Author: Dave Farquhar

Why MAC address filtering doesn’t help security

Dave Farquhar security , , , ,

The other question that came out of my recommended DD-WRT settings was why not filter MAC addresses. I hate to be flip, but MAC address filtering doesn’t help, so why bother?

The reason is because your MAC addresses are broadcast as part of the network traffic, and it’s unencrypted. So your MAC addresses aren’t any secret at all. So it doesn’t do any good. One could argue it doesn’t do any harm. But it adds an extra step every time you put something on your wireless network. Why go to the inconvenience if you don’t gain anything from it?

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Why hiding your SSID makes your security worse

Dave Farquhar security , , , ,

I got a couple of questions about my recommended DD-WRT settings, but I’m going to start with the question about why not to hide the SSID. It actually turns out that hiding your SSID is bad for you, and makes your security worse. I’ll explain.

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Splunk truncating timecharts is fixable

Dave Farquhar security

I’ve been building some dashboards in Splunk to make it easier to compare some things. I needed to find a way to deal with Splunk truncating timecharts inconsistently.

Splunk’s timechart option is useful for baselining. Before you can spot the abnormal, you need to recognize the normal. I sometimes monitor things using the timechart option, but sometimes Splunk will truncate the timecharts seemingly at random, so I’m not necessarily comparing the same timeframes. Read more

TP-Link TL-WR840n vs TL-WR841n

Dave Farquhar Servers and Networking , , ,
TP-Link TL-WR840n vs TL-WR841n

If you need an inexpensive DD-WRT compatible router, TP-Link is probably your best choice. But there are some big differences when you compare the TL-WR840n vs the TL-WR841n.

I’ve been running the TL-WR841n for more than two years, so I’m familiar with it. I’ve considered supplementing it with a secondary router, and the TL-WR840n was one I looked at.

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Get more transformer outputs by using a grounding bus bar

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , , , , , , , , ,

Train transformers have one pair of screws for each output, which is generally enough for a simple layout, but once you have more than one accessory or building with lights in it, you’ll find it’s difficult to attach all of the wires to the transformer posts.

You can get more on the cheap by repurposing ground bus bars, intended for circuit breaker panels. Read more

Lionel 1033 transformer repair and troubleshooting

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , ,

As I’ve written before, Lionel 1033 transformers are well regarded because they’re reasonably high wattage (90 watts), very readily available, relatively inexpensive and pretty dependable. They really only have one design flaw: the circuit breaker. Here’s how I approach Lionel 1033 transformer repair.

The circuit breaker in my 1033 went bad a couple of years ago. I finally got around to replacing it.

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ifdown: Interface eth0 not configured – the solution

Dave Farquhar Linux
ifdown: Interface eth0 not configured – the solution

After I imaged the disks from a failing Debian server to newer hardware, I got the error message ifdown: Interface eth0 not configured after issuing the command ifdown eth0. There’s not a lot of documentation out there about this so hopefully this writeup will help you if you’re getting this puzzling message.

This should be the same in Ubuntu, for what it’s worth.

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Repair a Weller soldering gun

Dave Farquhar Landlording, model railroading, Toy trains ,
Repair a Weller soldering gun

I scored a Weller 8200 soldering gun at an estate sale one street over from me for a few dollars. They didn’t know what they had. I got it home and it didn’t work–it wouldn’t heat up–so maybe they knew exactly what they had. Lucky for me, it’s easy to learn how to repair a Weller soldering gun yourself.

Make sure the tip isn’t broken, then loosen the two nuts that hold the tip to the gun, then tighten the two nuts back down tightly. This breaks away oxidation and provides a good mechanical and electrical connection required to conduct heat.

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HP Compaq 6910p upgrades

Dave Farquhar Hardware , , , , , , , , ,
HP Compaq 6910p upgrades

I spent some time exploring HP Compaq 6910p upgrades because used HP Compaq 6910p laptops are dirt cheap these days. I picked one up for $75 as an alternative to a Black Friday cheapie.

If you look for one yourself, either look for one with a valid Windows 7 or Windows 10 license on it, or get one at a deep enough discount to make it worth your while.

Here’s what I did to turn an outmoded laptop from 2008 into something better than what I could have bought on Black Friday.

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All about the Lionel 1033

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , , , , ,
All about the Lionel 1033

The Lionel Multi-control 1033 is a 90 watt transformer produced from 1948 to 1956. They are reasonably durable and were popular in their day, which means there are still a lot of them floating around so they tend to be inexpensive. I paid $70 for one about 15 years ago but the price has come way down; today you can get a serviced 1033 for about half that, and an as-is one for $20-$25.

Even someone who has a larger transformer or multiple larger transformers for the layout might be interested in a 1033 for the test bench, as it has all of the functionality someone would need for testing locomotives and whistling tenders.

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