Can someone please explain in a little bit of detail the procedure to get a 3G USB internet stick to work.
I did a search on this forum & found David's reply in regards this subject.
I opened a terminal window & entered my APN. (Optus)
I then typed the ctrl+alt+3 and it said I was connected.
On closing the config file I discovered some log stating something couldn't be opened to save it to the file. Regardless is said I was connected & the modem showed a purple LED as if it was connected.
It failed to open a webpage. (server connection failed)
Do I need to reboot to get it to work? I seem so close.........

Hehaaah!

Today there was some one in the anchorage who had a Pre-paid Telstra 3G USB. They had just been down to the computer shop trying to have the local expert get it to work on their Windows machine.

It wouldn't go. In desperation they bought an Optus 3G. The tech said Telstra had blocked the SIM card...or some such stuff.

"So what are you going to do with the old stick?", I asked, never having experienced 3G personally.

"Do you want it? It's not any good for us....", they replied.

Who am I to say "no" to malfunctioning electronic devices?

....you guessed it.

A few missteps and dead ends trying to find the proper APN....voilà. I'm the proud owner of a new pre-paid 3G, and this is my first use.

This is what my /etc/sakis3g.conf looks like:



...and the dang thing just works.

I think the error that you were seeing came from "sudo gedit" command. Ignore it. http://navigatrix.net/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=318&p=1265&hilit=sudo+gedit+error+mkdir#p1265

No reboot should be necessary.

Does your purple LED Flash, or is it steady?

(off to Sydney in the morning; Mike says, "hi")

Lucky pinch!!
Yes mine is an Optus based 3g stick. HUAWEI E1762 HSPA.
I've got it on a $5 plan (old extict one) through a company called Exetel.
They've used several APN's.
When I use it successfully on Windows XP I set it to 'exetel1' & it clicks straight through.
Using 'exetel1' on Navigatrix it says invalid APN.
I've tried CONNECT, YES OPTUS, & several others to no avail.
Actually tonight I can't get it to connect at all. Purple light just flashes sometimes. Last night it would connect but no data flow. Grrrr... computers!!

Machines hate us, that is all there is to it.

This 3G thing is new to me. I have learned if the light is not flashing it's a no-go.

There are a few thing we can check, but, at least from my end you'll have to wait until the dust settles. I'm stowing the dinghy after this cuppa and we're off. Slow at first and then 25+ knots to finish it off.

Catch you in a few days and we'll see if we can get it to do what it's suppose to...

This is what happens when I plug in the 3G stick....

A Red light comes on. This changes to Blueish.

I hit <ctrl><alt><3> to activate the connection. The Network Manager (little icon in the lower right of the bottom panel) shuts down.

A little window pops up....


It runs through a few phases:




...at this point another window pops up that I don't fully undersand....(as if I understand the magic behind the other windows.)


I take this to mean there are two functions on the 3G stick. It works as a 3G modem and can work as a regular USB memory device. I don't really know....I'm just guessing. I select Interface #3 because the computer won't guess for me.

The little window returns with a message that it's connecting so fast that I can't get a screenshot.

A new window quickly follows:


I Ok to acknowledge the window and I'm good to go. The light on the stick has started to flash on/off about 1 cycle per second.

Now, suppose I picked up a stick and didn't know the APN of the service provider....or stuffed it up.

Somewhere in the process of preparing and initializing the modem another window pops up....


If I Ok that window yet another window pops up....because apparently computer think we have nothing better to to than look at pop ups.

However, this one is helpful....


If I select the correct APN the modem is prepared/initialized and the connection is made. If I don't the process is repeated.

Once the correct APN is known; update the configuration file ( sudo gedit /etc/sakis3g.conf ) and you won't have to do this dance again.

Anything like this happen with your Optus stick?

Hi Moe... yes almost exactly the same process except it just refuses to accept that 'exetel1' is a recognised APN.
Running opencpn either on LinuxMINT or on windowsXP & it accepts it OK.
OpenCPN doesn't use the SAKIS interface...
Not sure if you can view this site/thread, but I asked a Q over there.
https://forum.exetel.com.au/viewtopic.p ... 6&start=30
I might just set my mate up with the openCPN on his Windows computer & leave it. Still uses the same maps plus others if needbe.
I'd persevere if it was for myself.

I found the problem!
These Huawei modems have a 'pretend' CD drive in them as well as a facility for a storage card.
I went in via Hyper-terminal & sent ATE1 to show what I write & then AT^U2DIAG=0 to turn off those 2 extras so in effect it is now 'only' a USB modem.
This is a common problem I found by using Google.
Now continuing testing.

Well done.

the only thing that throws me for a loop is:


I'm not aware that OpenCPN has any network capabilities.