Dean Bird — VK4DSB

Amateur radio operator, IT security professional, and tinkerer based in Bellmere QLD. I run QuirkyIT, a small IT and security consulting business focused on digital forensics, incident response, and threat intelligence.

QRZ Profile · GitHub · QuirkyIT

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Amateur Radio

Licensed as VK4DSB in QG62. I run a Xiegu X6100 and am active on FT8, APRS, and SSTV. Current projects include a solar-powered Meshtastic relay node.

• Ham Dashboard — Live propagation, APRS, FT8, BOM radar, and DX tracking in one view
• Radio Setup — Software and equipment for the X6100
• Projects & Guides — Antenna builds, Meshtastic nodes, foundation training, and more

Technology & Security

Open-source tools and write-ups covering incident response, threat intelligence, and network security. See the full list on the Technology page.

• talkIR — Query your IR log data in plain English using an LLM
• SignalSage — Automated threat intelligence enrichment bot for Slack and Discord
• mesh-medic — Offline AI survival assistant over Meshtastic radio networks

AI & LLM

I tinker a lot with local and cloud LLMs — running models via Ollama, building RAG pipelines, and wiring AI into practical tools. Most of my recent projects use LLMs as a core component rather than a gimmick.

• talkIR — Natural language queries over security logs; supports Ollama, Claude, and OpenAI
• SignalSage — LLM-generated threat digests and IOC summaries in Slack/Discord
• mesh-medic — Fully offline RAG + LLM over LoRa radio (no internet required)
• OpenClaw setup — Multi-workspace AI agent architecture for personal, business, and forensic use

Other Interests

Gardening and making things work together that probably shouldn’t.