Cinch Operating System

resterampe · October 18, 2018, 7:43pm

Hi.
I like to use Cinch because then the GoPiGo broadcasts its own wifi which makes using it in school a pinch. It hasn’t been updated though like Raspian for Robots has been. Is Cinch dead / is it possible to turn Raspian for Robots into a Cinch alternative (i.e. broadcasting its own SSID/wifi network)? Thanks.

RobertLucian · October 19, 2018, 12:32am

Hi @resterampe,

Technically, there are 2 scripts that convert a R4R image into Cinch and vice-versa.
It’s true it hasn’t been updated in a while - we’ve been focused on other stuff lately.

Seeing that there are still users asking for Cinch support, we might bring it back to life, so to speak.

Anyway, if you really want to give it a shot, the fastest way is to run a script that turns an R4R image to cinch. That is this one:

github.com

DexterInd/Raspbian_For_Robots/blob/master/upd_script/wifi/cinch_setup.sh

#! /bin/bash

# To run this: sudo ./cinch_setup.sh

# THIS METHOD WORKS FOR MAKING IT WORK.  IF YOU CONNECT TO THE AP AND TYPE IN 10.10.10.10 it should work.
# 1).  Adhoc is wifi, open.  SSID is "dex"
# 2).  Connect and should get an IP address.
# 3).  Type in "dex.local" in browser.

if [[ $EUID -ne 0 ]]; then
	echo "This script must be run as root"
	exit 1
fi

SCRIPTDIR="$(readlink -f $(dirname $0))"
INSTALLER_VERSION="$(cat $SCRIPTDIR/cinch)"

# the next following lines check whether cinch is already installed
# if it's installed it checks if we have a newer VERSION
# if we have a newer version then we uninstall the current one & install the newer one

This file has been truncated. show original

Since we haven’t touched it in a while, it may or may not work.

Before running it with sudo permissions, be sure you’re using a R4R image and that you’re launching it from its directory. If my memory serves well, the Raspbian_For_Robots directory is in ~/di_update.
Also, I suggest you go with a Raspberry Pi 3 and not a 3 B+, nor the older models that didn’t have built-in WiFi.
If you don’t have a choice and you’ve only got older models, you’d need the Dexter Industries RTL8188 WiFi adapter we used to sell - no other adapter other than this one will work.

Once the script has finished executing, reboot the Raspberry Pi and see if you’ve detected a dex SSID around.

The other script is for reverting a Cinch image back to R4R “mode”. To do this, run its counterpart script.

github.com

DexterInd/Raspbian_For_Robots/blob/master/upd_script/wifi/cinch_uninstaller.sh

if [[ $EUID -ne 0 ]]; then
	echo "This script must be run as root"
	exit 1
fi

SCRIPTDIR="$(readlink -f $(dirname $0))"

# check whether cinch is already installed
if [[ ! -f /home/pi/cinch ]]; then
  exit 1
fi

# stopping services
# wifi_log.service is for cinch -> service to run the wifi debug script and creates an appending log in /boot/logs folder
# channel_select.service is for cinch
# hostapd is for cinch -> for configuring the hotspot details (such ssid, channel, PSKs, etc)
# dnsmasq is for cinch -> provides dns, dhcp and network boot functionalities
systemctl stop wifi_log.service
systemctl stop channel_select.service
systemctl stop dnsmasq.service

This file has been truncated. show original

Then, do the usual stuff: reboot and see if the SSID disappears.

Let us know how it goes for you.

Thank you!

EDIT: Apparently, this thing only works on Jessie and not on Stretch.