Connecting SL-6000 to PC running Linux Kernel 3/4/5

[Varti]

Hi maynard, great to hear that you're supporting other Zaurus models! You might want to order one or two new batteries from Cameron Sino, I have recently contacted them and they have told me that they still sell newly manufactured EA-BL06 (and EA-BL08 too for newer Zauruses) batteries. That will be easier than hunting for an A300, as they are quite rare even on Yahoo Auction.

Unfortunately I'm not aware of any other site with Zaurus ads than Auction, except for the few ones on Amazon/Ebay that are sold at premium prices...

https://www.cameronsino.com/searchProduct?keyword=EA-BL06

Varti

[maynard]

Hi Varti,
Thank you for that information. I did not know that the SL-A300 uses the EA-BL06 battery.
I had a look at the Japanese manual, and it says that the customer cannot replace the battery, but should ask the retailer or Sharp customer service (この製品の充電池は、お客様では交換できませんので、お買い上げの販売店、またはもよりのシャープお客様ご相談窓口にお問い合わせください).
I have no experience taking apart electronics, so I guess I might have to take it to an electronics repair shop. Did you ever have to replace your SL-A300's battery?

[Varti]

I remembered reading somewhere that the A300 has a replaceable EA-BL06 battery, though I might remember this wrong. I also have 2 A300's, I never had to check for the batteries since they both still work. I'll try to find some time to try to open one of them and check its battery. There's very little info about them in the forum, I believe they were not very popular since they lack a keyboard.

Varti

[maynard]

Thanks, Varti. Let me know if you ever want to sell one of your SL-A300s.

[maynard]

Hi Varti,
I managed to take the back cover off the A300 and remove the battery. It is thinner than the EA-BL06 and does not look like something you could buy online (see attached photo).
I would need access to a working A300 in order to test any patch before it is added to the Linux kernel. Could you possibly lend one of your devices to me? I would pay for international postage and return it as soon as I test the patch...
If you would like to discuss offline, please send me a PM.
Thanks!

[Varti]

Hi, sorry for not checking myself the battery, unfortunately I don't have much free time lately. Too bad its battery is a non-standard one... If you'd be interested in buying a new one, I have now written an inquiry to Cameron Sino asking them if they have it in stock. I have attached your photo to the email; if they don't have in stock batteries specifically for this model, we might be lucky and find out that it's the same battery for another device, which they manufacture.

Check also your PM.

Varti

[maynard]

Thanks, Varti. That's really helpful. Fingers crossed!

[maynard]

Hi Varti,
I was finally able to buy a couple of SL-A300s on ebay. Thankfully their batteries are still functional.

[Varti]

Congratulations, that's nice to hear. I have been searching them on buyee from time but to no avail.

Varti

[maynard]

Hi Varti,
I have attached a patch that would add back Linux support for your SL-5600 and A300 (and also the C700 which AFAIK you don't own). I applied the patch yesterday and compiled the kernel, and it worked. I am not sure if this will ever get added to the official Linux kernel though 
Oh well, at least SL-6000 support was fixed last year

[maynard]

The patch has been added to the 4.19.291, 5.4.253, 5.10.190, 5.15.126, 6.1.45, and 6.4.10 kernels, so future Linux distros and kernel upgrades should support USB networking again for the SL-A300, 5600, and C700 models.

[Varti]

That's great to hear, thanks for your work! I hope I'll find time to test this with my devices.

Varti

[maynard]

No worries! It was kind of fun to do. One thing I learnt was that you can use the A300's CE-UA1 USB adapter for the SL-5600 instead of the bulky cradle. Too bad the adapter doesn't work with the SL-6000, even though it plugs in OK.

[greguu]

The patch has been added to the 4.19.291, 5.4.253, 5.10.190, 5.15.126, 6.1.45, and 6.4.10 kernels, so future Linux distros and kernel upgrades should support USB networking again for the SL-A300, 5600, and C700 models.

Thats great news. Good to see the kernel team still accepting patches for this platform!
Can you confirm if you build any 5.10 - 6.4.10 kernels for these models including your patch and / or any other patches ?
I have not looked into it for a while, but the last kernel building fine for Cxx00 series was 5.4 branch with some ugly patches.
I got a C700 now and would be keen to know if any of these kernels you mention build fine and what works and what not...

[maynard]

None of the developers seemed interested in writing another Zaurus patch for me, so I had to learn how to submit one myself. Thankfully though, even if it is an old bug, they will accept a patch.
I tested the patch on 5.4 (Linux Mint 20), but not on the later kernels. I was planning to try connecting the SL-A300/5600/C700 on Ubuntu 23.10 when it is released in October.