diff --git a/drb-frontend/app/globals.css b/drb-frontend/app/globals.css
index 9dcc7c2..372887b 100644
--- a/drb-frontend/app/globals.css
+++ b/drb-frontend/app/globals.css
@@ -199,6 +199,13 @@ html:not(.dark) .border-indigo-800 { border-color: #a5b4fc !important; }
   filter: invert(1) hue-rotate(180deg) brightness(0.9) contrast(0.9) saturate(0.6);
 }
 
+/* Leaflet popups stay white in both themes (their body text is a fixed
+ * gray-900), so the theme's muted ink — light grey in dark mode, ~2.9:1 on
+ * white — is pinned to a grey that holds AA on white (~6:1). */
+.leaflet-popup-content .text-ink-muted {
+  color: #5B6577;
+}
+
 /* Pinned 511 camera tiles (MapView DotCameraLayer): strip Leaflet's tooltip
  * padding and let the tile's own theme colours show, so the tile is no bigger
  * than the video it holds. */
diff --git a/drb-frontend/app/nodes/[id]/page.tsx b/drb-frontend/app/nodes/[id]/page.tsx
index 0174722..72aa159 100644
--- a/drb-frontend/app/nodes/[id]/page.tsx
+++ b/drb-frontend/app/nodes/[id]/page.tsx
@@ -160,7 +160,8 @@ export default function NodeDetailPage() {
               <> No timeout is currently enforced (permanent override).</>
             )}
           </p>
-          <div className="flex gap-2">
+          {/* Override routes are require_service_key_or_admin (server-26#222). */}
+          {isAdmin && <div className="flex gap-2">
             {node.override_timeout_at && (
               <button
                 onClick={async () => {
@@ -189,7 +190,7 @@ export default function NodeDetailPage() {
             >
               Force Revert Config
             </button>
-          </div>
+          </div>}
         </div>
       )}
 
@@ -245,20 +246,29 @@ export default function NodeDetailPage() {
       )}
 
       {/* Actions */}
+      {/* Configure and Restart are admin-only on the server (server-26#222);
+          non-admins get a note instead of a button that 403s. */}
+      {!isAdmin && !node.configured && (
+        <p className="text-sm text-ink-2">This node isn&apos;t configured yet. An admin needs to assign it a radio system.</p>
+      )}
       <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-3">
-        <button
-          onClick={() => setShowConfig(true)}
-          className="px-4 py-2 bg-indigo-700 hover:bg-indigo-600 text-white rounded-lg text-sm font-mono transition-colors"
-        >
-          {node.configured ? "Reassign System" : "Configure"}
-        </button>
-        <button
-          disabled={sending}
-          onClick={() => sendCommand("op25_restart", "Restart OP25")}
-          className="px-4 py-2 bg-raised hover:bg-gray-700 text-ink-2 rounded-lg text-sm font-mono transition-colors disabled:opacity-50"
-        >
-          Restart OP25
-        </button>
+        {isAdmin && (
+          <button
+            onClick={() => setShowConfig(true)}
+            className="px-4 py-2 bg-indigo-700 hover:bg-indigo-600 text-white rounded-lg text-sm font-mono transition-colors"
+          >
+            {node.configured ? "Reassign System" : "Configure"}
+          </button>
+        )}
+        {isAdmin && (
+          <button
+            disabled={sending}
+            onClick={() => sendCommand("op25_restart", "Restart OP25")}
+            className="px-4 py-2 bg-raised hover:bg-gray-700 text-ink-2 rounded-lg text-sm font-mono transition-colors disabled:opacity-50"
+          >
+            Restart OP25
+          </button>
+        )}
         {isAdmin && (
           <button
             disabled={sending}
diff --git a/drb-frontend/app/nodes/page.tsx b/drb-frontend/app/nodes/page.tsx
index fb5da95..fa58320 100644
--- a/drb-frontend/app/nodes/page.tsx
+++ b/drb-frontend/app/nodes/page.tsx
@@ -79,9 +79,15 @@ export default function NodesPage() {
           </h2>
           <div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-4">
             {pending.map((n) => (
-              <div key={n.node_id} onClick={() => setConfigNode(n)} className="cursor-pointer">
-                <NodeCard node={n} system={systemMap[n.assigned_system_id ?? ""]} linkToDetail={false} />
-              </div>
+              // Configuring is admin-only on the server (server-26#222); for
+              // everyone else the card links to the node page instead.
+              isAdmin ? (
+                <div key={n.node_id} onClick={() => setConfigNode(n)} className="cursor-pointer">
+                  <NodeCard node={n} system={systemMap[n.assigned_system_id ?? ""]} linkToDetail={false} />
+                </div>
+              ) : (
+                <NodeCard key={n.node_id} node={n} system={systemMap[n.assigned_system_id ?? ""]} />
+              )
             ))}
           </div>
         </div>
diff --git a/drb-frontend/app/systems/page.tsx b/drb-frontend/app/systems/page.tsx
index c7a9981..5f81ad5 100644
--- a/drb-frontend/app/systems/page.tsx
+++ b/drb-frontend/app/systems/page.tsx
@@ -1953,12 +1953,16 @@ export default function SystemsPage() {
     <div className="space-y-6">
       <div className="flex items-center justify-between">
         <h1 className="text-xl font-bold text-white font-mono">Systems</h1>
-        <button
-          onClick={() => { setEditing("new"); setEditIsDuplicate(false); }}
-          className="bg-indigo-600 hover:bg-indigo-500 text-white px-4 py-2 rounded-lg text-sm font-mono transition-colors"
-        >
-          + New System
-        </button>
+        {/* Every systems write route is require_admin_token (server-26#283);
+            operators get a read-only view. */}
+        {isAdmin && (
+          <button
+            onClick={() => { setEditing("new"); setEditIsDuplicate(false); }}
+            className="bg-indigo-600 hover:bg-indigo-500 text-white px-4 py-2 rounded-lg text-sm font-mono transition-colors"
+          >
+            + New System
+          </button>
+        )}
       </div>
 
       {editing && (
@@ -2006,7 +2010,7 @@ export default function SystemsPage() {
                     {kindLabel(s)}
                   </span>
                 </div>
-                <div className="mt-3 flex gap-3">
+                {isAdmin && <div className="mt-3 flex gap-3">
                   <button
                     onClick={() => openEdit(s)}
                     className="text-xs text-indigo-400 hover:text-indigo-300 transition-colors"
@@ -2025,15 +2029,21 @@ export default function SystemsPage() {
                   >
                     Delete
                   </button>
-                </div>
+                </div>}
                 {/* GET /tokens and PUT /tokens/{id}/prefer are platform-admin only
                     (server-26#204 item 6), so for anyone else this panel could
                     neither list the pool nor save a choice (server-26#213 item 4). */}
                 {isAdmin && <PreferredTokenPanel systemId={s.system_id} initialTokenId={s.preferred_token_id} />}
-                <AiFlagsPanel systemId={s.system_id} initial={(s as unknown as { ai_flags?: SystemAiFlags }).ai_flags ?? {}} />
-                <AreaContextPanel systemId={s.system_id} />
-                <TalkgroupPendingPanel systemId={s.system_id} />
-                <VocabularyPanel systemId={s.system_id} />
+                {/* All admin-only routes (server-26#283), incl. area-context and
+                    talkgroup-pending GETs and every vocabulary write. */}
+                {isAdmin && (
+                  <>
+                    <AiFlagsPanel systemId={s.system_id} initial={(s as unknown as { ai_flags?: SystemAiFlags }).ai_flags ?? {}} />
+                    <AreaContextPanel systemId={s.system_id} />
+                    <TalkgroupPendingPanel systemId={s.system_id} />
+                    <VocabularyPanel systemId={s.system_id} />
+                  </>
+                )}
               </div>
             );
           })}