The First 100 Years Are The Hardest

  Technical Notes: Secure Remote Station Integration via WireGuard Today we (Gemini, and I) implemented a new VPN configuration to establish a secure, low-latency "network pipe" between my remote operating location in Dallas and the station hardware at the lake.   We converted my existing WireGuard VPN into a split-tunnel configuration, creating a virtual LAN environment where remote software behaves as if it were locally connected.  This avoids opening ports and exposing the internal network to the public internet Optimization: Moving from Full Tunnel to Split Tunnel Initially, the WireGuard configuration was set for a "Full Tunnel" (AllowedIPs = 0.0.0.0/0 ). While secure, this forced every bit of Dallas internet traffic—including web browsing and 4K video streaming—to travel to the Lakehouse before heading out to the internet. This created unnecessary latency and consumed the Lakehouse's limited upload bandwidth. ...

  Quick Start Guide: Setting Up Fedora 43 for Media & Performance If you've just installed Fedora 43 and need to get your multimedia codecs and hardware acceleration working, follow these 5 essential steps. This guide is optimized for users with AMD (Ryzen/Radeon) or Intel graphics. Step 1: Speed Up DNF & Fix the System Clock First, we make the package manager faster and fix the "Time War" common in Windows dual-boots to avoid SSL errors. # Open DNF config to increase download speed sudo nano /etc/dnf/dnf.conf # Add this line at the bottom: max_parallel_downloads=10 # Sync your clock to prevent SSL connect errors timedatectl set-local-rtc 1 --adjust-system-clock sudo chronyc -a makestep Step 2: Enable RPM Fusion Repositories Unlock the ability to install patent-encumbered codecs and non-free drivers. sudo dnf install https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedo...

When I first ran Fedora Core 1 (20+ years ago) I created notes with various Tips and Tricks (especially with regards to mutlimedia drivers and codecs) and posted them here on this blog.   Today, using Gemini I was able to recreate some of the old magic on my Windows/Fedora dual boot workstation In the world of AI, Gemini is your Friend!  In the past I'd spend hours googling the output of terminal error messages, now all you have to do is start a conversation with Gemini, follow the steps, and share the intermittent errors and terminal output a long the way.   Now if I can  only find a pack of unused punch cards.... :) How to Fix Multimedia & Hardware Acceleration on Fedora 43 (Dual-Boot Guide) If you are coming back to Linux after a long hiatus or dual-booting with Windows, you’ll notice Fedora is faster than ever but still lacks proprietary codecs out of the box. Use this guide to enable full hardware acceleration (VA-API) and fix common dual-boot ...

The Straight Key Century Club (SKCC) is an organization dedicated to promoting the use of straight keys, bugs, and side-swipers for CW (Morse Code) communication in amateur radio.  This year marks the clubs 20th anniversary of dedicated to "old-school" radio operations, focusing on manual keys rather than automated or electronic keyers. Club members volunteer to operate as K3Y, the clubs special event station where the "3" in K3Y is a nod to the letter "E," making the callsign look like "KEY."  The goal for many participants is to achieve a "Sweep" by contacting K3Y stations across different regions. I operated the K3Y/5 for 29 shifts this month, making a personal best record of 548 QSOs with members.  More than 250 SKCC members signed up as Operators and logged well over 50,000 QSOs.  All 50 US States were activated, plus 19 DX Entities and 4 Canadian Provinces. Many thanks to all the dedicated Club members who volunteered as Coordinat...