tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87669382024-03-15T21:12:42.739-04:00The Lance J. TechnowebUseful and Useless Ideas from Lance J.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger293125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-82638394340993222942024-03-15T10:39:00.000-04:002024-03-15T10:39:02.361-04:00Useful Comcast Xfinity URLs<p>I often find it challenging to find specific Xfinity web pages used manage my Internet service.</p><p>Here is the list of URLs that I am often struggling to find.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Status, and Remotely restarting the modem <br /></h3><p><span> </span><a href="https://www.xfinity.com/support/status">https://www.xfinity.com/support/status</a></p><p><span> </span>Under "Internet", there should be a Cable Modem entry that says "Connected" and which has a Restart button. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Monthly Data Usage</h3><p><span> </span><a href="https://customer.xfinity.com/#/devices#usage">https://customer.xfinity.com/#/devices#usage</a></p><p>Also in JSON form at </p><p><span> </span><a href="https://customer.xfinity.com/apis/csp/account/me/services/internet/usage?filter=internet">https://customer.xfinity.com/apis/csp/account/me/services/internet/usage?filter=internet</a> <br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Hotspot List</h3><p><span> </span><a href="https://customer.xfinity.com/#/settings/security/hotspot-devices">https://customer.xfinity.com/#/settings/security/hotspot-devices</a></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Speed Testing</h3><p>This is my go-to speed testing service. It provides a lot of great information. It isn't a Comcast service, but it does a great job.<br /></p><p><span><span> </span><a href="https://speed.cloudflare.com/">https://speed.cloudflare.com/</a></span></p><p><span> </span> <br /></p><p> <br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comUnited States37.09024 -95.7128918.780006163821156 -130.869141 65.400473836178847 -60.556641tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-5121111756000512842024-03-14T10:56:00.006-04:002024-03-14T10:59:57.883-04:00Time zone corrections and Daylight Saving Time Days<p>As of this writing in the US and Canada, there are exactly 238 "Daylight Saving Time" days per year, and 127 "Standard Time" days per year. We change our local clocks twice a year, in March and November. <br /></p><p>Very early or very late sunrises mess up a lot of people, as does the clock change. Many people in the US would like to both eliminate the clock changes and shift their time zone.<br /></p><p>People in the areas that have very late sunrises effectively want to shift the timezone boundary to the west. This includes states like Michigan, Indiana, and Georgia, which are inadvertently in the Eastern Time Zone. Instead, many people in these states would greatly prefer to follow the clock of the Central time zone.<br /></p><p>Similarly, many people in the areas that have very early sunrises would want to shift their timezone boundry to the east. This includes the Northeast, which could move to the Atlantic time zone.</p><p>Many states have already voted for these changes, but it takes an act of congress to approve and implement the changes. </p><p>In the mean time, just wake up at the time when you want to wake up. If your employer or school doesn't change suit, put pressure on them to do so.<br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comUnited States37.09024 -95.7128918.780006163821156 -130.869141 65.400473836178847 -60.556641tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-25842716887910967682024-03-10T13:02:00.004-04:002024-03-15T10:16:22.606-04:00Brother HL-3170CDW Firmware Update Information<p>I have a couple Brother HL-3170CDW color laser printers. They're pretty old, circa 2015. One is working fine, and the other is dead with a laser-related issue and is being slowly scavenged for parts.</p><p>In any case, these machines have firmware that needs to be periodically updated. There are two chucks of firmware for this printer: <b>Main Firmware Version</b> and <b>Sub1 Firmware Version</b>.</p><p>As of this writing, on 10-March-2024, the firmware versions are as follows:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>MAIN FIRMWARE is at 1.32 </b></li><li><b>SUB1 FIRMWARE is at 1.07 <br /></b></li></ul><p>A printer's version information can be seen by looking at http://{printer_ip}/general/information.html <br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Updating the Firmware<br /></h3><p>Unfortunately, the HL-3170CDW printer does not offer a built-in UI to deal with firmware updates. Instead, the <b>Brother Firmware Update Tool</b> must be used to keep the printer's firmware up to date. The tool can be found at <a href="https://support.brother.com/g/b/downloadlist.aspx?c=us&lang=en&prod=hl3170cdw_all&os=10060">The Brother HL3170cdw web page.</a> It can be found under Windows and Macintosh downloads.<br /></p><p>Note that the update tool is <i>only</i> available for MS-Windows and Macintosh. It does not run on Linux or on smartphone platforms. Also note that the firmware must be updated through a directly connected USB cable.</p><p> </p><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comUnited States37.09024 -95.7128918.780006163821156 -130.869141 65.400473836178847 -60.556641tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-6576960056083898552024-03-08T15:11:00.018-05:002024-03-10T18:09:18.765-04:00Is there BS behind the Puma chipset latency story?<p>I frequently read about how Puma-based DOCSIS modems have severe latency problems. Back in 2016, a user on DSL Reports who states that he is an "EE" that "designs electronics" did an analysis and <a href="https://www.dslreports.com/forum/r31079834-Modem-SB6190-is-a-terrible-modem-Intel-Puma-6-MaxLinear-mistake">claimed that he found very frequent and repeatable ~250 ms latency spikes</a> due to his modem's Puma chipset. (It is important to note that this person did not claim to have professional or academic credentials in networking.)<br /></p><p>The data he published - a repeatable and consistent 250 ms latency - seems so bizarre that I find it almost impossible to fathom that his findings were typical behavior, or that ISPs would certify such poorly behaving modems. Later <a href="https://www.theregister.com/2016/12/03/intel_puma_chipset_firmware_fix/">in 2016 an article was published</a> that amplified his claims and his story took off as "the experience of everyone with a Puma-based modem".</p><p>By April 2017, <a href="https://www.theregister.com/2017/04/11/intel_puma_6_arris/">an article was published</a> in The Register stating that someone was pursuing a class action lawsuit against Arris related to Puma-based modems. [The way I read it, <a href="https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/60b4e7504653d060313f0c6d">Arris won the essentials of the lawsuit.</a>]<br /></p><p>By August 2018, The Register reported <a href="https://www.theregister.com/2018/08/14/intel_puma_modem/">that a fix was released</a>, but the documents cited by the "bug fix" article don't appear to discuss the latency issue, but instead a DoS vulnerability. It is unclear how the article's author concluded that the security bug fix was associated with the Puma latency claim.</p><p>Now, years later, the "Puma latency claim" is still knocked around as a truth regarding the Puma chipset. But is it true? <br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">I can't repeat it.<br /></h3><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust,_but_verify">"Trust, but verify"</a> is an often repeated proverb. Sadly, many people trust, and many fewer verify.</p><p>I can't repeat the findings of the original forum poster's claim. Although the original claim makes it clear that the problem is extraordinarily evident, my deep analysis shows.... nothing. </p><p>Since I have a bunch of modems under my control that are Puma-based, specifically Arris SB6190s, I decided to instrument them. I performed a latency test for months on active Internet connections to remote servers through these modems.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4gDWvJz-hYrRTRjOMyLGMLmsx1CkKuJ1rGMSlmx1-Sx2vUk7FD0gogxLlUHHlpi0fGNwA33mQUMma-0TAtBGW-nJ39BDDdNh_kNWIE2CvmBoV_pRnd6lbz4wvaLFifAOAia5wkkAv8pcblXKQLtS2pys6agShPHjYyH3o4zKv-Yhd_LyXsoVJBA/s1014/Puma.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="1014" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4gDWvJz-hYrRTRjOMyLGMLmsx1CkKuJ1rGMSlmx1-Sx2vUk7FD0gogxLlUHHlpi0fGNwA33mQUMma-0TAtBGW-nJ39BDDdNh_kNWIE2CvmBoV_pRnd6lbz4wvaLFifAOAia5wkkAv8pcblXKQLtS2pys6agShPHjYyH3o4zKv-Yhd_LyXsoVJBA/s320/Puma.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Puma modem shows very low latency, wildly different than the 2016 claim<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I didn't find any latency issues that look anything even remotely close to resembling the claims of the original forum post. Instead, I see very consistent pings between 10 and 23 ms, with an average around 11.5 ms. And this is over an actively used Internet connection from my home LAN client to my ISP's remote infrastructure.</p><p>I conclude that the Puma issue does not exist. The originally reported data may have been due to infrastructure issues at an ISP, data collection issues, a software bug, a hardware failure, a DoS, a saturated network connection, or something else. But whatever it was, it does not manifest itself on any of my Puma configurations of today.</p><p>So instead of the original claim, I have a updated claim: Puma: impressively low latency performance.</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comUnited States37.09024 -95.7128918.780006163821156 -130.869141 65.400473836178847 -60.556641tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-86285877422899228372024-02-23T15:50:00.007-05:002024-02-23T16:12:06.459-05:00Repairing the Roland HD-1 V-Drums pedals<p>I have a Roland HD-1 V-drum kit that is about 15 years old. It was sitting for years when I got it, and when I put it all together it was clear that the pedals were not working. Boo! Time for a repair.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2alayYvyQmCZDTxd2g7-GGFnWiOlNbjqEDQ5Wqukp-KVeyVBXsc1S95yS92nR7vvr3A1O3rIg7hCgbJAutjpicdlGdZWZ7UdjpcGvRM082aPE-J6k-TP_flD4YnyvdxSRMU3X4Nondm6YhQX7i2PudMhnCaJW3pEoWAmNEEedIxFrCK9ZQBsGng/s1280/hd1%20-%201.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1011" data-original-width="1280" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2alayYvyQmCZDTxd2g7-GGFnWiOlNbjqEDQ5Wqukp-KVeyVBXsc1S95yS92nR7vvr3A1O3rIg7hCgbJAutjpicdlGdZWZ7UdjpcGvRM082aPE-J6k-TP_flD4YnyvdxSRMU3X4Nondm6YhQX7i2PudMhnCaJW3pEoWAmNEEedIxFrCK9ZQBsGng/s320/hd1%20-%201.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roland HD-1 Pedal Hammer under a Heat Gun. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">How the HD-1 pedals work</h3>With the Roland, a pedal actuates a variable resistor. When you step on a pedal, it presses on the variable resistor. Putting force on the pedal reduces the resistance of the resistor. A little force results in a small decrease in resistance. A high amount of force greatly lowers the resistance. The HD-1's computer detects this and makes the appropriate sound.<br /><p>There are two important parts to this mechanism: the electronic resistive strip, and a rubber hammer which presses on the strip in a variable way. </p><p>There is no internal difference between the left and right pedal. The guts of each pedal is identical. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Where it goes wrong with age</b><br /></h3><p>Looking at mine, the problem was with the aged rubber hammer. Originally the hammers were very flexible, but with age they became very hard, and therefore stopped pressing on the resistive strip. That led to poorly functioning (or non-functioning) pedals.</p><p>My variably resistive strips were fine and did not need replacement. I'd keep the original resistive strip in place unless it is damaged or very worn out.<br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Repairing the HD-1 pedal hammers <br /></h3><p>The solution is to use hammers that are as flexible as they were when new. I softened my hammers up using a heat gun set at 250 ºC. After 5 minutes in hot air, the hammers became much softer. Surprisingly, they remained soft long after they cooled. I guess that's the magic of this class of material.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQbckxw06k16AmW9D1WE2v8uM0iy1ZvEDePHmceLQQRmUvBTy5jDsnL3to36vPlbr3ZtgmdTS7YT06D6vaY9wXxK4WsoGe3lH4NKnoCZs-fRhW5Vz9MSYOFBkaaYzsUUayubIsvBHsg5Bsh_DXD9AvGiXy5y867aiYUS3B2zUNynj5WZvJPvbtYg/s1203/hd1a%20-%201.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="915" data-original-width="1203" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQbckxw06k16AmW9D1WE2v8uM0iy1ZvEDePHmceLQQRmUvBTy5jDsnL3to36vPlbr3ZtgmdTS7YT06D6vaY9wXxK4WsoGe3lH4NKnoCZs-fRhW5Vz9MSYOFBkaaYzsUUayubIsvBHsg5Bsh_DXD9AvGiXy5y867aiYUS3B2zUNynj5WZvJPvbtYg/s320/hd1a%20-%201.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The central hammer surface [marked up here in orange] variably presses on the resistive strip. No flexing means no change in resistance.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>Reinstalling these softened hammers with a small amount of silicone grease on the mating surfaces fixed the problem. </p><p>Heating the hammers may be a temporary solution, as the hammers <i>might</i> harden up in short order. A longer-lived solution may be to buy replacement hammers. I bought <a href="https://amzn.to/48rLQ10">replacement hammers on Amazon, as noted here.</a><br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comUnited States37.09024 -95.7128918.780006163821156 -130.869141 65.400473836178847 -60.556641tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-80975806926056671142024-01-26T09:22:00.005-05:002024-01-26T14:22:53.691-05:00Installing the Eve Smart MotionBlind Upgrade with my Large Roller Shade<p>I have a large window in the front of my house and a roller shade was just the right window treatment for it. But I also wanted to automate it.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJ2iScnhSS-dzrke4y6a_TNbQ-MUyVH-OEZZ7i6_36-3VzXhqf8XsVDPnf1yaUoqTTl4jM-LrwmbbuGNgVKnfaoCI_IOnzK0lDabZR1JDmSWYn-AminXMIgmXworwdPkj5avOTMDY-VK2vt0TMBaB2KDQ4PNkm75kg9lV3ShL06vVZ-9xy8Zf4A/s1280/MBU%20-%201.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJ2iScnhSS-dzrke4y6a_TNbQ-MUyVH-OEZZ7i6_36-3VzXhqf8XsVDPnf1yaUoqTTl4jM-LrwmbbuGNgVKnfaoCI_IOnzK0lDabZR1JDmSWYn-AminXMIgmXworwdPkj5avOTMDY-VK2vt0TMBaB2KDQ4PNkm75kg9lV3ShL06vVZ-9xy8Zf4A/s320/MBU%20-%201.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My MotionBlind Upgrade kit and my new roller shade<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I looked around to buy something that I was comfortable with, but simple non-automated roller blinds can be expensive, especially when they're larger than 6 ft x 6 ft. This is disappointing, as a roller blind is just a tube with a small amount of synthetic cloth but can easily cost hundreds of dollars. Plus, since I wanted a smarthome blind, we're talking $500 or more from the "service oriented shops".</p><p>I'm a tech guy. I think can do better. <br /></p><p>After thinking about DIY and creative solutions, I decided to try out the <a href="https://amzn.to/47VEnqp">Eve MotionBlinds Upgrade</a> (MBU) kit. This kit transforms an ordinary roller blind into a smart blind. The MotionBlinds mechanism is basically consists of a small motor and battery in a long metal tube. This motor tube slides into a roller blind tube. Some radio electronics on the end of the tube allow it to communicate with smarthomes via HomeKit or Matter. Pretty neat and simple... but the devil is always in the details.<br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Analysis - Will the MotionBlinds Upgrade work for me?<br /></h3><div style="text-align: left;">Since I was pretty sure I wanted to go with the MotionBlinds Upgrade (again, I'll call it <b>MBU</b> from now on), the first trick is to make sure that the MBU will actually work in my situation.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My window is weirdly wide : roughly 74 inches wide and 77 inches tall. I wanted to make sure that the MBU would work with such a wide and long blind, and that the MBU could be properly installed and powered inside my window's trim.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Looking at the specs, the MBU can drive a roller shade that is wider than 26 3/4. So therefore, no problem in terms of driving such a wide or long shade. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Another concern is power. The MBU has an internal battery, probably a set of 18650s or similar Lithium rechargeable cells. The battery is recharged via "your own" USB-C cable on a periodic basis (quarterly?). Suffice to say that my window does not have USB power going to it, and so therefore I will have to climb up and recharge the battery on an occasional basis. This doesn't seem too bad, as long as the battery can keep its charge up.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Ordering A Blind That Works<br /></h3><p>Since I recognized that the MBU can reasonably work in my home, the next challenge was to find a blind that can work with my window and the MBU. First, a wide blind is hard to find. Most vendors do not sell blinds wider than 58 inches - likely due to being rarely ordered and hard to ship.</p><p>Furthermore, the blind tube diameter needs to be the right size for the MBU to slide into. The MBU manual says that the blind tube's outside diameter needs to be between 1.5 and 2 inches. Sadly, most blind vendors do not publish information about tube diameter, and there are no specific blind tube standards and are usually not a measurement that buyers care about.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPSmTeTFS3DNFftvMwzrZAQdUfG9EOqGs_76KAtSQvH2JUmbNKzednSIqL3MrfTDYcJboQ5chK-WUVb0AIdeTpqYR9TksEtbCu0J3eEdA0jauw55ZlpCU8Y2nnFy1C97kcaKWnKK2RC_xd5cU5lEQyzaO7z_kFY3KfT8ilUq0hsxPHBxOt1gAhw/s1280/MBU%20-%209.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPSmTeTFS3DNFftvMwzrZAQdUfG9EOqGs_76KAtSQvH2JUmbNKzednSIqL3MrfTDYcJboQ5chK-WUVb0AIdeTpqYR9TksEtbCu0J3eEdA0jauw55ZlpCU8Y2nnFy1C97kcaKWnKK2RC_xd5cU5lEQyzaO7z_kFY3KfT8ilUq0hsxPHBxOt1gAhw/s320/MBU%20-%209.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I used calipers to measure the diameter of the aluminum blind tube.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>After searching high and low for a blind that would seem to work in terms of cost, size, and tube diameter, I ended up buying a 74 inch <a href="https://amzn.to/3vQSlg8">Linkcoo Roller Shade</a> via Amazon for about $80. Once I received the Linkcoo roller shade, I used my <a href="https://amzn.to/495Oo5n">digital caliper</a> to measure the diameter of the tube: 39.5 mm. Nice! The MBU unit would definitely fit inside. <br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Installing the Blind<br /></h3><p>The first trick to installation is: don't install the blind! The MBU uses its own mounting brackets, so I was smart enough to avoid using the brackets that came with the blind. In other words, the brackets and chain that came with my Linkcoo roller blind have gone unused, and are now spare parts for some other project. At the same time, I was wise to avoid buying fancier roller shade chains and hardware, as this stuff is not used with the MBU . In short, all that I needed in the blind department was the blind cloth, its roller tube, and its bottom weight.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOOtLyVSLLJlXZwJ1qbKlIW3NdsSW9JvS69GtR7Kyu5rm_vLzrKjZTsIrReW-qAW8F6a7_Z3-q84DNmFpphDgprDczQ-kYfpaOKcH9CFL22Oeb7VTAd6LplTSFZ6p2UYCj1nOsz35hXvFyXLrIhjbgNg-1fIfrLEP-O6hlrDd0QvEjWgXLYjb8g/s1280/MBU%20-%203.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOOtLyVSLLJlXZwJ1qbKlIW3NdsSW9JvS69GtR7Kyu5rm_vLzrKjZTsIrReW-qAW8F6a7_Z3-q84DNmFpphDgprDczQ-kYfpaOKcH9CFL22Oeb7VTAd6LplTSFZ6p2UYCj1nOsz35hXvFyXLrIhjbgNg-1fIfrLEP-O6hlrDd0QvEjWgXLYjb8g/s320/MBU%20-%203.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm glad I didn't install the blind with the stock Linkcoo brackets...<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Og0ClI4bp9551ozvL2dqj9M_GDJ6dajJick2OlgPz2ldDSP1ame-igPx5UnBISNER8a4k3BlwxhiXPQbA_5M8dfq6JwaIVDwyX0L4JKJBLdlWy721bE-gI6W-KNmbYslidTLegMGS7aKyrNNu4Hx6c-dQSDYln3khWkoL7riPLvKgmKUcBDa6Q/s1280/MBU%20-%204.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Og0ClI4bp9551ozvL2dqj9M_GDJ6dajJick2OlgPz2ldDSP1ame-igPx5UnBISNER8a4k3BlwxhiXPQbA_5M8dfq6JwaIVDwyX0L4JKJBLdlWy721bE-gI6W-KNmbYslidTLegMGS7aKyrNNu4Hx6c-dQSDYln3khWkoL7riPLvKgmKUcBDa6Q/s320/MBU%20-%204.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">... because the MotionBlind Upgrade uses its own brackets<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Adding the MBU to the Blind Tube<br /></h3><p>I first installed the MBU withing my blind's roller tube. This was pretty easy, but I think the goal here is DO NOT FORCE anything. The motor needs to slide into the tube, and its a friction fit. Since my blind tube was so long, I needed a friend to push on the far end of the roller tube as I pushed in the MBU from the other end. <br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmMafz6KHXAHJ4smevCP_wvAo6SOEjDJxXIUR0lnroDQMm7YhjslIAdfByNPU9rhvYcog71uFTmjW2mhdiBlRzbEgf4hkFl3clSJcKC7eshgs_SOv6OpgJBlY2jBTAQ0WAMvYG2uc7FFybhl6cnWDzUYhijHNF97j3olopXwQVXcMcOuxaUZrjOQ/s1280/MBU%20-%2010.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmMafz6KHXAHJ4smevCP_wvAo6SOEjDJxXIUR0lnroDQMm7YhjslIAdfByNPU9rhvYcog71uFTmjW2mhdiBlRzbEgf4hkFl3clSJcKC7eshgs_SOv6OpgJBlY2jBTAQ0WAMvYG2uc7FFybhl6cnWDzUYhijHNF97j3olopXwQVXcMcOuxaUZrjOQ/s320/MBU%20-%2010.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The MBU slides into the roller tube... carefully!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <p></p><p>Once the MBU was slid into the tube, I got to installing the brackets around my window. My advice here is to follow the MBU's instuctions and make sure everything is accurately installed with a little bit of +/- adjustability. In the end, the blind unit should gently clip into the brackets. There is roughly 3/8 inch of total adjustability with the brackets, so try to get it all within a quarter inch. I found that "dry fitting" the blind unit very helpful, and this requires two people.<br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_nZNRknF7-ElyM4rkmRlupsBlwhl8Hlxb6tbxbyuNhyphenhyphentlSOhupmzZrvQP8WG9q9rwXkWw7qnpW21FIsOi8mMLSqV__zl4lxaswbuS8l4-1u1kLXWIVw6A2vD1PYJ7EOITmWMB7mCNRCO8_6LzxW56O_OwUwbRoX_qFSaKPZVWcCM7bEvuir0rQQ/s1280/MBU%20-%2011.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_nZNRknF7-ElyM4rkmRlupsBlwhl8Hlxb6tbxbyuNhyphenhyphentlSOhupmzZrvQP8WG9q9rwXkWw7qnpW21FIsOi8mMLSqV__zl4lxaswbuS8l4-1u1kLXWIVw6A2vD1PYJ7EOITmWMB7mCNRCO8_6LzxW56O_OwUwbRoX_qFSaKPZVWcCM7bEvuir0rQQ/s320/MBU%20-%2011.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The business end: antennas, pull chain, and etc.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Configuration </b></h3><p>Once it was all up, I fired up the Eve app to do the initial configuration. It is all pretty striaght forward. The first step is to identify which way the tube should turn to open and close. The second step is to set the high (open) and low (closed) points of the blind. A single tug on the chain puts it to the other position, or a long tug will adjust it in small increments.</p><p>Rest assured that the MBU is very good at keeping track of the blind's position. It is stepping up and down with high accuracy.<br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Downsides and Issues</b> <br /></h3><div style="text-align: left;">I did have some issues and concerns:</div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: left;">My first MBU quickly developed some kind of stutter while closing. I could never figure out why, but I ended up needed to do a warranty replacement.</li><li style="text-align: left;">For the warranty replacement, Eve could give me no advice on how to remove the MBU from my blind tube. Happily, I was just able to pull it out with some force.</li><li style="text-align: left;">My MBU somehow lost connectivity to my home. I needed to reset the MBU and add it to my home again. I'm not sure if this was due to user error, a Smartphone issue, or a problem with the MBU.<br /></li><li style="text-align: left;">I suspect the battery will need to be replaced within 8 years or so.
There doesn't seem to be an easy way to replace the battery, but I'm
sure someone will figure that out over time. </li></ul><p>Non-issues:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The blind supports HomeKit, Matter, and Thread, so I have no worries about it being supported for the long haul.</li><li>The noise is minimal, and is no different than what one would expect from a small, slow moving stepper motor. </li></ul><p> </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Conclusion</h3><p>So would I do it again? I don't have a need for another smarthome blind, but I would definitely recommend it. The caveat is that I don't know if this unit will have a lifespan of 5 years or 15+ years. I, of course, would like it to last forever, but only "time in the field" will tell.<br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comUnited States37.09024 -95.7128918.780006163821156 -130.869141 65.400473836178847 -60.556641tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-58602405198961837472024-01-07T09:14:00.015-05:002024-01-27T11:07:54.750-05:00The cheapest and best $35 personal weather station<p>I like measuring things, and I like the weather. So why shouldn't I own a weather station? I've thought about it for several years, but never committed to it. Why not? Cost! But since I found a $35 solution, this year I did it!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPcH_c8j5YvYI3v81dWsPeF4g5qQn5BWKXFHATKGkh6Nj9DaKbDnfOZzjdirbF5WXG7bFe7Fm2G2Sn9ipmNlH58H0YljbvLPcsNqmekgdSWAIAxZhe_hYnw_Q3zvVgO-aRBRlKnxh17-dxoivGf4qHMk7bDzIQm7HkWfwN53ovYr5WS83fh51KrA/s1238/Ecowitt.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1238" data-original-width="876" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPcH_c8j5YvYI3v81dWsPeF4g5qQn5BWKXFHATKGkh6Nj9DaKbDnfOZzjdirbF5WXG7bFe7Fm2G2Sn9ipmNlH58H0YljbvLPcsNqmekgdSWAIAxZhe_hYnw_Q3zvVgO-aRBRlKnxh17-dxoivGf4qHMk7bDzIQm7HkWfwN53ovYr5WS83fh51KrA/s320/Ecowitt.png" width="226" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Weather Station Configuration<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Why did it take me so long?<br /></h3><p>When I looked online, I saw a bunch of $120 to $1000+ kits that did
everything: wind, rain, solar radiation, barometric pressure,
temperature, humidity, lightning, etc. They looked big and complicated, and was more than I wanted to spend on what amounts to be a toy.<br /></p><p>The reasons I didn't buy one of these weather stations:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Installing a weather station seemed like a pain in the butt.</li><li>My property isn't really set up for quality weather data collection (limited open space, with trees, buildings, fences, etc).</li><li>I didn't want to spend a lot of cash on finicky equipment. </li><li>Every other weather-related thing I've ever purchased has been pretty limited.</li></ul><p>But then I learned that this isn't the only way. The trick is leveraging the ecosystems.<br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Ecosystems versus Kits<br /></h3><p>Although the kits are definitely the right way to go if you want to measure everything imaginable all at once, there is another way: Don't buy a kit, and instead by the individual units: There are sensors, and there are receivers, and they work within an ecosystem. The kits are simply a bundles of sensors with a receiver.<br /></p><p>So I instead went down the path of buying the sensors I wanted, and leaving the rest out.</p><p>My biggest decision was to stick with a "displayless" weather station, and instead just have my data displayed on a computer, phone, or web page. Yes, not as flashy as one of those gimmicky "weather displays" you see in the ads, but infinitely more flexible.<br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Enter the Ecowitt</h3><p>Ecowitt is a brand of weather sensors. They sell receivers and transmitters, so my first goal was to buy a receiver.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3Ha9ROL">The GW1100 is a simple Weather WiFi Gateway</a>: It's a displayless WiFi-connected receiver with built-in barometer and temperature and humidity sensors. It also wirelessly (not WiFi) receives and processes signals from remote sensors. The GW1100 gateway costs about $20. It is an indoor device, so the humidity and temperature it reports is "indoor" (barometric pressure should be the same inside and out). According to what I've read, the GW1100 can handle up to 64 sensor units.</p><p>The GW1100 is powered via USB, so it does need to be plugged in 24x365. I installed my GW1100 in my attic. We'll see how it survives the crazy hot and cold temperatures up there, but so far, so good. I power my GW1100 with an old Apple iPhone USB charger, and measuring its power draw with my <a href="https://amzn.to/3U9U1LO">Emporia Vue</a> shows that it consumes about 0.6 watts of power (almost certainly less than $1 in power per year).<br /></p><p>For about $15, I added the <a href="https://amzn.to/3HbrKN4">WH32 (also known as the WN32) outdoor sensor</a>, which measures both temperature and humidity. This outdoor sensor isn't technically water proof (which is typical for the industry) so I keep this battery operated sensor in a protected area about 20 feet away from my house. If necessary, it could be installed within a <a href="https://amzn.to/42eycN8">weather proof solar shield</a>. </p><p> I installed Lithium AA cells for long life even in the coldest, sub-freezing weather.<br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Configuration</h3><p>It is very easy to hook up the GW1100 to personal weather services, either something like Weather Underground or your own service running on a Raspberry Pi (or whatever). It is so easy that I won't go into it here, but suffice to say that the GW1100 can send updated sensor data at a high frequency to Weather Underground and other services. Sending fresh data every 60 seconds is completely reasonable. I had the GW1100 reliably sending data in under 5 minutes. I currently send my data to Weather Underground and to Ecowitt's own service. Having data sent to my home server (a Raspberry Pi) is equally as easy.<br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The one weird thing I learned</h3><p>I can have many temperature sensors connected to the GW1100, but only one of the "outdoor" (WN32 / WH32) variety. I think the principle is that "a PWS can only collect and report on one outdoor temperature/humidity device at a time". </p><p>The indoor sensors (WN31) are fundamentally the same, but are not eligible to send their data as outdoor weather to services. Evidently there is a technical way to convert a WN31 to a WN32, so look up that if you're interested.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Expandability</h3><p>I haven't expanded the system much yet, but it is very easy to add many more sensors. With sensors available from about $10 to $200, needless to say there is something for almost everyone. I did end up <a href="https://amzn.to/48MDAcR">buying a WN31 indoor sensor</a> for about $10, which I use to monitor the humidity in my unfinished basement. Weather Underground ignores this sensor, but EcoWitt and my own Raspberry Pi can collect and display it.<br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Conclusion</h3><p>That's it! $35, can't go wrong. I'd do it again in without reservations.<br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comUnited States37.09024 -95.7128918.780006163821156 -130.869141 65.400473836178847 -60.556641tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-84920453261605559512023-09-27T16:21:00.001-04:002023-09-27T16:21:51.886-04:00Modernizing old house network wiring - Part 14 - Updates to my backboard<p> It has been a few years since installing my network backboard. Since then, I've made a few updates.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b> Gear changes</b></h3><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I relocated my Apple TV HD from the backboard to my living room, since I now I have a TV. The Apple TV still functions as my HomeKit hub. </li><li>I added a MikroTik hAP AC2 to operate as my network router, replacing my hAP AC Lite.<br /></li><li>I added an Arris cable modem, replacing my hAP AC Lite WISP strategy<br /></li><li>I added a CyberPower UPS to the backboard. </li><li>I added a custom-built 12v DC power system, used to power my router, modem, and doorbell:</li><li>I added a voltage boost converter so I could power the Ring doorbell with a 12VDC power supply. My Ring wants about 14VDC minimum. <br /></li><li>I removed the less efficient 16.5 VAC transformer that previously powered the Ring</li></ul><p>In all, my backboard is consuming about 24 watts of power, which includes powering these devices:</p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>MikroTik hAP AC2 router<br /></li><li>PoE gigabit switch (with attached MikroTik Cap AC access point)<br /></li><li>HD HomeRun TV Tuner (2 tuner version)<br /></li><li>Arris SB6190 cable modem</li><li>Ring Wired video doorbell </li></ol><h3 style="text-align: left;">Future Plans</h3><p>I plan to add storage to my network backboard for TimeMachine backups. I hope to power this with the existing 12V bus, and to have the hAP AC2 make it available to the network. An alternative will be to use an old Apple Airport Extreme to operate as my Time Machine backup server.</p><p><br /></p><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-27059882728323397762023-09-25T15:07:00.126-04:002024-02-23T17:50:51.122-05:00On Future-Proofing Comcast Xfinity Cable Modems<p>I was reviewing the Comcast Xfinity "compatible cable modem" list in my area and I see that Comcast has started to organize their certified cable modems into four distinct quality categories:</p><ul><li>Recommended Next-Gen Modems<br /></li><li>Recommended Modems<br /></li><li>Compatible Modems that are recommended<br /></li><li>Compatible (but not specifically recommended) Modems</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/1aaeaaa4-9dd0-452d-8e0c-4857856685c2.00eb2e4561694386370beed8c6ce057a.jpeg" class="shrinkToFit" height="320" src="https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/1aaeaaa4-9dd0-452d-8e0c-4857856685c2.00eb2e4561694386370beed8c6ce057a.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hitron CODA56 cable modem<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In terms of future proofing, it is clear that the "Recommended Next-Gen" category lists all the modems that Comcast prefers moving ahead, as the modems in this category all support the fastest high-speed upload performance. </p><p>What I've read is that these most advanced "next-gen" modems support "mid-split" and "high-split"
mode, allowing them to deliver higher speeds on modernized cable TV
systems. Of course not all cable systems are modernized - some might be decades old. </p><p>Surprisingly, Comcast only lists two non-"voice telephone" models in the most advanced "next-gen" category:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://amzn.to/48pLdWV">Hitron CODA (with 1 gigabit Ethernet ports)</a></li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/46qhWcB">Hitron CODA56 (with 2.5 gigabit Ethernet ports)</a></li></ul><p>... and that's it! Only these two Hitron modems meets Comcast's golden "Next-Gen" modem mark. No Arris, no Motorola, no TP-Link. Also surprising is that there are a grand total of zero Docsis 4.0 modems that make Comcast's list. Zero. That's a big surprise to me, because I've been a fan of the Arris modem line for well over a decade.<br /></p><p>These Hitron modems support both Docsis 3.1 plus the much faster 450 Mbps upload speeds. Obviously, the Hitron CODA with gigabit ports is restricted to a gigabit of throughput, whereas the CODA56 has dual 2.5 Gbit ports. <br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Discussion <br /></h3><p>I've been a steady Arris owner/user for years. They've been simple and reliable for me, with no failures and no instability. Arris has been my go-to modem brand because they earned it. But when it comes time for me to upgrade, I will be seriously considering the Hitron lineup, because suddenly Arris looks to be behind the curve - at least from the Xfinity vantage point.<br /></p><p>My larger concern about all this is that the DOCSIS cable modem industry may be fading. There are numerous brands today, but there are many fewer modem chipsets, and there is a distinct lack of "next gen" modems on the market. </p><p>All this could be due to the limited future of coax cable. Coax is a contracting wiring strategy, as new deployments are increasingly optical fiber - as fiber is less expensive and has far more capacity. As the millions of miles of 20 to 40 year old coax is retired, there will be less demand for DOCSIS cable modems. It shouldn't be a surprise that manufacturers don't want to invest in a shrinking technology.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Conclusion</h3><p>The Comcast modem list will likely change over time, and it may be different in your area. But for now, for Comcast / Xfinity customers, I suggest looking into these recommended Hitron modems, and give the Xfinity "Recommended Devices" list a look to make sure you are making the best choice for your service and locality.<br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comUnited States37.09024 -95.7128918.780006163821156 -130.869141 65.400473836178847 -60.556641tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-24352762421674988242023-06-09T12:29:00.009-04:002023-06-10T11:29:40.794-04:00Ring Video Doorbell Wired - DC and AC Power Improvements<p>There are many choices when powering a wired Ring Video Doorbell. Most people just reuse their existing doorbell power, but I wanted to see if I could improve that situation.</p><p>When I first hooked up my <a href="https://amzn.to/43QlbJ7">Ring Wired Doorbell</a>, I used an existing <a href="https://amzn.to/3NnQMg5">Honeywell Plug-in AC Transformer</a>.
These AC transformers are very popular for both video doorbells,
traditional doorbells, and security systems. They reduce standard home
voltages (120VAC in North America) to 16.5 VAC. <br /></p><p>In contrast, modern DC power adapters for home electronics are efficient. There are <a href="https://www.us.lambda.tdk.com/resources/blogs/201601.html">global efficiency standards on modern adapters</a>, and in the USA the current efficiency standard
is called "Level VI". These efficiency standards help ensure that idle equipment has near-zero power draw, and that active equipment isn't wildly inefficient. The thing is, the standards are for modern single-voltage DC power adapters, but given that my <a href="https://amzn.to/43QlbJ7">Ring Wired Doorbell</a>
was hooked up to my home's 1990's vintage AC doorbell transformer, I saw an opportunity for improvement.</p><p><br /></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghwBFJfKfAiEuv87pTdtQ8vJuxQrpnTrh9ys-mch-huRE6_L-25aG7DXRglRn2J4k6RJtGzL-Px8rvprqY_IGHSDLTctrmVwVFmajRheqVdaaIfYJT0UYhAxRvL39HydwD2NGrkZTzS2uxKFb1vkge9nUQCVbbhUUvVbFSH1WyXNBscZOHYl0/s720/IMG_2626.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="720" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghwBFJfKfAiEuv87pTdtQ8vJuxQrpnTrh9ys-mch-huRE6_L-25aG7DXRglRn2J4k6RJtGzL-Px8rvprqY_IGHSDLTctrmVwVFmajRheqVdaaIfYJT0UYhAxRvL39HydwD2NGrkZTzS2uxKFb1vkge9nUQCVbbhUUvVbFSH1WyXNBscZOHYl0/s320/IMG_2626.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original Honeywell 16.5 VAC Transformer for my Ring<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFWp2KQWICkOyyAnQ6i_bvwmmYSFlhEZ4n8HkNduSwwEvdSvAgS9Wx1ahhcRTQNTZt3oPlGqa6KeigPfxDZo2vops4qgBjbzl_qUI6A6IIHqgdNc_sKz3JgU5w3oLvgu4vsUqVndm3m2Cvnj1R_NhE58DX2VfPu5pxRbVB54KaQ_pfLtltRng/s1280/IMG_1908.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1240" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFWp2KQWICkOyyAnQ6i_bvwmmYSFlhEZ4n8HkNduSwwEvdSvAgS9Wx1ahhcRTQNTZt3oPlGqa6KeigPfxDZo2vops4qgBjbzl_qUI6A6IIHqgdNc_sKz3JgU5w3oLvgu4vsUqVndm3m2Cvnj1R_NhE58DX2VfPu5pxRbVB54KaQ_pfLtltRng/s320/IMG_1908.jpeg" width="310" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Modern Power Adapter with efficiency VI (marked on right, in circle)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </p><p>I wanted to improve this set-up for three specific reasons:</p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>I wanted to power all my critical network gear with my <a href="https://amzn.to/3J70HnE">CyberPower UPS</a> during power outages,
including my Video doorbell. Lower power consumption means more
minutes of runtime when on UPS Battery. Inefficient power supplies are a detriment to UPS runtime.<br /></li><li>AC transformers are big and bulky, to the point where I had to lash mine to a board with zip ties. That small board also holds all my home networking gear, so my hope was to reduce the amount of space used up by power adapters.</li><li>Measurement with my <a href="https://amzn.to/3J4gi7o">plug-in Kill-a-watt meter</a> showed that my Ring on the Honeywell AC adapter had a power consumption of 4.3 watts. Over 10 years, that's 380 kWh, or about $93. Not that much, but can I do better and have some extra money for beer?</li></ol><p>All this got me thinking: I already had a capable and efficient 12 VDC power adapter brick in place. Thanks to a <a href="https://amzn.to/43SIUIE">DC splitter cable</a>, I use this single 12 VDC power brick to power my modem and router. So I was wondering: could I use that same 12V brick to power the Ring too?</p><p>The answer is... not all by itself. <br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Ring Power Problem... and Fix<br /></h3><p>Probably 99% of people power their Ring Wired doorbells with a standard AC doorbell transformer, but there is another option: the Ring Wired can also use DC power using the <a href="https://amzn.to/3ClZViP">Ring 24 volt DC adapter</a>. So the Ring can use DC voltage, but my 12VDC adapter wasn't going to make the grade.</p><p>Happily, there is a fix! By using a very inexpensive, adjustable <a href="https://amzn.to/3P0KxQj">Boost converter</a>, I can boost my adapter's 12 VDC power to 24 VDC for use by the Ring. The 12VDC adapter is connected to my Boost converter, and the boost converter sends 24VDC to the Ring. After a quick hook up, it works 100% perfectly. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Ring "Device Health" Experimentation <br /></h3><p>Given that my boost converter has adjustable voltage, it made sense for me to experiment. The Ring app has a "device health" tab, and an entry in that tab is "transformer voltage", which in my experimentation can range from "good" to "poor". Taping on the transformer voltage line reports the actual voltage seen by the Ring. After adjustment, I find that <b>the Ring app reports
any input voltage between 14V and 24V as "good"</b>. </p><p>The Ring Device Health tab complains
about "poor" voltage at 12V, and sometimes doesn't even function. So for now, I am providing the Ring with a 14 Volts DC. (Note that the 14V is being reported at the Ring, and the voltage will drop with wire length/resistance.)<br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMe7-IdJmnTkc-uiM5ZbN-C4IrPVR48LNGmxuPFO8Ayzjm-DH-v3LX77PpGKnBEEcIXDA1EIijHwvmV0qQAf-WTh_7AxBfBlNFBeXL9Y--mJVx_nF74_XY_1icnxtO_jz-wHx8g5IQ6YkrWBffGArH7eEV5yYyINmjz1WMaTUYp4JbY06d-CM/s828/IMG_5565.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="828" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMe7-IdJmnTkc-uiM5ZbN-C4IrPVR48LNGmxuPFO8Ayzjm-DH-v3LX77PpGKnBEEcIXDA1EIijHwvmV0qQAf-WTh_7AxBfBlNFBeXL9Y--mJVx_nF74_XY_1icnxtO_jz-wHx8g5IQ6YkrWBffGArH7eEV5yYyINmjz1WMaTUYp4JbY06d-CM/s320/IMG_5565.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ring app reports a warning (or doesn't even work) at 12 VDC.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIG0JZk90Il8HMdLNYyDtGG0hSq0zDTbyKD2EYHkSCA_088jOQhjmic_4lJQhZi3gfIXrXpqtm9q92dzPyoWh_RCGpJ81d0Hoq7gENBo_Mvw3TH-8hYQOFhT8_IZcJ9nh4JVC3aClNKj4-BLKt-mpbqrlaOvsLC9sxrnFBLnJNsRE3gagObck/s827/IMG_5583.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="827" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIG0JZk90Il8HMdLNYyDtGG0hSq0zDTbyKD2EYHkSCA_088jOQhjmic_4lJQhZi3gfIXrXpqtm9q92dzPyoWh_RCGpJ81d0Hoq7gENBo_Mvw3TH-8hYQOFhT8_IZcJ9nh4JVC3aClNKj4-BLKt-mpbqrlaOvsLC9sxrnFBLnJNsRE3gagObck/s320/IMG_5583.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ring app shows voltage in the green at 14 VDC ... up to 24 VDC.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Win<br /></h3><p>Overall, by combining all my power adapters together, I achieve 3 useful outcomes:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>My CyberPower UPS can now power my network for 15% more time. </li><li>My modem, my router, and my Ring all operate on a single
high-efficiency 12VDC power adapter, eliminating two bulky power bricks. </li><li>Kill-a-watt measurement shows that this reduces my Ring power consumption by 70% savings over the original AC power brick strategy. Considering all my gear, now I save about 4 watts, which amounts to an $86 savings
over a decade (not including my < $14 in parts to hook this up). </li></ul><p>In short, this was an easy win and a general improvement over a default power configuration.</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comUnited States37.09024 -95.7128918.780006163821156 -130.869141 65.400473836178847 -60.556641tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-23834515241427523352023-02-06T13:34:00.006-05:002023-03-23T10:58:47.917-04:00The Xfinity Prosumer: Internet Price and Performance<p>We all read the ads and have seen "reviews" about Internet service provider costs and performance, but it is 99.99% advertising and affiliate link disinformation.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Speed You Need</h2><p>Most people think they need a gigabit download performance for great Internet performance. This is nonsense. Most people are restricted by upload speeds, not download speeds. Why? Because upload speed is almost always the bottleneck.</p><p>Some examples of where upload speed is critical:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Zoom and other video calling technology</li><li>VoIP telephone calling</li><li>Online real-time gaming</li></ul><p>Some examples where download speed is just not important</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The number of devices you own</li><li>Streaming video </li><li>Streaming audio<br /></li></ul><p>All these technologies have a need for timely packet delivery, and with upload speeds being relatively slow, this is where nearly 100% of bottlenecks occur. If your video call or game isn't behaving well, you've almost certainly saturated your Upload performance.<br /></p><p>So let's take a look at the Comcast Xfinity plans from the <i>most important</i> perspective of Upload performance:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>10 Mbit/sec: Connect, Connect More, Fast</li><li>20 Mbit/sec: SuperFast, Gigabit</li><li>35 Mbit/sec: Gigabit Extra</li></ul><p>So as you can see, there are really only three upload speed plans.</p><p>My advice is to start with the cheapest plan, which is the least expensive at $65*** per month. If that doesn't work, go to Superfast at $107*** per month. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Great Bundles and Deals!</h2><p>Be aware that bundles that include Cable TV or Telephone services frequently have extraordinarily expensive hidden "fees" that do not appear in the special price. These hidden expenses can easily exceed $600 dollars per year. Once you calculate your real out of pocket costs, it becomes obvious that these "special deals" are a slimy way to do business. Are they legal? Yes, they have teams of lawyers and lobbyists that are payed millions to make this legal. Blame the dummy members of Congress for allowing this trashy way to run a business.<br /></p><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>A stern warning about Xfinity's special bundles</b></span></h1><p>NEVER SIGN UP FOR A BUNDLE UNLESS YOU CONSIDER <u><b>ALL</b></u> OF THE HIDDEN FEES. <br /></p><p>On my sibling's "Super+ special bundle for $149.99", Gigabit Internet + TV, here is the actual cost:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Discount Plan Marking Price: $149.99</li><li>The Fee portion of "Taxes and Fees": $53.52</li><li>The Tax portion of "Taxes and Fees": $0.05</li></ul><p>Yes, <b>this plan costs 136% of the advertised price! </b>For what? The fees are for things like "installing wires on the street for service" and "paying employees to do their job" and "paying for programming" and "a single TV cable tuner"... but they use buzzwords to hide these very sad realities. </p><p>The actual cost for the "$149.99" plan: $203.56.</p><p>But what's worse than a plan that costs 136% of the advertised price? <br /></p><p>The customer is under contract and cannot leave without more fees. The costs are due to go up by $40.00 a month once the "bundle special" expires. And the plans and fees increase significantly at least once per year.</p><p><b>Could it get more scammy than this? YES! </b> Although your new contract may permit you to cancel service within 30
days, your full bill may not show your all your the monthly charges until <i>after</i> 30 days of service. Many thanks again to the dummies you elected to Congress.<br /></p><p>*** = These so-called monthly plan fees do not include rental equipment fees or other fees that Comcast reserves the right to add at their discretion, and may increase your costs by 35% or more.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comUnited States37.09024 -95.7128918.780006163821156 -130.869141 65.400473836178847 -60.556641tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-41861899904210558122023-02-04T19:44:00.006-05:002023-02-21T21:45:35.607-05:00Loving my SHNITPWR Adjustable DC Power Supply<div style="text-align: left;">I find or acquire a whole bunch of used electronics, and they often don't come with a power supply. My adjustable power adapter solves this problem. It's a pretty cheapo <a href="https://amzn.to/3IL62kP">SHNITPWR Adjustable Power Adapter</a>. Yes, that is the name! For about $20, it solves a whole bunch of "I don't have the power adapter" issues. <br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Strategy of the Adjustable Power Adapter</h3> The basic information I need to power a device includes the following:<ul><li><span>DC or AC current</span></li><li><span>Voltage</span></li><li><span>Polarity (center-positive or center-negative) <br /></span></li><li><span>Amps <br /></span></li></ul><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Once I have all this data, then I configure my adjustable power adapter accordingly and plug it
in! If I find that the device is working appropriately and has some value to me,
then I will buy a standard aftermarket power adapter from
Amazon of the correct specifications.<br /></span></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">So what if I don't know this critical information? Easy! </span> <br /></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;">Strategy 1: Look at the label!</h4><p>I look on the
device in hope that it shows the exact power spec. Sometimes its right there, and I win! But often times they the specs are not there at all, or are incomplete. Jerks!</p><p><b>Strategy 2: Look in the manual!</b></p>Sometimes (but not often enough), it is possible to find a manual that specifies everything the device needs.<h4 style="text-align: left;">Strategy 3: Look on eBay!</h4><p>If I can't immediately find the power specs on the device, then I go to eBay and look up photos of the same devices for sale. Almost always, if the device that is being sold includes the original power adapter, that power adapter's label will show exactly what's needed.</p><p>Have fun!</p><p> <br /></p> <br /><p> </p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comUnited States37.09024 -95.712891-9.7367890783818964 -166.025391 83.9172690783819 -25.400391tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-75512266737960483782023-01-29T11:02:00.005-05:002024-01-25T19:52:16.626-05:00Abandonware to OpenWRT: Google OnHub WiFi Router, model PGR1900 by TP-Link<p>Here are my OpenWRT adventures with the Google OnHub WiFi Router, model PGR1900 by TP-Link.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Backstory <br /></h3><p>I found a new looking Google OnHub WiFi Router, model PGR1900 by TP-Link on the street... in the box! I thought it could have been a great win.</p><p>But alas, <b>NO</b>. This WiFi Router has been abandoned by Google, <i>magically</i> turned into eWaste by the fuck-the-planet losers at Alphabet. Cloud-managed hardware CAN be evil, and this is Case Study #1.<br /></p><p>This is very distasteful of Google, as these devices have good hardware and could have had 5 or 10 more years of life left in them. It's just that Google and its partners can't make any money on something they already sold, so they prefer them to be landfilled to induce you to buy more expensive junk.</p><p>Even more evil: They are incorrectly listed as "in production" on Amazon. <br /></p><p>So what to do with this Google Paperweight? I'm going to pursue OpenWRT, in hopes to address the nasty problems caused by Google. Before getting too far ahead of ourselves, see the <a href="https://openwrt.org/inbox/toh/google/onhub_tp-link_tgr1900">OpenWRT page on this model.</a></p><p>Here are the steps I took to install OpenWRT on this device:<b><br /></b></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Power Adapter<br /></b></h3><p>My trash-found Google Router didn't have a power adapter, so first I had to find out what kind of power it needed. The device, of course, doesn't list the adapters full specs on the label, so what to do? Look at the eBay pictures of these devices that people are selling, and hope they're selling them with the original power adapter.<br /></p><p>In a couple minutes I found a PGR1900 being offered for $20, including the power adapter. Good luck selling it for more than $5. But anyhow, the power adapter's label was clearly visible:</p><p></p><blockquote><b>12 VDC @ 3 Amps, center-positive. Looks like a 5.5mm x 2.1mm barrel jack.</b></blockquote><p></p><p>I'm not going to buy the adapter just yet, as I don't want to spend <i>any</i> money on this until I get it working. </p><p>Instead, I decided to use <a href="https://amzn.to/3JormNy">my general purpose adjustable power adapter</a> to power it up. These things are very handy if you often deal with missing power adapters (trash finds or whatever). I plugged my adjustable adapter into the the router, and ta-da, the PGR1900 starts up with lights a-glowing... and after a minute, my iPhone can see the former user's SSID. So generally, the router is alive!</p><p>If I end up finding that this router is useful, then I will find (or buy) an adapter that <a href="https://amzn.to/3kRnx9A">specifically provides 12 VDC, 3A with a center-positive barrel jack.</a> </p><p></p><blockquote>[<b>Security Side note:</b> Since I now know the former user's SSID, I did a quick search of the SSIDs in my neighborhood, and there it is! Looking up the MACADDR of this person's new router reveals that the former owner of this distasteful Google router has migrated to <a href="https://amzn.to/3Do8Px9">GL.iNet</a> hardware. This is a far, far better choice, as GL-iNet is capable and natively runs OpenWRT software.]</blockquote><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Revealing the Developer Mode Switch</h3><p>One of the steps to getting this to work with OpenWRT is to press the developer mode switch, but Google has buried the Developer Mode switch: The switch is hidden under a screw, under the bottom rubber foot. Why did Google spend good money to bury this switch? Screws and threaded holes cost real money. The only valid reason I can think of: since they're not stupid, it must be because they're jerks. <br /></p><p>Anyhow, I pealed off the rubber foot with the help of a <a href="https://amzn.to/3JowP72">hot air station</a> set to 150 ºC, revealing the screw. That was easy. </p><p></p><blockquote><b>Since I've been there, you probably don't have to remove the rubber foot! The screw can be revealed if you do a little strategic cutting with <a href="https://amzn.to/3jePt6S">an X-Acto #11 knife</a> (see photo). </b></blockquote><p></p><p>After locating the screw, I stuck the foot back on and cut a notch in the rubber. </p><p>The screw is easily removed from the router with a <a href="https://amzn.to/3Jl9SBO">1.5mm Allen (hex) wrench</a>. From there, I can stick a bent paper clip in the screw hole and feel the "click" of the switch. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEierCP9XrrZWM_OZ4yGjwn3rraiYHDkCq3ZUYpAefG_tr_FjiVcL3Qj2c9YEm3eYROuYqqFL1yQiZShpG1WcQmKADFe_IwkpegTYdBtEJpQhhl3GjtyasIClvbc-6Bg8S4c3veSpz2tsLkUQKI9g4m-AmXswu_h2dwGlHvg31aL4s-qOUZZWT4/s2773/IMG_4572.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Revealing the Developer Mode Switch" border="0" data-original-height="2770" data-original-width="2773" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEierCP9XrrZWM_OZ4yGjwn3rraiYHDkCq3ZUYpAefG_tr_FjiVcL3Qj2c9YEm3eYROuYqqFL1yQiZShpG1WcQmKADFe_IwkpegTYdBtEJpQhhl3GjtyasIClvbc-6Bg8S4c3veSpz2tsLkUQKI9g4m-AmXswu_h2dwGlHvg31aL4s-qOUZZWT4/w320-h320/IMG_4572.jpeg" title="Revealing the Developer Mode Switch" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foot Cut, Revealing the Developer Mode Switch Screw<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"> OpenWRT Firmware Preparation</h3><p>I downloaded the OpenWRT firmware, to my Mac, as revealed on the <a href="https://openwrt.org/inbox/toh/google/onhub_tp-link_tgr1900">OpenWRT page on this model.</a><br /></p><p>I got an old 4 GB USB-A thumb drive (with a cheap <a href="https://amzn.to/40bfHYs">USB-C adapter</a>) and used Disk Utility to re-partition the stick as FAT.</p><p>I copied the firmware file to the stick, via drag and drop in the finder.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Installing OpenWRT<br /></h3><p>So I went and installed OpenWRT via the procedure documented on the <a href="https://openwrt.org/inbox/toh/google/onhub_tp-link_tgr1900">OpenWRT page</a>. And it tanked. Nothing. Tried it 7 times. Never worked. Anger, Frustration.</p><p>And then I decided to use a <a href="https://amzn.to/49bsnT1">new 32 GB USB-A thumb drive</a>. And it worked! Yay! Sometimes I hate USB for being so finicky.</p><p>And that's where I am now. I haven't deployed it yet, but for now, my PGR1900 seems to have a new lease on life.<br /></p><p> </p><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comUnited States37.09024 -95.712891-21.376412256997405 123.66210900000004 90 44.912108999999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-10298310883167061452022-11-04T09:18:00.002-04:002023-03-23T11:05:27.937-04:00Black + Decker Power Supply, P/N: 90629039, MODEL: SSC-150015US<p>I have a Black + Decker dust buster vacuum. It works fine, but it comes with a silly and hard-to-replace power adapter. It's only hard to replace due to the funky DC power connector. Otherwise, it's just a cheapo 15vdc power adapter. <br /></p><p>Here are the tech details if you're thinking of replacing yours.</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>BLACK+ DECKER<br />CLASS 2 POWER SUPPLY<br />P/N: 90629039<br />MODEL: SSC-150015US</li><li>INPUT: 100-240VAC, 50/60Hz, 200mA<br />OUTPUT: 15VDC, 150mA<br /></li></ul><p>Mine puts out a voltage of 16.4 VDC when idle. As I face the connector, the positive pin is on the right, as shown in the picture. <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtIykZVjaWzVMpnumaowo7ZGkrmi_A_lMRqzRz88eXy7qf57yf6Trg0ArFtDOslLRZmH2MVcYL8UPmGLR4a3EPZ4WYpybSWo951vZtJ3CQL-yKp7MtNOG4ZR9xplnjuJzWWigWgVi9da3PIEJcF-sFbkx0JdyC_30TwyN5wIPq0rEm_pIM1qw/s3024/IMG_3914.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="B+D Power Supply" border="0" data-original-height="2294" data-original-width="3024" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtIykZVjaWzVMpnumaowo7ZGkrmi_A_lMRqzRz88eXy7qf57yf6Trg0ArFtDOslLRZmH2MVcYL8UPmGLR4a3EPZ4WYpybSWo951vZtJ3CQL-yKp7MtNOG4ZR9xplnjuJzWWigWgVi9da3PIEJcF-sFbkx0JdyC_30TwyN5wIPq0rEm_pIM1qw/w320-h243/IMG_3914.jpeg" title="B+D Power Supply" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHIkGzTHUEC59qiWXTekQhCal2VfsILYnyL-CvOzCpBOE5hHuV6hZgUWBKyLqEGiqFR8d_AEBI4g13TBd4kv4qGgSZsSdgQfqU2XavqZlAjsTqXFRThNu09RwF3yB2c187uRWfUJZpUKbo_CIxtRiuMd5vJQq_yv4t9ruWd1uC4mU16frp6Es/s1485/IMG_3917.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="B+D Connector" border="0" data-original-height="1107" data-original-width="1485" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHIkGzTHUEC59qiWXTekQhCal2VfsILYnyL-CvOzCpBOE5hHuV6hZgUWBKyLqEGiqFR8d_AEBI4g13TBd4kv4qGgSZsSdgQfqU2XavqZlAjsTqXFRThNu09RwF3yB2c187uRWfUJZpUKbo_CIxtRiuMd5vJQq_yv4t9ruWd1uC4mU16frp6Es/w320-h239/IMG_3917.jpeg" title="B+D Connector" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>If my power adapter were to break, I'd save this unique DC connector and solder it to an aftermarket power adapter that matches these specs, perhaps <a href="https://amzn.to/3ndrl67">something like this one on Amazon.</a></p><p> <br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comUnited States37.09024 -95.7128918.780006163821156 -130.869141 65.400473836178847 -60.556641tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-63934085653379487442022-07-08T12:40:00.004-04:002022-07-08T12:44:45.706-04:00Repairing a Crate TX15 Taxi amplifier battery<p>A friend gave me a Crate battery guitar amp that he used for busking. It is a nice 15 watt amp with an internal battery. Sadly it died, and its custom power adapter was misplaced. After several years the battery will fail, and it requires a functioning battery to work at all. Happily, new batteries are inexpensive, readily available, and easy to install.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKNZSVSG2MKnIRd8TjyXkDX4uJpgQwTRd1x-EGTYQZKinbISxpPjcjqdAYIFabDVRzqcrx-4MQL8YQfmMF5Zsgk3AZ1HazIyr3X6-UZTP-_Luh-dymGjyRcFrxYNDFJvlOqKRRZvJET55aok5YYZ8A750iicMnxLIM2fxWpWypWpDer0Rw5I/s640/IMG_3035.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Photo of Crate TX15" border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="640" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKNZSVSG2MKnIRd8TjyXkDX4uJpgQwTRd1x-EGTYQZKinbISxpPjcjqdAYIFabDVRzqcrx-4MQL8YQfmMF5Zsgk3AZ1HazIyr3X6-UZTP-_Luh-dymGjyRcFrxYNDFJvlOqKRRZvJET55aok5YYZ8A750iicMnxLIM2fxWpWypWpDer0Rw5I/w320-h272/IMG_3035.jpeg" title="Crate TX15" width="320" /></a></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Obtaining a replacement battery for the TX15<br /></h2><p>The original battery was a 4+ pound, sealed lead battery. Any replacement battery should closely follow the specs of the original. I bought <a href="https://amzn.to/3OXhGJW">this MightyMax Battery on Amazon</a>, which is a perfect replacement.</p><p>There are many batteries that conform to the needs of the TX15, and they can be found at local hardware stores as they are commonly used in lots of equipment. It pays to look locally if you need something faster than Amazon. </p><p>The battery specs are as follows:</p><p>12 Volt, 7.2 Ah lead battery (mine was marked 1272).</p><ul><ul><li><span class="a-list-item">Length: 5.94" (151 mm) </span></li><li><span class="a-list-item">Width: 2.56" (65 mm)</span></li><li><span class="a-list-item">Height: 3.94" (100 mm)</span><br /></li><li>4 Lbs, 14.6 Oz</li><li>F1 terminals (which are a little smaller than F2 terminals)</li></ul></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmRXqBG6X3rRACyBlCWPW2bUD_rmA2tsA9Rvd8HThHHYTK_wtBJTYfgJYQukQ8SzDqvUD_AxXXdZxiKv7Dc7xyXfduP1z4X3gA6ZilRP_Q3Ry1FL0bGink8LQZGCKDEGF34B3m_dcxQyiOfe48EtQnDWqZhBHHnoZqLkh3ShBxuKSyMt5Rn3Q/s640/IMG_3033.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of the 1272 battery" border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="640" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmRXqBG6X3rRACyBlCWPW2bUD_rmA2tsA9Rvd8HThHHYTK_wtBJTYfgJYQukQ8SzDqvUD_AxXXdZxiKv7Dc7xyXfduP1z4X3gA6ZilRP_Q3Ry1FL0bGink8LQZGCKDEGF34B3m_dcxQyiOfe48EtQnDWqZhBHHnoZqLkh3ShBxuKSyMt5Rn3Q/w320-h210/IMG_3033.jpeg" title="Photo of the 1272 battery" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My TX15's original (dead) battery.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Replacing the TX15's battery </h2><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p>My TX15 is made out of a vinyl-covered wood. To get at the battery:</p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Unplug the unit<br /></li><li>Remove the six screws holding on the front grill (Note: this is a great time to clean up any crud that accumulated under the grill) </li><li>Remove the four screws holding the 8 inch woofer</li><li>Remove the woofer. Note it has wires attached.<br /></li><li>Remove the speaker wires. Note orientation of wires (on mine, Blue+, White-)<br /></li><li>Remove the two screws that hold down the steel battery bracket.</li><li>Remove the battery wires and withdraw the battery. Dispose of properly, It cannot go in the trash. Some places will give you a credit it you bring it to them.</li><li>Install new battery, reversing the above procedure.</li><li>Charge for 24 hours <br /></li></ol><h2 style="text-align: left;">Replacing the TX15 Power Adapter</h2><p>Maybe you lost your power adapter or need a new one. The original one for my Crate is a 15 volts DC, 1.25 Amp unit. The center pin is positive. Since the original adapter was misplaced, <a href="https://amzn.to/3Pe7P25">I bought this replacement power supply,</a> which supports 15 volts DC and has the correct polarity.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcN1SD0CR-JzSuoFbDLyYVdtx-wgQFByPAknxX2OimkfJc0KgNx5xmnUdAiL-aEewl1cWmC4a02p7CqPr6gmQwgl77U99JSEG3UJRM8eoPJXp2gX-efQFY5bzpOf1S5rmYCeSM-5oOkYyyv2e7nMD6yLxjeXrRCDR0FL02DlE3M1eX-jh2wI/s640/IMG_3005.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Crate TX15 Power Adapter Label" border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="640" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcN1SD0CR-JzSuoFbDLyYVdtx-wgQFByPAknxX2OimkfJc0KgNx5xmnUdAiL-aEewl1cWmC4a02p7CqPr6gmQwgl77U99JSEG3UJRM8eoPJXp2gX-efQFY5bzpOf1S5rmYCeSM-5oOkYyyv2e7nMD6yLxjeXrRCDR0FL02DlE3M1eX-jh2wI/w320-h253/IMG_3005.jpeg" title="Crate TX15 Power Adapter Label" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Label of an original TX15 Power Adapter<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"> Testing</h2><p style="text-align: left;"></p>After charging up the battery for 24.. 28... 48 hours, I got... nothing. This unit will not work if the battery has completely failed, even if plugged in. Therefore I replaced the battery, as noted above, and I'm back in business. <br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comUnited States37.09024 -95.712891-18.237304049088245 123.66210899999999 90 44.912109tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-9112725861531053692022-07-05T09:35:00.001-04:002022-08-07T15:29:51.643-04:00Measuring Household Waste Production<p>I've decided to try to measure my household waste. All my trash ends up in a specific trash bin before I throw it out, and all my compost ends up in a specific compost bin. I take out the trash as infrequently as possible: it only happens when they're full or when they stink. So why not measure it while I'm at it?<br /></p><p>Using the magic of my postal scale and/or my luggage scale, I measure each bin before it goes into my trash barrels. Right now I am <u>only</u> measuring compost and trash, because I find that easiest.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: times;">The Net Weight of my Waste</span></span></h2><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: times;">Without further delay, here is my Waste Weight log. I use grams because metric is easier in terms of the math. Just remember that 1000 grams is roughly 2.2 pounds. <br /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>Net Weight</b> <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">2022-06-18: Compost.. 1594 grams </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">2022-06-18</span><span style="font-family: courier;">: Trash.... 990 grams </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">2022-06-27: </span><span style="font-family: courier;">Compost.. 2712 grams</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">2022-06-27: Trash.</span><span style="font-family: courier;">... 904 grams</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">2022-07-02: </span><span style="font-family: courier;">Compost.. 1288 grams</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">2022-07-02: Trash.</span><span style="font-family: courier;">... 1688 grams <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">2022-07-06: Compost.. 1144 grams </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: courier;">2022-07-16: </span><span style="font-family: courier;">Compost.. 1194 grams</span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">2022-07-16: Trash.</span><span style="font-family: courier;">... 958 grams</span></div><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">2022-07-24: </span><span style="font-family: courier;">Compost.. 1342 grams</span><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">2022-07-24: Trash.</span><span style="font-family: courier;">... 754 grams</span></div><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">2022-08-03: Trash.</span><span style="font-family: courier;">... 956 grams</span></div><span style="font-family: courier;"></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">2022-08-07: Compost</span><span style="font-family: courier;">.. 1680 grams</span></div></div><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">So far, per person waste: </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span><span style="font-family: courier;">Compost.. 94 grams per person per day<br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> Trash.</span><span style="font-family: courier;">... 57 grams per person per day</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Notes:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> - Two adults.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> - No children at home.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> - No pets.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: courier;">- [Empty Bins: Compost: 372 grams, Trash: 308 grams]</span> </span></div><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></div> </div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What is being measured? What are the rules? </span></h2><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Trash
generally includes things that I perceive to be un-recyclable and
non-compostable. That includes things like plasticized or metalized
paper, plastic films, quasi-paper products, soiled paper-like products,
and weirder hybrid materials (think "juice boxes" and "k-cups", although
I don't use those things). My general rule is that if I have reasonable
doubt that something is un-recyclable, or if I have no idea what it
might be made of, then it goes in the trash.</span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Compost
includes food waste, household plant waste, paper towels soiled with
non-human, non-pet, non-chemical crud, coffee grinds & filters, and
other scraps</span><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;">What's not being measured <br /></h2><p>The waste that I produce that is not included:<br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Things I donate, sell, or give away.</li><li>Recycling, including curbside or anything subject to specialty recycling, like electronics & clothes.</li><li>Bulk waste, like a sofa or building materials (very rare, but usually super-heavy)<br /></li><li>Yard waste (leaves, sticks, etc)</li><li>Waste water/sewer (including soaps, various liquids, toilet paper & "bio matter") </li><ul><li>By weight, waste water is likely my largest amount of waste<br /></li></ul><li>Waste I produce while not at home (e.g., while away on vacation, at a restaurant, etc) </li><li>Waste produced by consuming fuels & electricity</li><li>Indirect waste created to make the products I buy </li></ul><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
could cheat by "optimistically recycling non-recyclables" and "give away
total trash", pushing my trash off to someone else. That's not my point
of doing this. I am not in competition with anyone. This is just plain
old me trying to realistically measure my own current impact, and to see
how it changes over time, and to see if my behaviors are realistically
changeable.</span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><h2 style="text-align: left;">Other waste measurement ideas <br /></h2><p>For future consideration: <br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Electricity, natural gas, and gallons of gasoline used could be translated into a waste number.</li><li>Household water use could be translated into a waste number.</li><li>Recycling weight could be measured.</li></ul><p>I speculate that it is probably more informative to measure the weight
of all inputs (purchases) instead of outputs. But I'm starting by
measuring my waste. <br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comUnited States37.09024 -95.7128918.780006163821156 -130.869141 65.400473836178847 -60.556641tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-31748274626670370182022-06-18T13:05:00.019-04:002024-03-15T10:09:02.737-04:00The Economics of making your own Foaming Soap: 13¢ per bottle<p>You might have read that you can make your own foaming soap from regular liquid hand soap. You just add water to liquid hand soap, let it settle, and then those foaming dispensers can pump it exactly like the stuff you buy from the store. But what are the economics of it? That's what this posting is all about.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGUL16YWveeHPRZSJvWP-NqSPvExEaZAQo7V7cQTjMlCfd9izP8_9QsZzdf6hH-mKOFOYFuJLQ9o7Gs3j1Z4ERWBCSiQane19XLYCtB6tUbBhEHxrtbi5PM3RxP9ZUqohpQTpQa6aLI3ZuXyblCP5sMK6IH1_ky7mrSVJL0lZc1ayzT0ju2tQ/s640/IMG_2911.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Liquid Hand Soap Bottles" border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="640" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGUL16YWveeHPRZSJvWP-NqSPvExEaZAQo7V7cQTjMlCfd9izP8_9QsZzdf6hH-mKOFOYFuJLQ9o7Gs3j1Z4ERWBCSiQane19XLYCtB6tUbBhEHxrtbi5PM3RxP9ZUqohpQTpQa6aLI3ZuXyblCP5sMK6IH1_ky7mrSVJL0lZc1ayzT0ju2tQ/w320-h274/IMG_2911.jpeg" title="Liquid Hand Soap Bottles" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Liquid Soap with my "custom mix" bottle<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>To make foaming soap, I mix 32 ounces of water with 8 ounces of liquid soap, resulting in 40 ounces of foaming soap. That means each unit of liquid soap turns into 5 units of foaming soap.</p><p>Therefore, my 56 ounce bottle of liquid soap becomes 280 ounces of foaming soap.</p><p>What is the cost? Here you are: <br /></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Store foaming handsoap..: 19.60¢ per fluid ounce</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Store liquid handsoap...: 7.66¢ per </span></span><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: courier;">fluid </span>ounce</span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">My home foaming handsoap: 1.53¢ per </span><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: courier;">fluid </span>ounce</span></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Economic Conclusion</h2><p>All this means that my $4.29 jug of liquid soap can be turned into $54.90 worth of foaming soap. Yes, the store bought foaming soap is 13 times as expensive as mixing my own foaming soap. Why does store bought foaming soap cost so much? Likely some of it is because packaging and shipping a lot of water is a real expense.<br /></p><p>Furthermore, mixing my own foaming soap uses ONE instead of TEN disposable soap packages.</p><p>Don't have time for this? You're nuts.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Other Ideas</h2><p>Some people have other ideas, like adding essential oils. What are essential oils? These oils are not "essential" from the "needed for human life" perspective. Instead, they are "escential" from the perspective of "they have a scent", and can be dangerous when applied to the skin. See this <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_oil" target="_blank">article on Essential Oil</a> for more information.<br /></p><p>Soaps work by binding the dirty and sticky oils on your skin with water, and so adding oil to your soap is wasting its ability to clean. Eventually all the oil goes down the drain, and some of the odors go into your nose. So basically my policy is to never add any oil to soap, as oil makes soap far less effective, and it results in more oil waste, and results in higher costs. Adding essential oils to soap is, at best, a useless and wasteful practice.</p><p>Anyone promoting the addition of oil to soap is looking to sell you something, or doesn't know or care about the toxicity risks of essential oils on human skin.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Update: Now even better!<br /></h3><p>I decided to experiment with my formula and tried a 5:1 ratio of water to soap. It works just as well!</p><p>Now the math is even more impressive: One ounce of liquid soap at 7.66¢ becomes six ounces of foaming soap at 1.28¢ per fluid ounce... or <b>13¢ to refill my 10 ounce pump bottle</b>. That's like a 93% discount! Wow! Maybe I'll try a 6:1 ratio next time.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comUnited States37.09024 -95.7128918.780006163821156 -130.869141 65.400473836178847 -60.556641tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-29312303483461957052022-05-30T07:06:00.006-04:002022-06-04T06:20:04.216-04:00How I reduced my apartment building's lighting costs by 90%<p>The apartment building we own has "common" lighting in the hallways and stairwells. Lighting accounts for our largest share of electricity. I've worked over the years to reduce the lighting costs. Here is how I reduced our lighting expenses by a whopping 90%.<br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Pursuit 1: 70% savings by moving from CFLs to LEDs <i>and</i> reducing bulb count<br /></h2><p>My first pursuit was to simply transition from CFL lightbulbs to LEDs. LEDs are generally lower wattage than CFLs, and given the extraordinary reliability of quality LEDs, I no longer needed in-fixture bulb redundancy. <br /></p><p>I happened to come across a set of <a href="https://amzn.to/3z7aQwn">Energy Star certified Cree LED bulbs</a> and used them to replace all of the old CFLs.† This reduced the building's lighting expense by about 70%. This change also greatly reduced my labor costs, because the CREE LEDs have been 100% reliable for the past 6 years, unlike the old bulbs which needed to replaced every year or so. The reliability of the CREE LEDs have been so high that over the past six years, we have needed to replace a grand total of zero CREE LEDs.<br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Pursuit 2: 35% more savings with a Lighting Photosensor<br /></h2><p>About a year later, I got to thinking: all of our common areas have larger windows, so we didn't really need electric lighting on bright days. Therefore we installed a <a href="https://amzn.to/3GtCPYK">Woods photosensor,</a> so that all the indoor common lighting automatically turn off on bright days, and then automatically turn back on when it gets a little dark. This change reduced the lights-on time from 24 hours per day to something more like 16 hours a day (depending on the weather and time of year).</p><p>This reduced the building's lighting expense by about 35%, bringing my total lighting cost reduction to about 80%. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">And then a Pause...<br /></h2><p>After implementing the above changes, I couldn't think of a new way to reduce costs. I left the lighting as-is for 5 years. It worked, everyone was happy, and our costs were low. But a few weeks ago I bought a pack of 3 Watt Sunco LEDs for my own home, and I got to thinking....</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Pursuit 3: 50% Savings with Lower Brightness LEDs </h2><p>The common areas only need to be bright enough for navigation, and lower brightness bulbs use significantly less electricity. <br /></p><p>I replaced all of the 6 watt CREE LEDs with <a href="https://amzn.to/3lW1lIw">3 watt SUNCO LEDs</a>.† The CREEs were still working great, but by reducing the current brightness 40% cut the power costs by about 50%. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Overall Savings: 90.25%<br /></h2><p>All together, I've reduced the building's lighting costs by a crazy 90.25%. Instead of spending $500 a year on lighting electricity, we now spend $49 a year. Or another way of looking at it: <b>Over the next 5 years these changes will save about $2300. </b>That's an incredible savings, and it was stupidly inexpensive and easy to implement.<br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Recommendations, and Next Steps</h2><p>One thing I did right in all this is that I bought quality, long-life Energy Star-certified LEDs. I would never buy any non-certified LED again, as I do not want to be in the light bulb replacement business. I have had bad experiences with non-certified mystery-name bulb brands, with fading phosphors, flickering, and just outright failure. My strong recommendation is to stick with certified bulbs that support dimming and all-weather use, using the principle that robust bulbs will last a very, very long time.<br /></p><p>At this point I cannot think of another way to further reduce our lighting costs. I suppose one option is to install a very smart occupancy sensor, but I imagine that would have to wait until we do some major electrical work. Let me know if you have any additional ideas.</p><p>Since I have optimized my lighting costs, I will next focus on reducing the load of some of our remaining large energy consumers, such as the laundry equipment. </p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a> † we kept all the working bulbs taken out of service, and have used them elsewhere.<br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comUnited States37.09024 -95.7128918.780006163821156 -130.869141 65.400473836178847 -60.556641tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-46359012823936620902022-05-21T17:00:00.008-04:002022-05-27T06:41:57.088-04:00Dishwasher Water Fill Problem Repaired with a Plumbing Flush!<div><p>A few months back my dishwasher started to get noisy. The wash cycle was taking a very long time, and the dishes were coming out dirty. This turned out to be a water fill problem due to debris in my home's hot water pipes. In the end I solved my dishwasher's problem by flushing my home's hot water pipes. Here is how I solved this problem.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Dishwasher Problem Diagnosis<br /></h2><p>After a few weeks of awful dishwasher behavior, I ended up opening its door in the middle of a cycle to see what was going on. It sure did look and sound like it was trying to pump water around, but it was clear that the spray was minimal. <br /></p><p>At first I imagined the problem was due to a clogged dishwasher filter or bad pump, but after disassembling all those things it was clear they were not the problem.<br /></p><p>Then I started to suspect that the dishwasher simply wasn't filling up with enough water.</p><p>There was an easy way to test it: just add water. So at the start of a cycle I'd add about a liter of water and then close it up so it could finish the fill cycle. It worked great! This was strong evidence that something was wrong with the filling process.</p><p>Was it a clogged fill valve screen, or just a fill valve that was not properly opening? That's what everyone seemed to think, so I replaced the <a href="https://amzn.to/3LCI9Ka">water inlet valve</a>. It didn't help. And at that point, I recalled that my kitchen sink's hot water tap seemed to be slowing down too. Hm.</p><p>Further study showed that the dishwasher filling was based on a timer. It would fill up until the float sensor was triggered, or 95 seconds. If it didn't fill up with enough water within 95 seconds, too bad, it would run with whatever water it had. </p><p>So there we had it: the hot water flow in my kitchen was so slow that the dishwasher just gave up and would run with inadequate water.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Repair Process: Flushing Hot Water Line<br /></h2><p>Since the slow hot water was only happening in my kitchen, I concluded that there was debris in my kitchen's hot water plumbing. I could get a plumber in to clean out the water lines for $200+, but heck, maybe I could just flush out the lines myself for free. </p><p>There are two sets of water supply piping in my home: HOT and COLD. The HOT system is supplied by the hot water tank, and the COLD system comes directly from outside the building. Since the dishwasher only uses the hot water system, I decided that I should flush it out the hot water pipe by reversing its flow and ejecting as much water (and hopefully debris) out. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Setting up the flush<br /></h4><p>I disconnected both the hot and cold water flex lines to the kitchen sink's faucet and installed a <a href="https://amzn.to/38IwH2r">2 foot length of braided plumbing hose</a> in their place. This created a "short circuit" between the hot and cold water systems (see the photo). Then I turned off the hot water at the hot water tank. At this point, the hot and cold water systems were merged together. </p><p>This setup changed how the hot water plumbing was fed: all the "hot water" taps in the house were getting nothing from the hot water tank, as its valve was closed. Instead, the hot water plumbing was being fed by the cold water pipe in my kitchen. When I opened any hot water tap, water would be coming from the kitchen's hot water line, which was being fed from the kitchen's cold water line.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtBCuEIH-hN-4cDqLtRaveu_c3kh3Z8ZfgQGN7jTUpwDzxpNW08fiuy8GEhRsnKoU5ofQgxkc1b1R4GJeZNkO0qIdfyjrk_LPO3D1PTP1cZRYIR7f0Y4HDCaH2F3uHfHLqC68Fbrz8NOmJziLW2Ym-AqD0GTNeoojQWoO0YXd85bJrs9VzzdI/s640/IMG_2772.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Loop of hose between hot and cold water pipes" border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtBCuEIH-hN-4cDqLtRaveu_c3kh3Z8ZfgQGN7jTUpwDzxpNW08fiuy8GEhRsnKoU5ofQgxkc1b1R4GJeZNkO0qIdfyjrk_LPO3D1PTP1cZRYIR7f0Y4HDCaH2F3uHfHLqC68Fbrz8NOmJziLW2Ym-AqD0GTNeoojQWoO0YXd85bJrs9VzzdI/w240-h320/IMG_2772.jpeg" title="Loop of hose between hot and cold water pipes" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joining Hot and Cold plumbing systems under the kitchen sink<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Performing the flush <br /></h4><p>At this point, I opened up my bath tub's hot water valve and let it flow. The thinking behind all this is that since there was was debris in my kitchen's hot water line, reversing the flow would push the debris out of the biggest hot water tap, the tub, and then it'd go down the drain.</p><p>After 5 minutes of the tub running at "full hot", I figured the pipe was as flushed as well as could be. I did see some black pipe debris end up in the tub, so that was an indicator that something was being ejected.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>Undoing the setup<br /></b></h4><p>After the flush, I reverted the system to its standard setup:<br /></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>I closed the valves under the kitchen sink.</li><li>I removed the 2 foot length of hose from under the kitchen sink</li><li>I reattached the kitchen sink's hot and cold water lines</li><li>I opened the hot water tank valve</li><li>I opened the valves under the kitchen sink<br /></li></ol><h2 style="text-align: left;">Dishwasher Repair Lessons Learned</h2><p style="text-align: left;">I'm happy to say it worked! The hot water flow to the kitchen sink is now a full 20% higher than it was (yes, I measured how long it took to fill a gallon jug before and after the flush). Now my
dishwasher is functioning 100% normally.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Here is my conclusion: <br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Not all dishwasher problems are problems with the dishwasher.</li><li>Hiring a dishwasher repair person would not have fixed this problem. <br /></li><li>Slow hot water at the tap may negatively impact a dishwasher's ability to do its job.</li><li>Buying a new dishwasher would not have fixed the problem.</li><li>A <a href="https://amzn.to/38IwH2r">$3 length of plumbing hose</a> can be used to temporarily reverse the flow of water supply plumbing, which can help clear debris in water supply plumbing.</li></ul><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comUnited States37.09024 -95.71289110.762425835082361 -130.869141 63.418054164917642 -60.556641tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-46376531926080361322022-05-21T06:50:00.007-04:002022-06-05T05:21:22.752-04:00TP-Link X20: The Good and the Bad.<p>I have a love/hate relationship with the <a href="https://amzn.to/3NrpoLk">TP-Link DECO X20</a>.</p><p></p><p>I have a few of these set up in other peoples' homes. There are the things that I love about the X20, but they have serious limitations that I strongly dislike. I would recommend them to some people, but I would never buy one for my own home. Here are the details why.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fWWBvxeZsoqa9RspQ2rzV0JwqTFANyODvMVttjpVWCXavuyJI_tgdKKnI3Zws6CZwq2wpkNRMsderL7gRqmYwlNgaWpmWDueWTk2UJDJo6qxMcSOpSXWTP49vLSC3fzfK7qg9j60kxXc0lZhQ8ZNxYLPKydOgYMG8Bymj5rTFmfKyEigxQE/s640/IMG_2831.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Photo of TP-Link Deco X20" border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="522" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fWWBvxeZsoqa9RspQ2rzV0JwqTFANyODvMVttjpVWCXavuyJI_tgdKKnI3Zws6CZwq2wpkNRMsderL7gRqmYwlNgaWpmWDueWTk2UJDJo6qxMcSOpSXWTP49vLSC3fzfK7qg9j60kxXc0lZhQ8ZNxYLPKydOgYMG8Bymj5rTFmfKyEigxQE/w261-h320/IMG_2831.jpeg" title="TP-Link Deco X20" width="261" /></a></div><h2>Overview</h2><p>The Deco X20 is a cute-looking WiFi6 (802.11ax) mesh router system.<br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>You can buy them in <a href="https://amzn.to/386pwkd">one</a>, <a href="https://amzn.to/3LzO4Qp">two</a>, or <a href="https://amzn.to/3wB7XCw">three</a> node packs. You can add more nodes later if you wish. One of my setups is a three node system, and one is a two node system. It might be wisest to buy the three pack and sell off any nodes you don't need.<br /></li><li>Each node is a dual radio device, with optional Ethernet back-haul. <br /></li><li>Each node has two Ethernet ports that can be used for wan uplink, lan, or client device<br /></li><li>They look like pretty little cylinders with an external power brick.<br /></li></ul><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Good</h2><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>These are stupidly easy to set up. There is very little configuration that needs to happen. They are pretty much in line with the Apple philosophy in terms of making home networking super-easy.</li><li>They seem to be reliable. I have not noticed any of the devices rebooting on its own, or any other problems.<br /></li><li>They seem to be plenty fast. They don't have any issue meeting the speeds of my ISP (basically, a Gigabit in the best case). Sure, it can be slower at the periphery, but that's just how radio works.<br /></li><li>They automatically (and optionally) support Ethernet for the back-haul.<br /></li></ul><h2 style="text-align: left;">The OK</h2><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>They are good looking cylinders, so users will be tricked into leaving them out in the open, which is always going to be better than leaving them in a cabinet or behind the sofa. But wall mounting requires the purchase of custom 3rd party brackets, and ceiling mounting is a "never".<br /></li><li>The smartphone app is pretty decent. Hopefully they don't kill it prematurely like so many vendors do. No one buys devices to just throw them into the e-waste bin after a few years. <br /></li><li>Like any WiFi device, placement is important. It's a good idea to minimize node count.</li><li>They are designed to be used indoors only. They are not compatible with very hot or very cold temperatures, so they may not be suitable for placement in a garage or the porch or outdoor spaces that do not have climate control.<br /></li></ul><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Annoying</h2><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Limited configuration options. People who disliked Apple's Airport products due to their lack of obvious configuration options will hate these far more. Even the most basic settings like channel selection and channel width are not available. In relative terms, the Airport had a ton more options.</li><li>The device's WiFi channel selection is stupid. Sure, these are 802.11ax, but why are you choosing a 40 GHz channel in the middle of the 2.4GHz spectrum in a noisy neighborhood? It is as if TP-Link is going out of their way to noise up the spectrum, and I know of no recourse.<br /></li><li>Firmware updates? These are pretty new devices. I can't believe they haven't seem a firmware update in over 18 months. Bug fixes? Security fixes? I can't believe that their software is so perfect.</li><li>No DFS, of course, as although these seem premium, in reality they are low-end consumer devices (despite the price tag suggesting otherwise).<br /></li></ul><h2 style="text-align: left;">Conclusion</h2><p>I wouldn't buy the X20 for my home, but I do think they work well for people who need a very simple multi-node system within a very large residential home in outer suburbia. I'm concerned about the manufacturer's control over the device, and I hate the inability to tweak the channel settings.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comNew York, NY, USA40.7127753 -74.005972812.402541463821152 -109.1622228 69.023009136178842 -38.849722799999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-9551903415019233122022-05-17T15:08:00.018-04:002022-08-16T19:13:13.946-04:00Hot (and Cold) Attic Tempertures and Electronic Equipment<p style="text-align: left;">An unfinished attic can be an extreme environment for electronic equipment, with conditions that are very unlike what is experienced inside normal living spaces. What's the deal with installing electronic equipment in an unfinished and uninsulated attic?</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2sFdpUWi7OweXeDdhXut2_AWYzahlq96O_RbAuAhUOQkSCcDbjvQlEMnHOcXpp7MOrQWyLuZh3QDZ44QG58DPJf3FcgL6Pb_l3YRlRdR1f11OiWyuQgOrfjml5BkU-1IoYVXyx_2Rvl1sufNw385B7GJ3QdA6n4VlgWpS2TXNUYcgiJrx0co/s640/IMG_2622.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Attic Space" border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="640" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2sFdpUWi7OweXeDdhXut2_AWYzahlq96O_RbAuAhUOQkSCcDbjvQlEMnHOcXpp7MOrQWyLuZh3QDZ44QG58DPJf3FcgL6Pb_l3YRlRdR1f11OiWyuQgOrfjml5BkU-1IoYVXyx_2Rvl1sufNw385B7GJ3QdA6n4VlgWpS2TXNUYcgiJrx0co/w320-h238/IMG_2622.jpeg" title="Using Attic Space for Electronic Equipment" width="320" /></a></div> <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">I wanted to install a standard WiFi router in my attic to function as a Wireless ISP (WISP) gateway. My attic is a fantastic location from a radio signal perspective, but it is an uncomfortable place for both people and electronic gear. Although the attic is well insulated, that insulation is on the floor, designed to keep the living space of my home at moderate temperatures. As a WISP gateway, my WiFi router is best mounted above the insulation and close to the roof, where the only protection from weather extremes is the wood of the roof and a layer of asphalt shingles.
</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Equipment Specifications and Extremes<br /></h2><p style="text-align: left;">Almost all electronic equipment has a set of specifications regarding operating environment. These specifications state the conditions required for reliable operation. These specs are ignored by most people, because most equipment is designed to work alongside people. But if you're installing equipment in an unfinished attic, crawl space, shed, or garage, these specifications may become critical.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Why can't all electronic equipment withstand a huge range of conditions? Generally it is due to cost. Some electronic components may misbehave when temperatures fall below or rise above a specific threshold. For example, a display panel, battery, or capacitor that contains some liquid can behave very differently if that liquid freezes, or if that liquid turns to vapor. Similarly, very high humidity can alter circuit resistance. The impact of the environment on electronic gear can be significant. Conditions outside of the norm of needs some thought.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Attic Environment</h2><p style="text-align: left;">So what are the details of the environment in my attic, and is it compatible with my equipment?</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Attic Protection<br /></h3><p style="text-align: left;">The attic, being a hat for a home, is designed to keep rain and snow and pests out. My home has asphalt shingles that do a great job of weather protection. I do not expect to see any rain or snow inside the attic area at all, ever. It should be dry 365 days a year.</p><p style="text-align: left;">My attic has some passive air vents. There is a ridge vent along the top of the roof line, and there are larger air vents located at the gables. These vents should help keep attic temperatures <i>somewhat</i> similar to outdoor temperatures, but more on that later.</p><p style="text-align: left;">All the vents are screened, and there are no (known) holes in the attic, so I do not expect any rodents, birds, or insects in there. Nobody needs those pests, and that includes electronic equipment. That said, some insects may find their way inside, so there is a bit of a risk that insects may crawl into equipment to find warmth. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Attic Potential for Cold</h3><p>Since my attic is vented, its temperature will <i>somewhat</i> follow the temperature of the outdoor air. And where I live, it can get pretty darn cold. <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">By using the <a href="https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate" target="_blank">Monthly Summarized Data report from NOAA</a>, I found that within the past 20+ years my area has been as cold as -25 °C. That's very cold, but I think my attic temperatures will always be warmer than that for several reasons.</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I suspect that attic temperatures will always be a bit warmer than the
outside air, as there will always be some heat leakage up into the attic
from the living space below. <br /></li><li>The minimal temperature of -25 °C is the lowest temperature on record. It could have been that cold for just a few minutes. My attic may be a little more more moderate, as the heat of my attic wouldn't leak out instantly.</li><li>Given recent global warming predictions, my area is getting quite a bit warmer in the winter. It is still possible for some crazy cold temperatures, but it is generally less likely. The odds of "-25 °C" might have happened once every 20 years. Now the odds might be once every 100 years.</li></ul><p style="text-align: left;">For the sake of being conservative, I'll put a stake in the ground and say that my worst case attic cold temperature will be -25 °C, although I imagine that -15 °C might be closer to a realistic minimum.<br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Hot Attic may be extreme</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Again, according to <a href="https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate" target="_blank">NOAA</a>, the outside summer air in my region has been as warm as +40 °C. That's pretty crazy. But my house is covered with shingles and gets a lot of direct sunlight, so it will be even crazier. I <i>guess</i> that potential of the sun beating down on the roof on a sunny day, could induce the attic to get as warm as perhaps +50 °C. Hopefully when the weather is so hot, it will also be hazy, reducing some of the solar radiation heating the roof. Stronger outdoor winds could help push some of the hot air out through the venting system.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">All things considered, I will again use my conservative hat and use +50 °C as the highest temperature I'll see inside the attic. <br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Measurement</h3><p style="text-align: left;">All my temperature scenarios are just estimates based on historic weather data. So what will it really be like up there? </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrfWRg5_AwCQtiuIriFoti2Cix1pJafUqSSPeUEiLbaW_eBuZov0GtJ1HghUTaM4I1yT-1GuVtP4JULQYf3H1Phbj-SaSS0Vdb-Zo9u7F9LLPQm8ha1vZqtDBVJoNZmH_px6CWlsDL7BdTODQSdwznx1hH6g2PlSMZVt9ldc6VBqZwcA3Ilk/s640/IMG_2758.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Onvis Temperature Sensor" border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="640" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrfWRg5_AwCQtiuIriFoti2Cix1pJafUqSSPeUEiLbaW_eBuZov0GtJ1HghUTaM4I1yT-1GuVtP4JULQYf3H1Phbj-SaSS0Vdb-Zo9u7F9LLPQm8ha1vZqtDBVJoNZmH_px6CWlsDL7BdTODQSdwznx1hH6g2PlSMZVt9ldc6VBqZwcA3Ilk/w320-h251/IMG_2758.jpeg" title="Monitoring Attic Temperatures with Onvis Sensor" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">I have placed a <a href="https://amzn.to/3PlcTmh">Homekit-based Onvis temperature sensor</a> in my attic. The Onvis allows me to monitor and record temperature over time. So far, the attic temperature has peaked at 47 °C, on calm and sunny early summer day where outdoor temperatures peaked at 36 °C. Therefore, when the weather is right, the attic has been +11 °C above outdoor temperatures. I'll be watching temperatures closely as we go through summer. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Gear Selection based on Operating Environment<br /></h3><p>The vast majority of higher-end gear is designed to operate somewhere between 0 °C and 40 °C, but I expect to regularly see temperatures ranging from -15 °C and 50 °C, with a worst-case range of -25 °C to +55 °C. Most equipment will fail in short order with those crazy temperatures.</p><p>Therefore I have chosen the <a href="https://amzn.to/3wvK3XH">MikroTik hAP AC lite</a> router, which can operate between -30 °C and +70 °C. The odds of the temperature of my attic being outside of that range is vanishingly small. It is important to note that the router will be "on" 24x365, so there will always be some heat generated inside the unit. Therefore, I think the most significant challenge will be the high temperatures of summer.</p><p>I have the MikroTik attached to an active PoE switch, so I will be using it with an <a href="https://amzn.to/3yLiUCG">active PoE splitter</a>. The splitter's [poorly noted and perhaps untrustworthy] specs suggest an operational range between -30 °C to +80 °C.</p><p>Note that the previously mentioned Onvis sensor will be operating in an environment that
is outside of its specifications (-10°C to +45 °C), so I might
end up changing my temperature monitoring strategy. In the least, may end up using lithium batteries within the Onvis because <a href="https://amzn.to/38EFUIT">Lithium batteries</a> can better deal with temperature extremes (often -40 °C to +60 °C) compared with alkaline batteries (-18°C to 55°C) .</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Specifications and the Data<br /></h2><p>I'll periodically update the following data. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Recorded Temperature Extremes (so far)<br /></h4><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Max Attic Temperature </span><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: courier;">(Sensor)</span>: +47 °C <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> Outdoor Temperature..........: +36 °C </span><span style="font-family: courier;"></span><span style="font-family: courier;">(Δ: +11 °C)</span><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Min Attic Temperature</span><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> (Sensor)</span>: +06 °C</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> Outdoor Temperature..........</span><span style="font-family: courier;">: +05 °C </span><span style="font-family: courier;">(Δ: +1 °C)</span></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Equipment Specifications</h4><div style="text-align: left;">Equipment at high risk of operating outside of specification is in <b>bold.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Equipment operated outside of temperature specifications are in <span style="color: #cc0000;"><span><b>red</b></span></span>.<b> <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Expected Extremes...: -25 °C to +50 °C</span><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Current Extremes....: +06 °C to +47 °C</span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">MikroTik hAP AC lite:</span><span style="font-family: courier;"> -30 °C to +70 °C<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Active PoE Splitter.: </span><span style="font-family: courier;">-30 °C to +80 °C</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">ONVIS Sensor........: </span><span style="font-family: courier;">-10 °C</span></b><span style="font-family: courier;"> to</span><b><span style="font-family: courier;"> <span style="color: red;">+45 °C</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">Alkaline batteries..: </span></b><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>-18 °C</b> to +55 °C</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Lithium batteries...: -40 °C to +60 °C (not yet in use) <br /></span></div><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span> <br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">"Can you show temperatures in Freedom Units?"</h2><p>Specifications for engineered equipment is generally presented in degrees Celsius. It's just easier to stick with the industry norm instead of converting back and forth. If you don't understand Celsius, Google can translate it for you.</p><p>Just as a simple recap, from the human livability perspective:<br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: courier;">☀️</span></span> 45 °C is super hot</span></span></span></span></span></span></li><li><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: courier;">☀️</span></span> 35 °C is very hot<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: courier;">☀️ 30 °C is hot (turn on the A/C)<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #274e13;">✓ </span></span>25 °C is warm <br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #274e13;">✓ 20 °C is comfortable </span><br /></span></li><li><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: courier;">❅ </span></span>15 °C is cool (turn on the heat)</span></span></li><li><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: courier;">❅ </span></span>10 °C is cold</span></span><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></span></li><li><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: courier;">❅ </span></span>0 °C is freezing</span></span></li></ul><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Adjust for your regional tastes.</span><br /></span></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comNew York, NY, USA40.7127753 -74.005972812.402541463821152 -109.1622228 69.023009136178842 -38.849722799999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-75440112798250016932022-05-16T10:20:00.007-04:002022-05-16T19:33:40.547-04:00Measuring the Power Consumption of GFCI and AFCI circuits<p>Modern US homes have a lot more electrical circuit protection than they once had. Ground and Arc fault circuits are great at preventing electrocution and house fires. What is their power consumption?</p><p>It's hard to be completely accurate here, but I've measured a bunch using a combination of my <a href="https://amzn.to/3NgoLEi">Kill-o-watt meter</a> and my <a href="https://amzn.to/3NgoBga">Emporia Gen 2 Vue</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Ub76O7518SN3OSB6J0t0E_6exDiUOShN3EFiCZ77kkgBcXiHVSaadd2Oqou6zuSxZdYcEfbw6HBsGf3-8gOPz7-iu0sHGZacySD_3uhAXhUBCEmLPa90Mlce8JmUWNpwDWMxqur6TtNPXfoT03zWTSadFJySehWWX8RSzezlGxp-H3UyYcI/s640/IMG_2732.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="GFCI AFCI Circuit Breakers" border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="640" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Ub76O7518SN3OSB6J0t0E_6exDiUOShN3EFiCZ77kkgBcXiHVSaadd2Oqou6zuSxZdYcEfbw6HBsGf3-8gOPz7-iu0sHGZacySD_3uhAXhUBCEmLPa90Mlce8JmUWNpwDWMxqur6TtNPXfoT03zWTSadFJySehWWX8RSzezlGxp-H3UyYcI/w320-h261/IMG_2732.jpeg" title="GFCI AFCI Circuit Breakers" width="320" /></a></div> <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">My measurements suggest that these devices use <b><i>roughly</i> 0.5 watts each</b>. In total, that works out to 4.4 KWh per GFCI/AFCI per year:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">(0.5 watts x 8766 hrs/year) ÷ 1000 watts/KW = 4.383 KWh/year</span></b><br /></p><p>Again, this is an <i>estimate</i>. It could be 3.5 or 4.8 KWh per year, but you get the idea. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Total GFCI / AFCI Load On My Electricity Bill<br /></h3><p>I have 27 circuits with these features (<a href="https://amzn.to/3NiQnso">18 modern breakers</a> and <a href="https://amzn.to/3MngXjO">9 outlets</a>). So multiplying 4.383 KWh/year by 27 circuits, and we get a total draw of <b>118.3 KWh/year. </b>That's a measurable amount of money. That's about $142 per decade using today's US-average electricity cost.<br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Cost/Value of GFCI / AFCI<br /></h3><p>So is it worth spending $142 a decade for these devices? Here's the way I look at it:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Fewer of these would reduce electricity use.</li><li>My full collection of these is less than 1/6th the draw of a single traditional incandescent light bulb. <br /></li><li>A fire or electrocution could easily be hundreds or thousands of times more expensive than $142. <br /></li></ul><h3 style="text-align: left;">Savings opportunities</h3><p>Here are some ideas to save some costs without reducing protection<br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Using <a href="https://amzn.to/3FMXVRq">GFCI breakers</a> that protect many outlets are likely more cost and power efficient than GFCI outlets that only protect only one outlet: itself.</li><li>Simply turn off the circuits that are not in use. <br /></li></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comNew York, NY, USA40.7127753 -74.005972812.402541463821152 -109.1622228 69.023009136178842 -38.849722799999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-36058557943649619882022-05-13T07:17:00.003-04:002022-05-14T09:38:33.951-04:00Leaking LG Front-Loading Clothes Washer<p>The other day I went into my basement and there was a puddle of water on the floor. It turned out that my front loading clothes washer was leaking. The drum was full of water to the point where it was dripping out of the open door. Yuk!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmUwACu_fU90bql7kMfZF2oc6R4UPrwUks25QtDTt9N8jxBZoQyDsg5DjPFONExo2OxfWjzmVa-V1VfLVhpavsV0cczdCWovJw6fsVSweCZE0ybc2HtCVN6Wy5WN7-9zkXObCVW8aIcZHHEEz9hhpyg6CaktmJp3xJDP3xnAUypqCwBwsL1gk/s640/IMG_2106.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Flooded LG Clothes Washer" border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="622" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmUwACu_fU90bql7kMfZF2oc6R4UPrwUks25QtDTt9N8jxBZoQyDsg5DjPFONExo2OxfWjzmVa-V1VfLVhpavsV0cczdCWovJw6fsVSweCZE0ybc2HtCVN6Wy5WN7-9zkXObCVW8aIcZHHEEz9hhpyg6CaktmJp3xJDP3xnAUypqCwBwsL1gk/w311-h320/IMG_2106.jpeg" title="LG Washer Drum Overflowing" width="311" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>It appears that one of the washer's internal inlet valves has a slow drip leak. I ended up closing the door and running a "rinse" cycle to pump out the water. Happily, it seems like the very first thing the washer does is drain the drum. (A better design might have the washer pump out water on its own when it unexpectedly hits a high-water mark, but maybe there is a good reason not to do so.)</p><p>Then I ran some loads of laundry because, hey, I still have to do laundry and no slow leak is going to stop laundry.<br /></p><p>Happily, <a href="https://amzn.to/3MffZ9v">affordable replacement washer inlet valves are available</a>, and they are relatively easy to replace. But there's bad news: I don't like to fix non-broken things, so I need to identify which valve (hot or cold) is leaky. To complicate things, I have not been able to repeat this leaky valve event, so I'm waiting until it happens again. </p><p>Once I figure out which valve is unreliable, I'll document its replacement here.<br /></p><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-39261502050660712372022-05-12T11:11:00.007-04:002022-05-13T14:41:17.748-04:00The Essential Electric Base Load of My House<p>I've been doing some serious electricity power monitoring at my house to see how I can reduce my electricity consumption and costs.</p><p>I have an <a href="https://amzn.to/3PegBOp">8-sensor Emporia Vue</a> home electricity monitor and a <a href="https://amzn.to/38gUV3L">Kill-o-Watt power meter</a>, so I'm well equipped to identify what is chewing down the electricity I pay for. <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2RtC6sKZn7gwGZsq4rqigc41IBT3KGed8n-jbhY2Ybkmcw6xBg67bqphyCFlG4VlhW9rB51C_3xHfdDFC2q3zwRUOTaiYMrYTYDBUTZWHXYpG02NKbRpPhh_saU0zlQIiRfARIWmEkVhD-jlpMh2w_uqa-Fq0ZSzKgTWNr-V_7Vy2m_oG6mY/s971/IMG_2723.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Circuit Breakers" border="0" data-original-height="904" data-original-width="971" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2RtC6sKZn7gwGZsq4rqigc41IBT3KGed8n-jbhY2Ybkmcw6xBg67bqphyCFlG4VlhW9rB51C_3xHfdDFC2q3zwRUOTaiYMrYTYDBUTZWHXYpG02NKbRpPhh_saU0zlQIiRfARIWmEkVhD-jlpMh2w_uqa-Fq0ZSzKgTWNr-V_7Vy2m_oG6mY/w320-h298/IMG_2723.jpeg" title="Circuit Breakers" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>When I first installed my Emporia Vue, I found that my house was always consuming at least 128 watts of power. I'll call this my house's base load. What made up these 128 watts? Phantom loads? Let's Discuss!</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Phantom Load or Not?<br /></h3><p>A phantom load, by one definition, is equipment that is always consuming some electricity even though it is not in active use. This is commonly understood as "standby power consumption". But another definition of phantom load is equipment that is inexplicably consuming significant power for no known useful reason. We might call this "completely stupid power consumption".<br /></p><p>I had both types: standby power and crazy-off-the-charts useless power waste.</p><p>My AC unit was always eating at 45 watts. My furnace had thermostatic heat tape that was always using 10 watts. Why? No idea. All together, these two phantom loads were using 482 KWh a year, or 4.820 MWh in a decade. 4.8 Megawatt-hours is a very, very substantial amount of beer money.<br /></p><p>On the other hand, my basement HVAC is always consuming 3 watts, but it is always on standby ready to be automatically called into service. The HVAC consumes standby power, but I'd be hesitant to call it a problem as heat is an essential home service where I live and its power draw is reasonable by today's standards.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Essential Equipment Base Load<br /></h3><p>My first question is: What is the power consumption of the <i>essential</i> equipment in my home?</p><p>I consider essential equipment to be equipment that is
traditionally considered part of the building and is necessary for the
building and its occupants. This includes HVAC, major appliances,
security and safety equipment, sump pumps, and (these days) basic
networking gear. Being "base load" means that this equipment is on standby, but it isn't running. Therefore, the essential equipment base load is the bare minimum power my house will use, even if no one is occupying the house.<br /></p>Here is my remain list of the devices that make up the "essential base load" of my house<h4 style="text-align: left;">Safety Systems: 20.8 Watts<br /></h4><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Security System: 9.8 watts. A <a href="https://amzn.to/3PhdRQd">Honeywell Vista 20P alarm system</a> with many smoke detectors.</li><li>Carbon Monoxide Detectors: 3 watts. I have three <a href="https://amzn.to/3wnqj8H">Kidde CO units</a> at ~ 1 watt each. </li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3FMDqEI">Breakers with GFCI/AFCI</a>: 6 watts. I have 12 breakers with these features at ~ 0.5 watts each. </li><li>Outlets with GFCI: 2 watts. I have 4 GFCI outlets at ~ 0.5 watts each.</li></ul><h4 style="text-align: left;">Data communications backboard: 20.6 Watts<br /></h4><p>This is all my networking gear: WiFi access point, Internet gateway router, PoE switch, <a href="https://amzn.to/3L69lRp">Ring doorbell system</a>, <a href="https://amzn.to/3M8mzyw">whole-home TV tuner</a>, and Apple TV. This equipment, attached to my basement networking backboard, provides what I consider essential home network services. They collectively account for 20.6 watts of power total. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Appliances: 12.3 Watts<br /></h4><p>Some appliances are always on, even when idle. Here's what I have:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Refrigerator: 3 watts. Its electronic control system is always on.</li><li>Kitchen Range: 7.3 watts. Stupidly high. It just has a clock that's on while idle. Gr.<br /></li><li>Dishwasher: 1 watt. It has a digital control panel, so it is always eating some juice.</li><li>Clothes washer: 1 watt. Again, it has a digital control panel, so it is always doing something.</li><li>Clothes dryer: 0 watts. It is old-school and consumes nothing while idle.</li></ul><h4 style="text-align: left;">HVAC: 10.8 Watts<br /></h4><p>I have two
units, both with <a href="https://amzn.to/3svqEoz">Ecobee 3 lite thermostats</a>. When they're in standby mode, the two HVAC systems
collectively consume 10.8 watts of power. (I flipped off one of the two (dissimilar) outdoor AC units, as it was stupidly consuming 45 watts all the time, and I removed always-hungry heat tape. WTF?)<br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Other Items: 4.8 watts<br /></h4><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3Ma7NXY">Raspberry Pi Zero</a> (home server): 0.8 watt</li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3FCpKfr">Meross WiFi home automation light switch</a>: 1 watt <br /></li><li>Emporia Vue energy monitor: 3 watts <br /></li></ul><h4 style="text-align: left;">Total Essential Base Load: 72 Watts <br /></h4><p>Adding all these devices together and I get about 69 watts, which matches my typical low-water mark reported by my Emporia Vue of 72 watts. Multiply that by 8766 hours and a year and we get 640 KWH used power year. That's still substantial beer money, but I can't see a way to easily reduce that number.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">What isn't included<br /></h4><p>This 73 watts of "essential base load" doesn't include any of the following that is normally install by the occupier, and it doesn't include equipment that isn't always plugged in. </p><p>For example, these items are not included:<br /></p><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Home automation "smart" outlets <br /></li><li>Wall powered plug-in alarm clocks</li><li>TV or radios</li><li>Phone chargers<br /></li><li>Computers, printers, etc, except for essential home equipment noted above <br /></li><li>Any equipment doing any real work (HVAC, Fridge, Dishwasher, etc)</li><li>Any lighting</li><li>Basement dehumidifier, which I have on standby seasonably (basically from late spring to early fall)<br /></li></ul><p>So this 73 watts is the bare minimum load of the essential building devices for any minute of the year. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Next Steps<br /></h3><p>In a future article, I will add up my "occupier equipment base load". This will include idle home equipment like device chargers, printers, TV, and so-forth. Think of this next number as the power consumption of all the clocks and TVs and stuff that people move in with. Stay tuned.<br /></p><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8766938.post-66044174470170978922022-05-11T12:23:00.006-04:002022-05-30T11:06:50.791-04:00Installing a ceiling mounted WiFi Access Point<p>A lot of home WiFi stinks because the WiFi device is poorly placed. The beauty of a ceiling mounted WiFi access point is that it can be positioned optimally for signal excellence. And with excellent signal strength you can get away with many fewer WiFi units, resulting in lower costs, higher speeds, and higher reliability.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV9R6AXIp_o07_pc_-Cev-3sEFVoFbO7wuIn4UglCuCOlOKQqE07QfFnzL8IPN52tX5cG_GYrWiK6w3VNTe7C_7PsyBEfmrEBeUdyMP0SBAfGz5u8AkZAp9ZrTKDgbZhyPiX3CdfxWuPQVrajLE2-vECsS5SPAe1-91LLEhPqCZaQIIFICU_k/s1970/IMG_2639.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="MikroTik cAP AC" border="0" data-original-height="1938" data-original-width="1970" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV9R6AXIp_o07_pc_-Cev-3sEFVoFbO7wuIn4UglCuCOlOKQqE07QfFnzL8IPN52tX5cG_GYrWiK6w3VNTe7C_7PsyBEfmrEBeUdyMP0SBAfGz5u8AkZAp9ZrTKDgbZhyPiX3CdfxWuPQVrajLE2-vECsS5SPAe1-91LLEhPqCZaQIIFICU_k/w320-h315/IMG_2639.jpeg" title="MikroTik cAP AC" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I was remodeling my house, and during the work the ceiling near the center of my house became fairly accessible. I figured that a <i>single</i> optimally-positioned WiFi access point might be able provide WiFi to my entire house.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Initial Planning<br /></h2><p>I chose to buy a <a href="https://amzn.to/3M8DQrb">MikroTik cAP AC</a> WiFi access point. This is a great little device, and I've had a lot of fun and success with MikroTik, and the price was right.<br /></p><p>The MikroTik is powered over Ethernet (PoE), as are most professional-class WiFi access points. This means that the device doesn't need any additional power outlets or cables. <br /></p><p>There are many ways to do Power over Ethernet (PoE). The MikroTik cAP AC comes with an Ethernet power injector, but since I have numerous PoE devices I instead elected to use a PoE switch. I bought and installed a <a href="https://amzn.to/3FBEKdm">low-cost PoE switch</a> in my basement, which I mounted on <a href="https://lancej.blogspot.com/2022/05/modernizing-old-house-network-wiring.html">my </a><a href="https://lancej.blogspot.com/2022/05/modernizing-old-house-network-wiring.html">networking backboard. </a></p><p>I also needed some decent Ethernet cable. Lousy cable is a poor choice if you're installing it in a wall or ceiling. I was going to buy a 1000 foot spool of wire even though I only needed about 40 feet (or so I thought). But I eventually convinced myself to avoid over-buying and instead purchases <a href="https://amzn.to/3w3c8GC">100 feet of quality Cat 6 cable</a>. After all, ~ 950 feet of extra cable sitting in my basement for years on end is a complete waste of cable for everyone.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Rough Positioning</h2><p>My first step was to figure out exactly where the WiFi access point (AP) should be placed on the ceiling. My house is not a simple rectangle and does not have a simple geometric center, and so placing the AP in the exact center took some thought. Considering the building's shape, the rooms, the outdoor deck and the patio, I concluded that the best position for the WiFi AP would be on the northern side of my dining room ceiling. I drilled a 1/2 inch hole in the ceiling, exactly where I wanted the WiFi access point to go.<br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Installing the Ethernet Wire</h2><p>My next step was to drag a wire to that location. <br /></p><p>Using a <a href="https://amzn.to/3Fz3Vgw">fish tape</a>, I pushed a cotton string into the ceiling, above the drywall. Then, by sticking a coat hanger wire up the ceiling hole, I caught the string and pulled it out the hole. Then I attached the Cat6 cable to the far end of the string and pulled it down through the ceiling hole. After the cable was drawn through, I <a href="https://amzn.to/38moYXF">terminated the cable using a RJ45 plug</a>, conforming to <a href="https://lancej.blogspot.com/2022/02/568a-versus-568b-which-to-use.html">my building's Ethernet wiring standard</a>.<br /></p><p>I routed the other end of the Ethernet cable down the wall and into the basement and over to my PoE switch. In all, I used about 60 feet of my 100 foot cable, which was about 50% more than I originally calculated. The lesson learned here is that it is smart to assume that your estimation skills are imperfect. In any case, I still have 40 feet of nice Cat6 cable left over for future uses.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Installing the Access Point<br /></h2><p>At that point I screwed the mounting plate to the ceiling with a couple of screws and twisted the cAP AC into place. From there, the lights started to glow and I was up and running.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Outcome<br /></h2><p>Performance and reliability is great. I was originally envisioning the possibility of installing additional access points: one to cover the basement, and another to cover the top floor. Given that the single well-placed access point easily covers my entire property, those plans have been cancelled. I might change my mind if some future tech requires it. </p><p>The AP is pretty. Everyone loves the fact there all the network gear and cabling is now out of sight. I can turn off the AP's LED so it never glows or blinks (unlike what's shown in my photo). <br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Installation Efficiency Tips</h2><p>I waited for a major remodeling effort to install this ceiling access point. In hindsight, that was unnecessary.</p><p>I learned that this kind of wiring project need not wait for a remodeling job. If you're merely in the need of interior painting, that's a great time to put in a cable. That's because cutting holes in drywall to fish cables, and then repairing the drywall is a very small effort. Drywall work is very affordable, and it can look perfect after repair.<br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Cost and Conclusion</h2><p>The total installation cost was under $90. The expenses included the MikroTik cAP AC Wifi access point, and 100 feet of Cat6 cable, plus some minor odds and ends. Importantly, the Cat6 cable is in now a part of the building and will be useful for decades to come.<br /></p><p></p><p>If you are willing and able to install Ethernet cabling, installing a ceiling-mounted WiFi access point is a decisive win.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"> </h3><p></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comNew York, NY, USA40.7127753 -74.005972812.402541463821152 -109.1622228 69.023009136178842 -38.849722799999995