su -
Put those scripts in /etc/ppp/peers/ on the eeePC 701.
Do a
chmod +x edge*
to make the files executable.
Now we need a way to start the connection, and configure it.
For this I wrote the experimental script 'start_pppd', you can also find it at:
ftp://panteltje.com/pub/eeepc/nokia-3110-classic/
Put the script 'start_pppd” in for example /usr/local/bin/
If you use an other carrier then Vodafone, or some other subscription then 'business',
then you need to edit edge-connect-chat.doc accordingly.
Take the Simcard out of the Huawei USB modem, and put it in the Nokia 3110,
connect the phone to the USB of the eeePC, the phone will prompt you for a mode.
Select 'Nokia mode' on the phone.
Start an xterm with control alt t
Type
sudo su -
start_pppd
Type enter in the xterm that pops up, to start the script.
Now the phone will connect to the Vodafone network, if it can.
You may see some message on the phone while it is trying to connect.
Once connected, type
y
in the xterm on the eeepc.
This will get the IP address you got from Vodafone, and add it as default route.
Start your browser, you should have an internet connection.
Typing ENTER again in the xterm of the 'start_pppd' script will drop the connection, and remove the route.
It is a bit primitive now, but it works all the time.
I have added a hot key, as described on wiki.eeeuser.com , by adding a line in ~/.icewm/keys:
key “Alt+Ctrl+n” sudo xterm -rv -e /usr/local/bin/start_pppd
So now all I have to do is hit 'control alt n' to connect.
While the network SIMcard is in the Nokia, you cannot make calls or receive calls.
Use an other phone for that.
The Nokia seems more sensitive and is able to make connections in places where the Huawei E172 does not work,
and also it has its own battery, so that extends the online time you can get on the eeePC.
Note:
I do not know why pppd does not add the default gateway by itself, but on my eeePC it does not.
I do have the defaultroute option enabled in the script.
So I added some parsing of ifconfig with awk to get the ip address, and do a route add default gw ip_address.
Maybe that should go in ip-up.d, but I did not want to mess with the xandros scripts.
It is all open to improvement, but it works.
