How to install luci-app-watchcat? (GL-MT300N-V2-a1e)

Routers
2

Ok, it is done.
Writing down my path for the sake of future noobs like me. I couldn’t find this info in a single place.

For luci-app-watchcat (or anything needed from official OpenWRT repos):

  1. Start from the OpenWRT Package Table. For the Name ‘watchcat’ It shows two packages in two Categories (not counting the language pack): luci-app-watchcat and watchcat. Don’t worry about dependencies for now.
  2. For each Category copy its link and make it a line in ADMIN PANEL → MORE SETTINGS → Advanced → luci → System → Software → Cofigure opkg → opkg/customfeeds.conf. In this case the lines are:
    src/gz luci_app https://openwrt.org/packages/index/luci---applications
src/gz openwrt_utils https://openwrt.org/packages/index/utilities
    (the repo names after src/gz are whatever, then the copied links follow). Then hit Update lists and install the needed packages.
    In other words, the Category to which a package is assigned can be treated as a narrow-scope repository. So next time I’m going to need some ‘luci-application’ or ‘utility’ from OpenWRT, it will be waiting for me in Luci (or ADMIN PANEL → APPLICATIONS → Plug-ins, with Filter → All).

With the luci-app-sms-tool it’s more tricky as it’s not a part of OpenWRT:

  1. For sending SMS messages (and USSD, and AT, etc.) from the stick-modem Huawei E3372s, start with the forum post.
  2. There are two packages to be installed. It’s best to just download them as .ipk files for manual upload to Luci, from here (luci-app-sms-tool-...) and here (sms-tools-...). In the latter link, one must make sure that /mipsel_24kc/ is the correct Package architecture for the router (Techdata page). That’s the tricky part.

I tried to use the Download and install package box in Luci → System → Software, but it ‘failed to extract the control file’, so had to upload from disk.

I think the watchcat installation froze opkg in the end, but refreshing the page was enough to break the loop. All fixed.

The tool ‘Watchcat’ resides in the new top-menu ‘Services’.
The tool ‘SMS Messages’ resides in the new top-menu ‘Modem’.
To see them, just refresh the page.

Now, the E3372s-153 modem can be conveniently (ab)used with Mango.
:tada:

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