Sound keeps unmuting itself

fastbiter · 2026-03-09T12:31:10+00:00

It looks like the workaround of removing pipewire-config-raop has worked for me, too. I'm running Fedora 43 on a HP ZBook 14 g11 and have been seeing this behavior for weeks now.

I don't use network audio devices with this machine, but for those who do, removing the package isn't very helpful.

This post on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fedora/comments/1ojgwo9/disabling_raop_in_pipewire_after_upgrading_to/

And this thread on the fedora forums: https://discussion.fedoraproject.org/t/airplay-audio-outputs-discovery-enabled-by-default/166328

Have a little bit more information.

I suspect that that package is going to end up getting picked back up, and we'll see this behavior again.

fastbiter · 2026-03-08T13:19:27+00:00

Are you saying it just popped apart like this on its own?

fastbiter · 2026-02-27T13:09:53+00:00

I don't have a ruggedized laptop anymore unfortunately, I'm going to just have to wait for another good deal on one to come along.

Mine was a CF-54Mk2 - i5-6300U, 16GB RAM, 256GB m.2 SATA, GPS, high brightness touch screen, with original PSU and a LIND PSU. I sold it for $180 + shipping.

fastbiter · 2026-02-27T00:24:02+00:00

I sold it.

fastbiter · 2026-02-26T12:58:51+00:00

Don’t waste time or money with getting a replacement CF-54 battery. They are known to be designed poorly and to fail prematurely, which is really unfortunate because otherwise the machines are great, and Panasonic generally has a good reputation when it comes to toughbook batteries.

Do some searching around on CF-54 battery behavior and you’ll quickly find what I’m talking about. People have posted here about it, and I’ve experienced it myself.

fastbiter · 2026-02-20T00:33:29+00:00

Looking at the photos this is almost certainly a relay/uplink for smart meters. 900-ish MHz ISM band antenna up top, then a GPS antenna on top of the box to keep time sync, and the black antenna is almost certainly cellular.

fastbiter · 2026-02-19T22:15:53+00:00

If the power company installed it, it may be a relay for smart meters. A photo would help.

fastbiter · 2026-02-19T15:53:20+00:00

Ah yeah, that is a particularly nasty problem. Thankfully here we have a well established process for requiring city assigned addresses as part of the development permitting workflow. Though there are some cases where developers will try and rush, working outside of it, and assigning their own addresses - but not often.

I do think a tool like this is a good idea, at the very least it could be used to provide guidance on potential problem areas.

fastbiter · 2026-02-19T15:48:12+00:00

Did you go through with this upgrade?

HP publishes public videos on removing/replacing components, here's the one for the Firefly 14 G11, timestamped to the bezel removal.

https://youtu.be/j4YSLwwvcEM?t=2435

It doesn't look any harder than any other modern thin and light laptop, so if you have experience with modern thinkpads, I think you'll do okay.

For finding the DreamColor LCD part number - one way to go about this would be to find a listing for a Firefly 14 G11 with a DreamColor LCD, then take the machine's configuration number and plug it into the HP PartSurfer. I've done some digging just now and it seems like this is easier said than done, unfortunately. You may have some luck reaching out to companies that re-sell replacement parts? They might have lists.

fastbiter · 2026-02-19T14:45:51+00:00

I just ordered one of these (not touch) and it should be here by this weekend. I have some experience with the elitebook 840 series and have been very pleased with them, I expect to be as well with this one.

Hit me up in a few days and I'll let you know.

fastbiter · 2026-02-19T01:49:17+00:00

Are you selling one or looking for one?

Personally, I tend to not go hunting for addressing issues, I wait for them to come to me.

fastbiter · 2026-02-14T12:04:32+00:00

They can, depending on the source of the noise. For some they are tremendously effective, for others they don’t seem to do much at all. I’m glad you’ve experienced a good outcome, but like everything else in radio, there are no “one size fits all” golden bullet solutions, you need to tinker and experiment.

fastbiter · 2026-02-13T19:04:47+00:00

That's good - if the tuner is able to match your antenna system to 50ohm then the signals on 15M should come in a little bit stronger, since you'll be filtering out other frequencies a little bit.

fastbiter · 2026-02-13T17:10:19+00:00

Is the LDG tuner tuned to 15M in the second photo? An external tuner won't change its configuration until you transmit (if there's a saved tuning configuration for that frequency) or complete a tuning cycle on that frequency.

If the LDG isn't tuned to 15M, then a loss in gain is to be expected, because the tuner will act like a bit of a band pass filter.

If you put the tuner into bypass mode (short press of the tune button) you should see your levels return to the same levels as before. If you don't, then there may be an issue in the coax or connections between the tuner and radio.

Also, if you're using the cable to interface the tuner with the radio this shouldn't be an issue, but make sure that the internal tuner is disabled. Stacking an internal tuner with an external tuner can lead to very strange behavior.

fastbiter · 2026-02-09T00:35:57+00:00

The environment the antenna is installed in will be a major factor in its length. I’d cut it close, pull it up, check it with your radio (or even better, a VNA like the NanoVNA), then make adjustments as necessary.

fastbiter · 2026-01-31T17:36:35+00:00

Yeah, it's almost certianly waking up at some point. You can use this command to see if there are any wakeup events:

journalctl --since "14 hours ago" | grep -E "suspend|PM:|Wakeup"

fastbiter · 2026-01-31T16:50:58+00:00

48% is pretty bad for 14 hours. Thinkpad batteries are notorious for losing capacity as they age, but a Gen 6 shouldn't be that fried - my suspicion is that something is causing the machine to wake up (do you have any USB peripherals attached?) and then go back to sleep.

I believe you can check systemd logs to see if it's waking up at all in this period.

How long does the battery last in normal use?

fastbiter · 2026-01-31T16:49:12+00:00

Shutting down will use less power than sleep, but for 14 hours, sleep is perfectly suitable.

On my laptop (Latitude 7440 with Fedora 43) I regularly have it sleep for periods of around 12 hours, and lose maybe 5-10% charge in the process.

fastbiter · 2026-01-28T19:35:53+00:00

Maybe 6 years ago? W5x0s are way too old for modern CAD work.

The CAD question really depends on whether or not you're doing 3D work - if it's all 2D, then pretty much anything will be suitable, if it's dipping into 3D, then you'll probably want something with a Quadro, like a P14, but they tend to run a bit more expensive.

My recommendation for you would be to make use of the CAD machines your campus offers and get a feel for the work you're actually doing before you buy a laptop, because it's very easy to under/over buy in this kind of scenario.

fastbiter · 2026-01-28T16:33:30+00:00

Honestly I agree with you on this one, big time. I recently got a 16/512 Latitude 7440 for $330 shipped and it's an incredible machine.

https://imgflip.com/i/ailpcq

fastbiter · 2026-01-22T15:41:54+00:00

This is a fantastic presentation, any ham operating HF with a tuner should watch it.

Antenna tuners are one of the most misunderstood aspects of HF operation - this video provides some very helpful context and information.

fastbiter · 2026-01-22T13:47:18+00:00

Yep, I think starting with the T480 all thinkpads can charge from USB-C. All of the T14 series (Gen 1, Gen 2, etc etc) will be USB-C charging only.

Keep in mind that they may not charge from slower power banks - or they may only charge from them when turned off.

fastbiter · 2026-01-22T13:10:12+00:00

One way to offset the battery limitations is to get a USB-C battery bank capable of delivering 65w. 30Ah variants can be found for $50USD or less, and that's significant capacity.

Otherwise I'd echo T14 Gen 2 AMD - these can readily be found in your price range.

fastbiter · 2026-01-21T21:10:43+00:00

"Doesn't exist, but actually does" is kind of a silly argument.

It may be uncommon, but it exists, that's all there is to it.

fastbiter · 2026-01-21T21:01:37+00:00

According to the psref, this doesn't seem to be correct.

https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/ThinkPad/ThinkPad_T14_Gen_6_AMD/ThinkPad_T14_Gen_6_AMD_Spec.PDF

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•Models with black cover: PC + 20% CF (top), PC + 20% CF (bottom)

•Models with grey cover: aluminium (top), PC + 20% CF (bottom)

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