Blog Archives
Prepaid Manager App in Ubuntu
It was only today that I put into use my Huawei E303C modem into use. I had not used it for almost 6 months. And today I plugged it in it with the IDEA 3G sim on Ubuntu 13.04. The Huawei linux drivers almost gave me a headache and finally to get the device working . Finally I had to uninstall it and I found out that Ubuntu 13.04 automatically detects my modem.
Now people out there who have already screwed up by trying to install the Linux drivers for Huawei modem, just uninstall and reinstall the usb-modeswitch and things should be perfect.
sudo apt-get remove usb-modeswitch usb-modeswitch-data sudo apt-get install usb-modeswitch
Now after all these I still had one major problem in front of me. To know the balance that I have on my SIM I had to remove it from the modem insert it in to my mobile and check. It is then that I found this wonderful application in ubuntu called “prepaid manager”
sudo apt-get install prepaid-manager-applet
Once this is done you will have to change a few lines in an XML file.
go to /usr/share/mobile-provider-info
and with root permissions open the serviceproviders.xml file.
In this file go to the country and to the service provider you are using and add the following lines just before the closing gsm tag </gsm>
<balance-check>
<ussd>”USSD CODE TO GET BALANCE</ussd>
</balance-check>
<balance-top-up>
<ussd replacement=”CODE”>*USSD CODE TO RECHARGE*CODE#</ussd>
</balance-top-up>
Once this is copied make sure to change USSD CODE TO GET BALANCE to the required code for me since I was using IDEA it was *125#
Till now I have not tried the top up option, if any of my readers have done that too please eel free to comment.
An Engineer’s Hobby
After four years of my Btech life and the numerous electronics projects I did, I found my room overwhelming with broken components and fried up chips, all adding to the great e-waste. I had many ICs including a Pentium 4 processor some micro controller chips and even a DDR RAM. I felt like my room was a junkyard. My DDR RAM was in working condition so I tried to sell it to some of my friends and it is then that I realized that no one right now has a motherboard supporting the DDR. All have been upgraded to DDR2 and DDR3. It was then that i thought of “collecting electronic parts”, who knows the components that I have now may go out of production as newer technologies are invented, and this will also help in educating myself more about each component. I searched the Internet and i was disappointed not to find anything related to it. So maybe a new hobby was being invented. First I started by sticking the components on to a notebook and writing down its details just like a scrap book but soon I found out that it was not a practical solution as bigger components would not go into the book. Then I decided on Putting the components in resealable plastic covers and labeling them and I could keep a catalog on each component I have and collect useful information about it and write it down in a book.
P4 Chip and a Microcontroller
If any of my readers have suggestions about such a collection or if you know anyone doing such a thing please let me know. Because I would really like to do this in a good way. This is my small way of saving the world from e waste because if anyone else gets inspired by my blog they too will start collecting electronic items instead of just dumping them. Please don’t forget to give m your valuable suggestions. Making art out of electronics can be another way, I once tried my hand at that and here is something I made.
E-Man
