VOXL 2 Wifi Dongle User Guide
Table of contents
Summary
VOXL 2 by itself doesn’t have Wi-Fi or a LAN port to keep the core size and weight low, but it’s easy to overcome.
- Add-on board for networking:
- USB Expansion Board (M0017) + JST-to-USB cable (MCBL-00009-1) + Ethernet or Wi-Fi dongle
- 5G Modem Add-on (M0090-3-01) + your own VPN (or email devops @ modalai.com if interested in possible beta programs)
- Microhard Modem Add-On (M0048-1)
The M0078-2 USB Debug add-on and M0090 or PCIe/5G Modem Carrier add-on board provides access to a USB 2.0 hub via a 4-pin and JST connector when used with 4-pin JST to USBA Female Cable.
This allows you to plug in a Wi-Fi dongle over USB.
Supported Wi-Fi Dongles
The following have been tested in an office environment and work on system image 1.1.2 and newer.
| Dongle | Chipset | NDAA ‘20 Section 848 Compliant | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alfa AWUS036ACS 802.11ac AC600 | Realtek RTL8812AU | Yes (COO Taiwan) | Product Amazon |
| Alfa AWUS036EAC 802.11ac AC1200 | Realtek RTL8812AU | Yes (COO Taiwan) | Product Amazon |
| TP-link TL-WN725N N150 | Realtek RTL8818EUS | No (COO China) | Product Link |
Connect Wifi Dongle
If you are using a VOXL USB expansion and emergency fastboot board, connect the JST to USB adapter onto:
- USB2 Host on M0017
- J3 on M0078
Then, plug your Wifi Dongle into the USB adapter.
First, ADB onto your device if you haven’t already done so - this is by connecting the USB-C adapter on the voxl2 onto the computer doing the editing:
adb shell
Station Mode
To connect a Wifi Dongle to VOXL 2 in Station Mode, open the terminal and use:
voxl-wifi station <ssid> <password>
Now run the two following commands:
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl restart wpa_supplicant
Reboot
The wifi dongle should now be connected to the voxl 2 via the USB-C connector. To take effect, you need to reboot.
Connect
In order to connect via SSH over the network, run the following after the necessary configurations have been done above:
ssh root@IP_ADDRESS_OF_WIFI_DONGLE
Where the password associated to login is: oelinux123
Soft-AP Mode
To connect a Wifi Dongle to VOXL 2 in AP Mode, open the terminal and use:
voxl-wifi softap <ssid>
You can choose an SSID name, and the password defaults to ‘1234567890’