I was trying to get a standard external serial/ps2 keyboard working via Sharp's Serial I/O port, but I could not find any drivers that could get it to work. So, my friend Kyle (aka Quickening) offered to recompile the modules of a keyboard driver for ROM 2.38.
He needed the 2.4.6 kernel source to do this, and it was hard to find on the Web, especially with oesf.org down for their move to ibiblio in December 2006. We both searched high and low, and I emailed friends and even posted a question on the developer's channel at freenode.
We finally found important hints about recompiling modules for the Collie at:
http://www.linux-ipv6.org/memo/zaurus.txt
And we located three of the recommended files in public repositories:
ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.4/linux-2.4.6.tar.gz
http://ftp.linux.org.uk/pub/linux/arm/kernel/v2.4/patch-2.4.6-rmk1.gz
ftp://ftp.arm.linux.org.uk/pub/linux/arm/people/nico/v2.4/diff-2.4.6-rmk1-np2.gz
However, the patch to the ARM-Linux kernel seemed to neither be available in the public repositories, nor on the Web. Fortunately, someone emailed a copy to me, and we have put copies of this essential kernel patch at:
http://quickening.zapto.org/ZaurusFeed/Non-IPKs/linux-2.4.6-rmk1-np2-embedix-20011228-sl5000d-20020318.gz
The patch contained the critical config file Kyle needed, containing the settings Sharp actually used to build the 2.38 kernel.
He ended up first having to correct Sharp's errors in order to recompile the kernel serial modules, in order to work on compiling the keyboard driver without errors. He did succeed in recompiling Sharp's serial modules, and copies of these are now at:
http://quickening.zapto.org/ZaurusFeed/Non-IPKs/serialmodules-2.4.6-rmk1-np2-embedix.tar.gz
I have, by the way, been using these recompiled serial modules with my CF dialup modem since installing them in December 2006, and they seem to work fine.
Anyhow, that finally made it possible to recompile kbdd for 2.38 without error, but we do not know if this recompiled kbdd will work on a Collie.
Everything installed just fine (by hand, not an ipk) on my Zaurus, but I was not able to thoroughly test the driver because the external keyboard I found apparently required more power than the Collie was able to provide via the serial port.
All that work for both of us, and still no working external keyboard for my Zaurus that meets my specs. :-( But, at least the 2.4.6 kernel source and corrected serial modules are now easily available to anyone who needs them.
We have put a copy of the official 2.4.6 kernel source, with the 3 patches applied, at:
http://quickening.zapto.org/ZaurusFeed/Non-IPKs/kernel-2.4.6-rmk1-np2-embedix.tar.gz
sdjf
Revised October 9, 2011