Tailscale is a very easy to configure VPN that allows arbitrary machines on the internet to form a secure network using Wireguard. It literally takes a minute to install on each node by following the instructions. Linux, Windows, MacOS and iOS are all supported.
I have a GL.inet Beryl AX (GL-MT3000) router that I use as a repeater and ethernet to wifi converter when I travel. I wanted to have it configured so from anywhere in the world, I can connect to a single server at home via the gl-mt3000. Unfortunately, the GL.iNet Tailscale instructions don’t describe my use-case of creating a VPN between
This can be done as follows:
Check that the machines are connected on the Tailscale Admin Machines panel. This shows that the gl-mt3000 (top), my iPhone and trout (bottom) are connected to the Tailscale VPN.
The blanked out IP addresses are those of the different machines so you should be able to ssh to trout from any machine connected to the Beryl travel router. While this setup is extremely convenient, please be aware that anyone able to connnect to the router will be able to access your machines!
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Seemed like the things that could go wrong were the hose or sensor so we ordered a sensor from Mexi Trading (part number EBF62754501) - this arrived in 3 days.
Although I took the main lid off the machine, I think you only need to remove the back cover to expose the switch assembly sensor (on the right hand side of the photo above).
The tube runs down the machine to the tub.
This video covers the removal process - a pretty simple job (but one should change the hose as well)!
This shows how to test the sensor:
]]>All Victorinox pocket knives that I have purchased have been of admirable quality with absolutely no play, snappy closing and a flawless finish. Although I managed to crack them by dropping on the ground, the scales really stand up to hard usage. The SAKwiki has a good page on all the different Climber models and history.
The steel they use is DIN 1.4110 (otherwise known as X55CrMo14), a martensitic stainless steel with less carbon than most high-end knife steels (it has 0.55% carbon while VG10 has 1%), making it virtually rustproof. More information is available at Otai Steel and Zhang Xiaoquan. It is very easy to sharpen and I actually prefer this characteristic in a pocket knife over edge-holding.
The standard Climber is a three-layer SAK and has the following dimensions:
It is equipped with the following tools:
My current Climber was purchased at the Lausanne Victorinox store in 2023 (see https://phwl.org/2023/a-visit-to-the-victorinox-store-lausanne/). It has the “Plus” scales which include an extra slot for a pen. Not everyone knows that there is a hole for a pin under the corkscrew in all modern scales.
I use the large blade for food preparation and the small blade for other work such as opening boxes, cutting plastic etc. The scissors are often used for controlled cuts, particularly to trim fishing knots (an added bonus is that one is less likely to stab oneself when doing this on a rocking boat). I also like having the separate can and bottle openers because the can opener works very well as a Philips screwdriver. The bottle opener is often used as a flat blade screwdriver and for prying.
I have added a mini screwdriver on the corkscrew which has saved the day on more than one occasion by fixing eyeglasses. Even the toothpick and tweezers get used from time to time, the former being excellent for cleaning USB ports. The awl gets used infrequently but has been used to make a field repair on shoes (using dental floss as thread). Unfortunately, it closes if you put a lot of pressure on it and is not as effective as the inline awl used in the alox Soldier and Pioneer X (see below).
A less common variant is the 1.3722 Climber which replaces the parcel hook with a long nail file. Furthermore, it has no keyring (this probably being because it was derived from an earlier model, the Traveller). I believe the nail file is a more useful tool than the parcel hook as apart from filing things, it is useful for making notches and prodding things in confined spaces as is often required in dealing with electronics.
There is also a smaller, 84mm Climber. Here is a good YouTube video describing the history of this rather rare Climber. The video includes the Victorinox 245kU which has the long nail file and the older Victorinox 235kU with bail.
Others may prefer the 2-layer Compact or 3-layer Companion, but the utility of having 2 blades and the choice of two screwdrivers better suits my purposes. The Super Tinker replaces the corkscrew in a Climber with a Philips screwdriver. Unfortunately, one loses the mini screwdriver which has come in handy to fix glasses (mine and others) from time to time. Moreover, it can’t be used to open a bottle of wine in an emergency!
In aluminium scales (alox), the Pioneer X Alox (left) is very similar. The small blade, corkscrew, hook, toothpick, tweezers and pin are lost but in return, it is considerably thinner and the awl is handy. I haven’t used the new Synergy X Alox (right) but it has skeletonised scales, locking blade and clip.
Of course, 4-layer SAKs exist, e.g. the Huntsman that adds a saw. In my opinion, these are too thick and heavy for pocket carry. Additional tools I might want to carry include a saw, diamond file and bit set. If I think I’ll need them, I’ll include a Leatherman Wave.
I replaced it with a Geeboon TC22. The package that I purchased included the SDC02 stand which will put the iron in sleep mode when the handle is in the holder. Unfortunately, I got this message.
So the first repair with my new TC22 soldering iron was to fix its stand. Here’s the internals of the SDC02 stand. It’s 3D printed and pretty simple.
Since there were only 3 wires going from the handle to the station, it didn’t take long to work out that the white wire should be connected to the pin shown with the red arrow.
Everything working!
Geeboon was very apologetic and offered to send me a free tip for my trouble. Overall, I received great service from them.
I flew via Dubai and arrived in the afternoon. Here is a photo of one of the canals in Amsterdam.
Flower market.
That evening we took the train to Leuven and had raw pickled herring.
Had dinner in this restaurant with a strange entrance where one walks through a cupboard.
In retrospect, a day trip from Leiden to Leuven was not a great idea as an 11 hour trip for a 2 hour meeting was not exactly relaxing.
This is the square opposite the Leuven train station.
At least they have a sense of humour at IMEC.
The main purpose of the trip was to attend the FPL conference.
A very clever canape. It’s a piece of sushi and the plastic bottle is soy sauce.
On the second day of the conference, we took a walk around Leiden City.
An old windmill.
Rembrandt’s birthplace.
A castle in the city.
Before the conference dinner on the Leiden University campus, we got talking to a professor who kindly took us on an impromptu tour of the original building of Leiden University (which is a former church).
This is the room in the central building at Leiden University where they do PhD vivas. Portraits of senior professors line the walls.
Conference dinner site.
Dishes at the conference dinner.
On the last day, we went to Jazz Cafe Alto and had a great time. Francisco Morales was playing.
We went to Blue Note Taipei where Jazz Meta were playing.
Getting there involves first flying to Brisbane.
Then taking a Dash-8 turboprop flight to Budaberg (I’d forgotten how noisy propeller planes are).
Didn’t get to Kwan’s farm until late but our first project was to try to fix his Simrad fishfinder.
It needed a new FFC/FPC flat ribbon cable.
All fixed!
Pano of Kwan’s farm.
This fuel bill for the boat exceeded the price of my first car.
We weren’t sure about the weather but chanced it with a midday start. Turned out the conditions were pretty good and the swell was way lower than the forecast.
There were plenty of dolphins around and we soon found a school of tuna. Tried casting to them but they weren’t interested. At another spot we started catching a fish on every cast using a metal lure generously given to me by Yufei.
Then I hooked a really solid fish with my 10kg travel rod. This is what it thought of my tackle.
The first decent fish we landed was a golden travelly on the metal lure.
Then a cobia slammed my bait. After a tense fight on 25kg gear, we got it in the boat.
The next day we went crabbing in Baffle Creek using Kwan’s small boat. The outboard had been completely serviced by Kwan (engine control unit, water pump, carby) except for the fuel filter which was supposedly new and installed by the previous owner. Guess what didn’t work?
Unfortunately, we didn’t catch any crabs or mangrove jack. However, we collected lots fresh mullet with a cast net for the following offshore trip.
On the King’s Birthday, we went offshore again with Craig. Conditions were very lumpy and not great for fishing. On the way out, the anchor release failed so we couldn’t use the anchor winch.
Craig hooked up to a cobia that quickly buried him. This happened several times to each of us. We caught lots and lots of remora (in fact it was Kwan’s personal best day for this species).
Without the anchor winch, and the wind blowing in the opposite direction to the tide, the anchor rope got tangled on both outboards. Any sensible person would have just cut the rope but that would have lost the anchor and ending fishing for the day. So Kwan jumped in the water and promptly got smashed against the knife-sharp propeller putting a large cut on his chest. Moreover, we had to use the other outboard to get slack in the rope while Kwan was in the water. I was so afraid he would get churned into mince that I stopped taking photos.
Anyway, it took about 10 minutes to get everything sorted and Kwan came back into the boat with bleeding hands and chest. As an additional prize, he was bitten by stinging jellyfish.
Then we started catching fish. There were thousands of trevally around. Here is Kwan with a particularly nice one.
We could tell the next fish was big when it hit. It took Craig around the front of the boat so he passed the rod to Kwan from starboard to bow, and then back to me on the port side. The fish came up to the surface quite quickly and Craig made short work of it on his 30kg gear. After about 3 or 4 gaff shots (they are slippery and have big scales), we could take a photo of this really nice cobia.
As the conditions were quite rough, we returned to the boat ramp early. We only took a few trevally, an emperor and the cobia.
The cobia weighed about 11 kg.
Quite a lot of fillets.
On the final day we tested a 45kW sandblaster that Kwan picked up for a song. A little redneck engineering was involved, but we think it needs more power on startup than Kwan’s 3-phase inverter can supply.
We finished the trip with a fire, as it got bitterly cold (down to about 15 celcius that night). Thanks so much to Kwan, Kim and Craig for their hospitality and making this a truly memorable trip.
Nice view of Hawkesbury River on the return flight.
