Linux Demand: A Dial for Better Communication?
Hear ye, hear ye! Fancy yourself a Linux enthusiast with a soft spot for the past? We've got a treat for you. Ever thought about hooking up a rotary telephone dial as a peripheral for your Linux computer? Well buckle up, because we're diving into the wild world of Stefan Wiehler's rotary dial kernel driver.
This insanely cool project lets you interface rotary dial phones with your favorite Linux systems, all thanks to platforms such as systems-on-chip that offer access to extra GPIO pins. To make things happen, you'll need at least couple of these pins to handle the BUSY and PULSE lines of the rotary dial. Once you've got that sorted and installed the driver, it's like the dial transformed into a number pad, easiest input ever!
But here's where things get interesting. Interfacing with dials is usually something we do with microcontrollers, so will this find a use beyond pure curiosity? Well, we're already picturing a generation of old-school dial IP phones utilizing Linux-capable dev boards. As for whether Linus Torvalds would approve, our best guess is that it's a bit of a stretch for mainline inclusion.
However, if you're looking for an easier way to make phone calls on your Linux machine, there are probably simpler options available. But hey, where's the fun in that?
In case you'd like to give it a whirl, here's a quick guide:
- ** hardware setup:**
- Connect the rotary dial's BUSY and PULSE lines to available GPIO pins on your Linux device or development board.
- Confirm the GPIOs are accessible and configurable by the kernel on your platform.
- Kernel Module Installation and Configuration:
- Grab Stefan Wiehler’s rotary dial kernel driver.
- Compile and insert the kernel module (check your kernel version and whether it supports external module loading; otherwise, rebuild your kernel with the driver included).
- Configure the module parameters to specify which GPIO pins correspond to the BUSY and PULSE inputs.
- Using the Dial:
- After proper configuration, the dial will function as an input device.
- Watch as the system interprets the dialed numbers as key presses from a numeric keypad.
- Application and Use Cases:
- Use this setup for retro projects, novelty input devices, or interfacing vintage hardware with modern Linux systems.
- Consider integrating into embedded Linux projects or retrofitting Linux-capable dev boards for old-school dial IP phone-style interfaces.
So there you have it, fellow Linux adventurer! Give yourself a pat on the back, you've officially dived headfirst into the time warp. Enjoy the spinning rotary love and a touch of retro charm on your Linux box!
In this fascinating project, smart-home devices such as Linux-capable development boards can interact with old-school rotary dial IP phones, thanks to the rotary dial kernel driver. This means that Linux gadgets can communicate with the rotary dial, treating it as a number pad, a use case that extends beyond pure curiosity.
With a guide to hardware setup, kernel module installation and configuration, and application and use cases provided, it's now possible to interface Linux systems with rotary dial phones, adding a touch of retro technology charm to your Linux box.
