Create and mount a VDI image (in Debian 8 Jessie)

This will probably work in most Linux distributions, but this is how I did it in Debian 8 Jessie.

Install qemu-utils:

sudo apt-get install qemu-utils

Load nbd kernel module:

sudo rmmod nbd
(only necessary if nbd is already loaded)
sudo modprobe nbd max_part=16
(/dev/nbd0 to /dev/nbd15  will appear after that command)

Create and mount a new VDI image:

qemu-img create -f vdi test.vdi 120G

Connect to the image:

sudo qemu-nbd -c /dev/nbd0 test.vdi
sudo partprobe /dev/nbd0

Create a primary partition in the image using fdisk:

sudo fdisk /dev/nbd0
(type: n enter p enter enter enter enter w)
(/dev/nbd0p1 will appear after that last command)

Create an ext4 file system on the image’s first partition:

sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/nbd0p1

Mount the VDI image partition:

sudo mount /dev/nbd0p1 /mnt

Mount an existing VDI image:

Assuming it’s got a formatted partition already.

Connect and mount the image:

sudo qemu-nbd -c /dev/nbd0 test.vdi
(/dev/nbd0p1 will appear after that command if the image contains a partition)
sudo mount /dev/nbd0p1 /mnt

Dismount and disconnect the image:

sudo umount /mnt
sudo qemu-nbd -d /dev/nbd0
(/dev/nbd0p1 will disappear after the last command)

XHTML strict Google reCAPTCHA 2.0

This is all the code you need to make your XHTML pass the W3C Markup Validation:

<div id="recaptcha" class="g-recaptcha"></div>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
var recaptchaOnLoadCallback = function() {
 grecaptcha.render('recaptcha', {
 'sitekey' : "_your_key_here_"
 });
}
//]]>
</script>
<script src="https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api.js?onload=recaptchaOnLoadCallback&amp;render=explicit&amp;hl=en" type="text/javascript" defer="defer"></script>

Script for creating self-signed SSL certificates for Apache

Instead of remembering the procedure, just run this script with the fully qualified server name as argument.
E.g.:

/usr/local/sbin/apache2-selfsign.sh www.site.com

Modify the constants at the top in the code below to suite your situation:

#!/bin/sh

SSL_ROOT='/etc/apache2/ssl'
COUNTRY='US'
STATE='MyState'
CITY='MyCity'
ORGANISATION='home'

warn () {
        #echo "$0:" "$@" >&2
        echo "$@" >&2
}
die () {
        rc=$1
        shift
        warn "$@"
        exit $rc
}

if [ $(id -u) -ne 0 ]; then
        die 1 "This script must be executed as root!";
fi
if [ $# -ne 1 ]; then
        die 1 "You must pass the server name as argument!";
fi
if [ $(echo "$1" | grep -Eq '^[a-z0-9]+(\.[a-z0-9]+)+$'; echo $?) -ne 0 ]; then
        die 1 "Bad syntax in server name argument: $1";
fi

name=$1;
dir="$SSL_ROOT/$name"
#echo $dir;

if [ ! -d $dir ]; then
        mkdir $dir || exit 2;
fi

echo "Generate RSA private key"
openssl genrsa -des3 -passout pass:x -out "$dir/selfsigned.pass.key" 2048 || exit 2;
echo

echo "Remove password from RSA private key"
openssl rsa -passin pass:x -in "$dir/selfsigned.pass.key" -out "$dir/selfsigned.key" || exit 2;
echo

echo "Remove the original private key"
rm "$dir/selfsigned.pass.key" || exit 2;
echo

echo "Generate Certificate Signing Request"
openssl req -subj "/C=$COUNTRY/ST=$STATE/L=$CITY/O=$ORGANISATION/CN=$name" -new -key "$dir/selfsigned.key" -out "$dir/selfsigned.csr" || exit 2;
echo

echo "Generate self-signed certificate from selfsigned.key private key and selfsigned.csr"
openssl x509 -req -days 365 -in "$dir/selfsigned.csr" -signkey "$dir/selfsigned.key" -out "$dir/selfsigned.crt"
echo
echo "Done"

echo "Now add these extra lines to your $name SSL VirtualHost block:"
echo "  ServerName $name"
echo "  SSLEngine on"
echo "  SSLCertificateFile $dir/selfsigned.crt"
echo "  SSLCertificateKeyFile $dir/selfsigned.key"</pre>

FrSky X4R receiver hack for 3 SBUS outputs, and 1 analog RSSI output

For multirotors and autopilots, the standard ports on receivers such as the X4R are of no use. All I need is SBUS and RSSI. So I modified my X4R, replacing the standard ports with those listed in the title.

Disabled the ports for ch 1 to 3 by removing 3 resistors and 3 capacitors (top left area in photo).
Linked the SBUS output to the CH2 and CH3 outputs using silicone covered servo wire in order to have 3 SBUS outputs. That’s more than I’ll ever need, and I’ve only needed 2 once before and this is an easy way to not require a Y-cable.

  

Then I made an RC-filter  (10KΩ & 10µF) using thin PCB and SMD components and stuck that to the board using transparent rubbery double sided tape. Then I connected the PWM RSSI tab (near the 1 antenna) to the RC filter, which in turn is connected to the CH1 output.

Closed the patient, and added some labels.

I tested it all and it works fine.