Hello!

So, I live on a bus. We travel around, it’s pretty great. I don’t have a laptop or a mailing address that works, so getting certain things done is difficult, and I have two things I need help with.

I installed a solar system a while back, with an older charge controller a friend recommended. I more recently upgraded the batteries to lithium irons. So now this controller requires reprogramming, and to do so you have to plug an RJ45 (pretty sure that’s the name) into it, and probably download some shitty chinese spyware program to fiddle with it. Their newer models bluetooth and require an app of course.

The other thing is either much trickier or impossible, and while I’ve booted up dumpstered laptops with thumbdrive linux before (and found the homemade blowjob video, heh) I’ve no idea how to even go about fiddling with this.

It’s a (shitty chinese) dash/backup/security camera system. It’s been referred to as a ‘pizza box’ system by someone who hates money. It might have a wifi chip onboard, but I can’t figure out it does or not.

I’d like to flash it to run linux, if possible, and put some actually useable video monitoring/porting/editing maybe programs on there. The current UI is unusable even when it’s cooperating. Like if there were an accident, I’d just basically be bluffing. Sure the data’s probably there, but it’s in a format that won’t register on any device I’ve plugged the SD card into. I need it to export to filetype I can use with an ipad, which is the only computer we have aboard.

If any of this sounds like a fun or interesting challenge, I can throw some dollars at you. Or trade work! We do auto/diesel/bicycle mechanic work, welding, sewing, leather and general handy shit.

  • just_another_person@lemmy.worldEnglish
    15·
    7 days ago

    You’re asking for an entire system to be evaluated and a new product programmed to replace the shitty one you currently have. Not gonna happen here.

    • Maeve@kbin.earth
      4·
      7 days ago

      I mean if they have the money and will pay up front, someone else may find it interesting.

  • ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.orgEnglish
    12·
    7 days ago

    Sell it and get something with an existing FOSS firmware. And a laptop (dumpster ones work too). What you’re asking for is $1000 upfront, at minimum, with no satisfaction guarantee.

    If you’re willing to do most of the work yourself, I’d suggest finding an official firmware update and running binwalk on it. Also take good photos of the PCB and look for datasheets of every chip. Then you’ll be able to pose specific questions and maybe get decent help.

    Still, it’s probably best to set up ONVIF client software or something.

  • Cyborganism@lemmy.caEnglish
    8·
    7 days ago

    someone who hates money money

    I’m going to assume you asked someone to do the work but you weren’t willing to pay the price for their time to do the amount of work you’re asking, so they refused.

    No offense but that sounds like a hell of a project with a lot of technical challenges. Why can’t you do it yourself?

    If you think it’s not that big of a project, maybe you could post some specs and more details about your device? And let people here tell you if it’s feasible or not.

    • ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.orgEnglish
      10·
      7 days ago

      Why can’t you do it yourself?

      Probably because it’s hard to compile a kernel on an iPad 😂

      They’re asking a senior engineer to spend a week at minimum poking around an unknown device. That’s going to cost way more than an all-new security camera system. Anyway, they might try opening the video files with ffmpeg, or VLC: I have a Dahua camera (also from a dumpster) that produces .dav files - a proprietary container for H264 or H265 but VLC plays it. There may be a FOSS client available for the camera’s IP interface (like Dahua’s weird fork of ONVIF) but likely not for iOS.

    • DempstersBox@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      51·
      7 days ago

      Oh no, I called a place billing themselves as pc/linux/security specialists, the guy refused, and then tried to get me to buy his IP cameras. Which I’m not opposed to swapping the control box out, but I am not in the slightest interested in replacing the cameras. They’re good cams.

      As for why not do it myself, I am not computer competent to the level of having any idea where to begin. But y’all motherfuckers get doom to run on microwaves and shit these days, so I was hoping someone would be like, ‘oh, probably not that hard’. Merp

      • Cyborganism@lemmy.caEnglish
        6·
        7 days ago

        But y’all motherfuckers get doom to run on microwaves and shit these days

        🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣