New PC and KVM for the Home Office

Recently I made a major change to my home computing platforms with the addition of a PC running Windows 11.

My primary computer was and will remain a 2025 MacBook Air, which works splendidly, and it runs the OS with which I'm most productive. However, as I near retirement and may be taking on some consulting, I wanted access to a powerful PC that could run Windows 11 and an as-yet TBD Linux distribution for running local LLMs.

So, a few weeks ago I bought at MicroCenter a PowerSpec G732 gaming PC. It's a beefy rig that IMO gives you a lot for the money:

• AMD Ryzen 7 7700X (4.5GHz) Processor
• MSI PRO B850M-VC WiFi Motherboard
• 32GB DDR5-6000 RAM
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Graphics Card
• 1TB NVMe SSD
• 5GbE LAN, WiFi 6E (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.3
• Windows 11 Home

My old monitor was a 27" LG from 2019 which was built to work with the then-new MacBooks that had only Thunderbolt ports. It acted as my docking station proving power, audio and video, Gig-E and a decent built-in webcam. Unfortunately, it only works with Macs, not PCs, so I needed to replace it.

Microcenter had an LG UltraGear 27G640A-B.AUSQ 27" 2K QHD (2560 x 1440) 300Hz Gaming Monitor with built-in speakers but no webcam on sale for $300. While the old unit was 4K-capable I ran it at only 2K because at 4K everything was too small for me to see.

The new monitor lacks a webcam so I added a Logitech Brio 100 1080p Webcam which include a microphone.

I'm using my old Dell keyboard and Logitech mouse, both connected via USB.

My impressions so far:

The PC's build quality is excellent with nice interior cable management. Performance seems very good although the closest thing I've done to taxing it is to run Skyrim at the highest resolution. If I run it faster than 60FPS, though, the video spins which is apparently a known Skyrim bug. Obviously, I need something more modern to really stretch out the graphics, and after I get it setup for local LLMs I expect to put the NVidea card to real work.

The Logitech webcam was only $40 but apparently the video quality is nicer than the one built into my old monitor. I didn't get any complaints about audio from its mic on a Google Meetings call or a Zoom call.

The new monitor is sharp, displaying either text or graphics well. The built-in speakers are inferior to those on my old monitor. I may replace them with USB speakers connected to the KVM.

Windows 11 is DOGSHIT. I had to do a lot of tweaking to disable unwanted features (e.g. Copilot) but it seems to be running OK for now. I did make a USB recovery stick in case a Microsoft update breaks it. (As far as I'm concerned the best version of Windows for end user computing was Windows 7.)

The biggest problem I had with the PC was trying to get a PowerA brand USB XBox controller working with it. This should have been plug and play. Fat chance. I spent HOURS trying to get it to be seen by any applications or the Windows joystick control app, which included a ton of Googling and even troubleshooting with the aid of Google Gemini to no avail. Eventually, I returned the PowerA controller and replaced it with a Bluetooth Microsoft XBox controller that installed and worked with minimal effort.

The PC has two empty slots on its motherboard for NVME SSDs. I plan to populate one in the near future and dual-boot with Linux for running local LLMs. I haven't decided which version. I'm debating between Fedora, Alma, Debian, or Ubuntu. Stay tuned.

However, the new setup left me without the ability to connect the MacBook Air to the new monitor and my mouse and keyboard, so today I went back to Microcenter and got a UGreen HDMI KVM Switch (2 Computers, 1 Monitor, 4K@60Hz) model #15707.

Yes, I have too much crap on my desk. My Xfinity gateway (in bridge mode) is the white tower back left. In front of that is a Yaesu FT-2800R 2M/70cm transceiver. On the right you can see my MacBook Air in a cradle I bought around 10 years ago to use in my old home office, and finally the new PC. The WiFi adapter is connected to the PC but not in use since wired Ethernet > WiFi. Behind the monitor is a three-tier wire rack shelf holding my WiFi router on top, and below that my desktop switch and Intel Nuc, and on the bottom shelf my power strip.

The KVM is behind the Mac, with its remote control below the monitor.

Because the MacBook Air only has the Magsafe power connector, A/V, and two Thunderbolt ports, I have it connected with an older Anker USB-C hub/dock that has an HDMI port, three USB-A ports, and a Gig-E port, which is then connected to my desktop switch. Power to the Mac is provided by the OEM Magsafe charger.

I chose the UGreen KVM switch because of the mostly positive reviews at Microcenter and Amazon, and because it's noted as being compatible with Mac, Linux, and Windows. A couple reviews noted instability when it was run off bus power, so I added a USB-A to USB-C cable for power, which I have plugged into my power strip.

A nice feature of the KVM is that it has a remote button for switching inputs. I need to stick it to the base of the monitor with some double-sided Velcro.

The KVM seems to work with both the Mac and the PC. I tested the webcam and it works on both machines in MS Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet.

The main downside to the new setup is that due to limited desk space I had to give up the ability to use the laptop with the screen open, but I can live with that.

This new setup will allow me to retain the use of my Mac for most productivity and Internet activities while enabling me to run Windows 11 or desktop Linux when needed.

Load Development for my Caywood Northwest Trade Gun

A few years ago I bought this 20 gauge flintlock Caywood Northwest Trade Gun smoothbore. Because I want this primarily for shooting ball and don't care about NMLRA trade gun match rules, I dovetailed a rear sight into the barrel. (A lot of originals had them added, so it's historically correct anyway.)

Today I took it to my club with the intention of finding an accurate load that is powerful enough for deer hunting. It didn't take long, shooting at 50 yards from the bench.

My first target was using a .600" ball, .010" patch lubed with October Country Bumbing Bear Grease, 80 grains of Scheutzen FFg black powder. It's certainly minute-of-whitetail.

I then shot a group with .015" patches and couldn't believe my eyes. It put three shots into about 2", from a smoothbore. When I viewed it through my spotting scope I was wondering where 2 of the shots went because I was not expecting such a small group from what's basically a shotgun. I had to walk downrange to confirm it. (Luckily, I had the place to myself today.)

After this I used a Wyoming Sight Drifter* to move the rear sight over, and also took a finer bead with the front sight buried in the rear notch to drop the POI. After moving the rear sight I repeated the small group 2 or 3 more times.

My point of aim on both of the targets was at 6:00 to ensure I got as precise a sight picture as possible.

I made this gun holder several years ago for when I'm doing small home gunsmithing jobs. I brought it along today because it makes sight drifting or filing at the range a lot easier.

I'm very close to having this dialed in for deer out to 50 yards. I need to get some more offhand practice in but I'm looking forward to carrying it in the Fall.

* If you shoot a muzzleloader or lever action rifle with traditional drift-adjustable sights, buy a Wyoming Sight Drifter. It's been worth every penny, IMHO.

GL.iNet GL-MT6000 (Flint 2) Router on Sale for Prime Day

I have been using a GL.iNet GL-MT6000 (Flint 2) WiFi 6 router on my home network since last December and it's on sale for Prime Day. It's a good deal if you're in need of a new home or small business router for use behind a cable modem or similar connection.

The router supports WiFi 6 on the 2.4 and 5 Ghz bands, VLANs, and more than one WAN connection.

It has built in support for AdGuard but I'm running a Pi-hole VM on my Proxmox box for DNS-based filtering.

I've been very happy with it. Underneath it runs OpenWRT. GL.iNet provides a custom web GUI for it that allows you to handle most functions but you can also access the OpenWRT LuCI web GUI for more granular control. OpenWRT is extensible, which has allowed me to install extensions like fail2ban and also blacklist entire countries based on their IP blocks. E.g., any connection initiated from know hotspots for bad actors like Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the PRC, Best Korea, and Iran are simply dropped by my firewall.

Give it a look if you want something more capable than the gateway provided to you by your ISP.

Reloaded Some .380 ACP Today

Today for the first time I reloaded .380 ACP cartridges. They will be used in my Ruger Security-380.

I used a mix of PMC and Sellier & Bellot brass, Aguila primers, 3.4 grains of Winchester 244 powder, and Berry's 100 grain plated lead bullets. The data I consulted suggests that this will give around 900 - 925 FPS at the muzzle.

Assuming it functions well and is accurate in my gun it will make a good practice load.

I also figured out the approximate cost per round of this ammo, not including sales tax, shipping, or HAZMAT fees for shipping powder and primers.

• Cases: Free (Saved from fired factory ammo.)
• Powder: $0.02
• Bullet: $0.12
• Primer: $0.07
• Total: $0.21

Comparable S&B factory .380 FMJ ammo: $0.40 per round.

After I was done out in the shop I ordered a 6-cavity Lee TL356-95-RF mold. This will cast 95 grain round nose, flat point bullets suitable for use in .380 and could also be used in 9mm, although I generally like 115 - 124 grain bullets for 9mm. This will drive my cost per round down even more.

9x18 Makarov Handloads

Today I loaded up some 9x18 Makarov ammo for the first time. The last time I had my CZ-82 to the range I managed to retrieve 32 of 50 cases, so I only loaded an even 30 today.

My main goal was to get a load that will reliably cycle in the CZ but have less recoil than the factory loads. So, I put this ammo together with a starting load of 3.6 grains of Accurate No.2, a 95 grain plated round nose bullet from MidwayUSA, and Aguila No.1-1/2 primers.

According to Accurate's data this should get about 900 FPS at the muzzle, in contrast to factory FMJ which pushes a 95 grain bullet to about 1050 FPS.

Because the CZ is a straight blowback, unlocked breech design, recoil is snappy with factory ammo. If this load works it should be a little more pleasant to shoot for plinking.

After I got my dies setup, including the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die, I loaded 5 dummies to ensure they cycled manually in the CZ. I then pulled the bullets so I could load the cases since my supply is low. You can see in one pic a pulled bullet and one unloaded bullet.

Since 9x18 Makarov is so close in size to .380 Auto (AKA 9x17) and 9mm Luger (AKA 9x19) I put some blue Dykem layout fluid on the case heads to help me sort the brass after firing.

I should hopefully get to try these out in the next week and will post a follow up.

Shoulder Strap for the CZ82 Holster

Today I added a shoulder strap to the holster so I can wear it that way. The strap was from a MidwayUSA magazine storage pouch and has spring clips on the ends. To make attachment points on the holster I added a couple of zip ties.

It contains the gun, spare magazine, cleaning rod, and a Ballistol wipe which can be cut down into cleaning patches if needed. The idea behind this is that if this was all I could grab in a hurry or if I'm traveling light I'd still have the bare minimum to maintain the gun for awhile in the field.

I might add a loop or strap to the bottom so I can then secure it to my belt while wearing it like a tanker holster. This would keep it in place while drawing the gun. (I want the shoulder strap because wearing a rig like this on my belt would drag down my pants due to my lack of a butt, unless I wear suspenders.)

Ruger Security-380 One-Handed Slide Rack

This shows just how easy it is to rack the slide on the Security-380 by hooking the rear sight on your pants pocket.

The front edge of the rear sight is undercut a bit probably just for this purpose.