2017-07-12 00:42:29

Ok. Is that plastic covering normal?

2017-07-12 01:25:58 (edited by Orko 2017-07-12 01:28:50)

Sounds like the exact same way the Pen Friend secures the micro SD card it uses for its internal storage. If it is, the metal cover over the micro SD card should slide down without too much force, then hinge up with no force at all allowing you to remove the micro SD card. You shouldn't have to worry about the orientation of the micro SD card because it will fit into the socket only one way.

Then you should be able to put the micro SD card in a reader and see everything that's on it.

Sounds easy enough to do, but I'm not going to touch my Stream. This is for braver hearts and minds than mine.

2017-07-12 01:43:53

I'm putting nails in the area in between the cavity and the near top of the device with the battery latch, but the thing isn't moving.

2017-07-12 02:31:00

Unfortunately, I can't be of much more help here. The sticker wasn't all that easy to get off, but it should come without too much force. You may need to get someone to eye ball it.

2017-07-12 03:00:44

So you're saying there's more than one sticker on the battery cavity? I e, a sticker under the obvious noticeable one?

2017-07-14 01:49:20

Hello, I found this topic whilst browsing, and it's something that I've been fascinated with as well.
For example, I just got a book port plus yesterday. I updated it to the latest version, but I don't like the new Samantha voice. I frankly like the one that came before the update. This one is harder to understand. I did hear about the automotive version of the voice though, but what seems odd is that Samantha is the only voice that was changed. Tom still remains to be compact.

Ulysses, KJ7ERC
She/they
Reedsy

2017-12-31 08:37:49

Hi,

I am interested in developing a custom firmware for Victor Reader Stream device but I don't know if doing so is possible yet. Do you have a Victor Reader Stream device which you want to experiment on? If yes, please PM me and we can get the custom firmware project going.

Thanks!

2017-12-31 13:51:17

I am hoping to get a Victor Reader Trekk. I used to have a Victor Stream, but it belonged to the regional service district and so I had to return it. But I have a Book Port Plus.

Ulysses, KJ7ERC
She/they
Reedsy

2017-12-31 21:23:59

@samy, I don't mean to destroy your hopes or anything, but the victor reader stream/trek firmware is not a normal Linux OS. Added to that is the fact that the libraries are statically linked and the kernel is heavily modified and developing a firmware then becomes most likely impossible without the libraries Humanware used, and the likelihood of you getting access to that is nil.

"On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament!]: 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out ?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."    — Charles Babbage.
My Github

2018-01-05 11:40:06

I have been able to develop a modified firmware for VRStream 2. It doesn't have extra functionality for now as I want to rule out flashing/bricking issues first.

The modified firmware should not brick the VRStream 2 device but if it does, it is 100% possible to unbrick the device if you have access to the internal Micro SD card.

I am now looking for some brave adventurous folks to give this a try. Please send me a private message if you want to play with this stuff. Thanks! :-)

2018-01-05 11:59:09

Can you describe the process through which you were able to access the internal space of the Victor Reader Stream? What firmware operating system does it use? Did you have to use SSH or Bash?

Ulysses, KJ7ERC
She/they
Reedsy

2018-01-05 13:05:19

Take a look at the initial messages posted to this thread. They talk about how one can access the internal Micro SD storage of VRStream 2 device through the battery compartment.

Since I don't have the hardware myself, I am trying to make progress from the "other" side. The "other" side involves flashing a custom firmware, getting SSH (and other things) running on the device, and making further progress from there.

2018-01-05 13:07:01 (edited by samy 2018-01-05 13:09:42)

VRStream 2 has a very standard ARMv5 processor, and software-wise it is running a 2.6.x Linux kernel with glibc 2.9 and OpenSSL 1.0.0d.

I have a compiler toolchain which targets VRStream 2 working now. I am now looking for help in finding out if custom firmware images can be flashed to a VRStream 2 device.

2018-01-06 01:52:18

@samy, if you can get this going and get a true stable environment working I'd love to help. The OpenSSL libraries most definitely need to be updated, as well as the kernel, though I doubt we could do that safely without ruining the system entirely (my luck with building custom kernels is.... well.... not very lucky for me). But OpenSSL definitely, definitely needs to be updated. The latest version of openssl is 1.1.0G on Nov. 02, 2017. We can't have unsecure streams.... big_smile

"On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament!]: 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out ?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."    — Charles Babbage.
My Github

2018-01-06 02:47:55

Hello,

What does the modified firmware do? I'd also like to know more info about the processor, RAM, and total disk size of the Micro SD card. I don't think I'll be modifying the software as it would be really hard to repair seeing as how it's a blindness product.

Grab my Adventure at C: stages Right here.

2018-01-06 06:37:16 (edited by samy 2018-01-06 06:41:31)

I was able to verify that upgrading OpenSSL is possible.

$ MALLOC_CHECK_=0 LD_LIBRARY_PATH=. qemu-arm ./wget --no-check-certificate https://localhost:4443/msg.txt

The wget binary comes from the VRStream 2 firmware, and it running with an updated OpenSSL version which was compiled by me.

...

Before I proceed, can someone here help me in obtaining a copy of /dev/mmcblk0p1? This is the first partition of the internal Micro SD card, and I suspect that it contains U-Boot, which is a bootloader. This step does not involve any write operations, and is fully safe. Take out the internal Micro SD card, and attach it to a computer.

Once done, something like

dd if=/dev/mmcblk0p1 of=file-to-be-shared

or similar should work for Linux users. Please let me know if you are using some other operating system, and would like some help in figuring out this stuff.

2018-01-06 06:40:42

@Chris Thanks for chiming in. (1) I don't have the exact hardware specifications so far (2) Yes, I understand the problems involved. Hence, I am actively trying to find alternate ways in which VRStream 2 owners can help.

2018-01-06 09:54:51

@samy, micro SD cards can't just be plugged into SD card readers and be read from. The problem with these tiny cards is their size. It is extremely easy to lose one.

"On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament!]: 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out ?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."    — Charles Babbage.
My Github

2018-01-06 12:30:07 (edited by samy 2018-01-06 17:11:20)

@Ethin From the pictures, it seems to be a standard big SD card, and not a MicroSD card. Many laptops accept SD cards just fine.

Update: It could be a miniSD card but it is hard to tell from the photos. Maybe other folks from this thread would be able to say exactly what kind of card it is.

Update 2: It does look like a MicroSD card after all. MicroSD to SD adapters are easily available and your card reader may already accept MicroSD cards.

2018-01-06 16:54:51

Almost every micro sd card comes with an adapter, so if you buy a cheap micro sd you can easily get the adapter you need.

2018-01-06 17:18:39

Speaking of which, the Braille Note Touch has an internal removable SD card as well. I don't think this was present on older devices, certainly not the Bok Port Plus, although it's likely that it runs Linux, which means you have to unscrew the device.
Maybe while we're at it we can start another topic about hacking the chips inside toys, like Furbys and changing the voices.

Ulysses, KJ7ERC
She/they
Reedsy

2018-01-06 17:28:29

Well, I have 2 furbies, but these are from Germany, the one from 98 and the one from 2005 and I do not know if can I kange them into english.

I am myself and noone is ever gonna change me, I am the trolling master!

2018-01-17 16:19:21

I am still looking for adventurous and resourceful Victor Reader Stream users :-)

2018-02-04 09:04:50 (edited by samy 2018-02-04 12:32:48)

Here are the steps to clone the internal MicroSD card to a new, bigger MicroSD card for Victor Reader Stream (New Generation).

1. Connect the internal MicroSD card to a Linux box, and create a disk image of the internal MicroSD card.

sudo dd if=/dev/sdb of=disk_image.raw

Note: The "/dev/sdb" part may change on your system, use "dmesg | tail" command to find your device identifier. Use the correct device identifier here, and in the following steps as well.

2. Remove the original internal MicroSD card, and connect the new, bigger MicroSD card. Restore the disk image to the new MicroSD card.

sudo dd if=disk_image.raw of=/dev/sdb

3. Use GParted to resize /dev/sdb4 to the maximum size (minus 1 MB at the end) first. Once this is done, resize /dev/sdb7 to the maximum size (minus 1 MB at the end).

4. Safely eject your newly cloned MicroSD card and plug it into Victor Reader Stream.

5. Enjoy the increased internal free space wink

2018-02-04 12:21:56

If I had this tipe of thing, I wanted to help testing, but I do not have one and I do not know anione who wants to test it.

I am myself and noone is ever gonna change me, I am the trolling master!