Network Scanners and Fedora 20

Here is a quick fix that might help users experiencing the “no devices available” problem when using xsane, the Linux scanning tool.

In this case, the device was an HP 3070 B611, a combined printer and scanner. The OS (Fedora 20) was able to see the device as a printer and print okay, but the scanner part did not work. Xsane just popped a small window saying unable to find device.

The fix was a change in the CUPS configuration, and it may therefore work with other versions of Linux.

Note: (19th June 2016) This article receives an unexpectedly large number of hits.  If you have come here expecting something else, for example information about network scanners like nmap or Wireshark, please leave a comment to that affect and I will adjust the keyword settings.  This article is about document scanners, not software to snoop your LAN.

Continue reading

Reuse a spare BT Home Hub as a Wireless Access Point

This article was rewritten and updated on 9th April 2017.

BT is a popular Internet service provider in the UK.  BT subscribers receive a free router called the “BT Home Hub“.  A new model of Home Hub is launched every few years, and as BT never takes the old ones back, many people have an old Hub tucked away somewhere, gathering dust.

This post explains how to convert an old BT Home Hub 5.0 or Home Hub 4.0 into a second wireless access point (“AP”) on your network, strengthening and extending the wireless signal around your home or office.  Although the details are for those routers, the basic procedure works for other BT and perhaps non-BT routers.  In particular, notes have been included for the BT Home Hub 3.0 and the now ancient Home Hub 1.0 – these are indented and written in italics.  Many users have also had success in reusing Home Hub models 2.0 and 6.0 (BT’s latest router, also known as the Smart Hub). Continue reading