Entries posted in January 2017

I use openssh every day, be it the ssh command for connecting to remote hosts, or the scp command for uploading/downloading files.

Once a day, or more, I forget that scp uses the non-obvious -P flag for specifying the port, not the -p flag that ssh uses.

Enough is enough. I shall not file a bug report against the Debian openssh-client page, because no doubt compatibility with both upstream, and other distributions, is important. But damnit I've had enough.

apt-get source openssh-client shows the appropriate code:

    fflag = tflag = 0;
    while ((ch = getopt(argc, argv, "dfl:prtvBCc:i:P:q12346S:o:F:")) != -1)
          switch (ch) {
          ..
          ..
            case 'P':
                    addargs(&remote_remote_args, "-p");
                    addargs(&remote_remote_args, "%s", optarg);
                    addargs(&args, "-p");
                    addargs(&args, "%s", optarg);
                    break;
          ..
          ..
            case 'p':
                    pflag = 1;
                    break;
          ..
          ..
          ..

Swapping those two flags around, and updating the format string appropriately, was sufficient to do the necessary.

In other news I've done some hardware development, using both Arduino boards and the WeMos D1-mini. I'm still at the stage where I'm flashing lights, and doing similarly trivial things:

• Absolute Arduino Basic Tutorial
  • Recognizing the board.
  • Getting the development environment setup.
  • Running your first project.
• Absolute WeMos D1 Mini (ESP8266) Basic Tutorial
  • Recognizing the board.
  • Getting the development environment setup.
  • Installing the libraries/headers/examples
  • Writing your first WiFi project.

I have more complex projects planned for the future, but these are on-hold until the appropriate parts are delivered:

• MP3 playback.
• Bluetooth-speakers.
• Washing machine alarm.
• LCD clock, with time set by NTP, and relay control.

Even with a few LEDs though I've had fun, for example writing a trivial binary display.

Tags: openssh, scp, ssh | 4 comments

At the end of December I decided I was going to do hardware "things", and so far that has worked out pretty well.

One of the reasons I decided to play with Arduinos is that I assumed I could avoid all forms of soldering. I've done soldering often enough to know I can manage it, but not quite often enough that I feel comfortable doing so.

Unfortunately soldering has become a part of my life once again, as too many of the things I've been playing with have required pins soldering to them before I can connect them.

Soldering aside I've been having fun, and I have deployed several "real" projects in and around my flat. Perhaps the most interesting project shows the arrival time of the next tram to arrive at the end of my street:

• Helsinki Tram Time Display

That's simple, reliable, and useful. I have another project which needs to be documented which combineds a WeMos D1 and a vibration sensor - no sniggers - to generate an alert when the washing machine is done. Having a newborn baby around the place means that we have a lot of laundry to manage, and we keep forgetting that we've turned the washing machine on. Oops.

Anyway. Hardware. More fun than I expected. I've even started ordering more components for bigger projects.

I'll continue to document the various projects online, mostly to make sure I remember the basics:

• https://steve.fi/Hardware/

Tags: arduino, esp8266 | No comments