Dave Nelson

Welcome to my blog

I love learning and the main way I do that is trying out different hobbies and writing about them so I can remember what I’ve been up to.

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Recent Blog Posts

NextDNS and Unifi Dream Machine Setup in 2026

NextDNS Go to NextDNS.com and setup an account, it can be the free or pro unlimited plan that is currently $20 a year. Next DNS Under the Setup tab scroll down and choose Routers and scroll down to DNSCrypt Copy the “stamp”, it should be something like sdns://aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa but with a random assortment of upper case and lower case letters Also copy the “static” NextDNS-aaaaaa which should be a mix of numbers and letters Dream Machine ...

Allessandro the Protector in Icewind Dale

Our adventure began on May 8, 2024 and ended one year later on May 28, 2025. It was a great year of gaming once a week on Wednesday nights. Allessandro, aka Alice is a Goliath from Bryn Shander, but he travelled to Waterdeep, Baldur’s Gate, and other places along the Sword Coast where his religious studies led him to becoming a Paladin of Helm with the ambition to be a member of the order of the Vigilant Eyes of the God. ...

MacOS Software 2023

1Password https://1password.com/ I continue to choose 1Password as my password manager because I like the design, I like their openness, and I like the way it works for my family. Our son has his own vault where he can manage his passwords without affecting the family vault. Adblock Plus https://adblockplus.org AdBlock Plus for Safari https://apps.apple.com/us/app/adblock-plus-for-safari-abp/id1028871868 Even though I have a Pi-Hole setup for my home network, there are times I leave my home network and I want to avoid websites covered in ads no matter where I am. ...

Valve Steam Deck

I have had my Steam Deck for just over a month now and I am loving it. I bought the cheapest version and upgraded it with a 1TB SSD, added a 1TB MicroSD card, and put it in a dbrand Project Killswitch case with the Ultimate Teardown skin. I played 50+ hours of Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered primarily hand-held but also attached to my tv using an Xbox controller. The experience is fantastic. ...

This is the how I layout my screen when working digital modes.

Mac FlexRadio Digital Modes Setup

This is my setup on a MacBook Pro M1 with Ventura 13.1 for a FlexRadio 6400 for Digital Modes. It is vital that the apps be launched in the order of SmartSDR, MacLoggerDX, WSJT-X, and finally Gridtracker because each one depends on the apps before it to be run. This allows me to use my FlexRadio remotely and make the FT8/FT4 contacts that I am looking for without duplicates by clicking on station in Gridtracker’s roster with the contact automatically being uploaded to LOTW, QRZ, and eQSL. Then I follow-up by sending QSL cards via MacLoggerDX. ...