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Alternative networking over cable and power line
Well I installed both of these to test them. The first is an actiontec moca 2.5 adapter set that provides 2.5Gbps over cable to 16 devices. This network we cut off from the main cable internet connection. That’s because we have docsis 3.1 and moca 2.5 frequencies conflict so rather figure out how to change…
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Debugging Ethernet Wiring
(More election news avoidance posting, man I had a lot of mystery cables running around the house and it has been a good distraction from paying too much attention to the results. But here are some quick notes if you find that there are just wires hanging around your house. But here is what you…
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Waiting for Ubiquiti Early Access Products
One of the cool features of Ubiquiti is that you can see what the early access products are just by signing up. Because there is conversion to Wifi6 and also lots of new products, it’s a great way to see what is coming. Here are the things to look for: Unifi 6 Long Range Access…
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Buying a security system in 2020
(More ignore the election posting). Ok, in the old days, a security system meant calling someone, paying them to tear up the house and install little wires everywhere and then paying $30 a month for monitoring over the phone line. But if you want something today and nothing is installed what should you do. Well…
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Deftech BP3000TL speakers and UPS don’t get along
(More in the way of ignore the election by posting random stuff). Well I have a 20 year old pari of Def Tech BP3000TL speakers. Back then they were monsters weighing 150 pounds plus each and standing over five feet tall. They also have 1,000 watt amplifiers in them for 18″ subwoofers which is pretty…
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Taking care of that tangle of cables behind your server rack
(More posts in this day to keep the Election 2020 out of my mind 🙂 Well, now that we’ve gotten two server cages done, while it works, it is an absolute mess in the rear. While it might be OK just to cable tie everything, there are of course lots of solutions to this that…
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Is it time to get into 8K with the Sony Z8H or Samsung? Probably not.
(More distractions from electionitis)! Well we’ve reached the point where 4K displays are main stream. When you can buy a great 43” television for $530 in 4K, you know that we’ve reached a great point. Some sets like the LG CX show the quality you can get at 65” with 4K. It took 7 years…
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More tips on using Ubuntu 20.04 on Windows
(I know, I know, I’m trying to stay distracted on this big Election day!) Here are some notes on getting Ubuntu to work well with Windows for Linux. The first thing to note is that the user system is completely separate between Windows and Ubuntu. And that while you can search for Ubuntu as an…
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Yeastar S412 IP-PBX for noobs
I’m not anywhere close to a phone expert, although about 1.5M years ago, I worked in a phone company, so at least I know what a Ring Group is and Ingress, etc. So with an old Panasonic Keyphone system at work (which is a baby Private Branch Exchange or PBX), I had the job of…
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Homekit getting an ecosystem that’s private and easy
OK this is probably a fan boy post (and a good distraction from the elections today), but as I’ve been sitting at home trying to get no less than five (?!!) homes secure and ready I realize how the smart home market has really been coming together over the last year without me really realizing…
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Small aside: Life’s guilty pleasures a Zeroll 1012 ice cream scoop
In these pandemic times, it’s the little things that sometimes matter. Years ago I had a Zeroll ice cream scoop (top recommendation at Cooks Illustrated subscription required). And I can say it really does work. It has liquid in the handle, your hand actually warms the scoop and makes it easier to get the ice…
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Thoughts on whole-home wiring for new and existing with CAT 6a/8, MOCA 2.5 and PowerLine and Wifi 6e
Well there was a day when the modern thing to do was to installed structure cabling in new construction. That is a cable bundle that included ethernet, phone and cable. That would still leave you with all kinds of wires for things like burglar alarm sensors, thermostats and door bells (and even card keys in…
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Internet Ughs. Zoom needs three steps to remove a user. Awair conflicts with Unifi over MQTT Port 8883
In this day and age some things just seem ridiculously complicated. But here are some notes Zoom subscriptions Well I’ve been trying for three months to move down a user level. It’s really impossible. If you go to billing amd choose two to one for instance it all seems to work but ona. Mobile device…
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Finally fixing a server rack, plugging in Obihai right and DHCP rogues
Well it’s been years but we’ve had an old rack that isn’t the computer standard 19” rack and in looking at the logo on the side (chatsworth rack) I couldn’t find anything about it. But one chance remark from a hime theater expert really helped me. Tom said, yes those 23 inch racks are such…
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Deep vi hacking when you have 400 files to edit with registers, macros, mksession and wv
Ok this is a truly deep post only for those who are living in vi/vim/neovim and have 400 files to manually edit (because they were idiots and didn’t use shellcheck early enough for their many random bash scripts). So if you have to do this, it rapidly becomes pretty old. You could try to write…
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Dealing with your Remote Technologies Inc RTI-8V and remote
Well we got the Logitech Harmony working fine and I’m amazed how easy it is. We also got a new RTI-8V to replace a Crestron and here are some tips: Reboot the processor. There is no way to do this other than to unplug it and then wait for a minute and then the display…
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Of weirdo 23″ Telecom vs 19″ computer racks and things
Ok, if you are unlucky enough you might have an older 23″ telecom rack. The annoying thing is that most computer components these days are 19″ wide. What’s all this then about 19″ racks? As an aside, it’s hard to believe we are using a 100 years standard set by AT&T in 1922 for racks…
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Getting rid of your cranky phone system for a VOIP PBX
If you have a business or even a large house with an old PBX from the last century, then you know how expensive and complicated it is. We have a Panasonic system and it is really complicated to maintain. There are ports that don’t work. It has proprietary Panasonic handsets and also a wireless set.…
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Speaker alternatives WISA real or dead-end
There always seem like a host standards. Right now, there is Ethernet, WiFi and Bluetooth. These are going to obviously be the major standards, but some new ones are emerging. For instance, Zigbee and Z-wave for low power home networking and LORA for low bandwidth networking. But one thing that is not solved are the…
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Unifi Part Deux wow amazingly easy Dream Machine and Amplifi setup plus 802.11af, at and bf madness
Ok two quick notes, this week has been mainly about broken network issues. Or rather putting as much care in the home network as that has really become mission critical. So three lessons: Wow, the setup for the Dream Machine and the Amplifi are even easier than for the Dream Machine Pro. Really hats off…
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Cooking Thermometers and Batteries too
Well I’ve had lots of different and inaccurate ones at that, but five years ago, I got a Thermopen which is expensive at $79 but as Cook’s Illustrated has pointed out super reliable and Grill Seeker too The main issue is that it does seem to chew up batteries pretty quickly particularly if you forget…
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TV color calibration and backlighting the final step to image quality
Well assuming you have a nice flat screen, how do you make sure the colors are correct. Most folks run their systems really bright and blue and a correctly calibrated system is going to a first look flat and then you will see the details. In the old days, you did color calibration with a…
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If you have an Outdoor Research Coupon rejoice!
If you are lucky enough to get a coupon for Outdoor Research, you should know it’s an awesome local firm and they have amazing stuff according to Outdoor Gear Labs (no relation except both are about well, the outdoors :-). But here are some highly rated items: Outdoor Research Helios. They make the most awesome…
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Rounding Deftech BP-3000 out with surround speakers and Atmos elevation speakers
Well, I have resurrected an old 5.1 mini speaker system (an Energy Take 5) and it sounds really great. Adding a Denon AVR-X3700H and then four NHT Atmos Mini Add-on was a great choice. by luck, these tiny little speakers fit on top of the Energy Take 5 modules and the room sounds really nice.…
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Winter time buys of Ecobee Doorbells and Outdoor speakers and things
Now that it is really fall and there is no summer left, here are some things to think about getting as winter is coming: Smart Thermostats like the Ecobee Thermostat. Right now Best Buy has them for $200 or $50 off and through the end of the year, Puget Sound Energy is offering a $75…
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More notes on shopping from Chrome using Freedom, Discover, Camelcamelcamel, Honey and Fakespot
Wow shopping the smart way has definitely gotten more complicated. But if you really want to do this effectively, a few short words on how to make sure you are taking the most advantage of the various discount programs: Use Chrome or Firefox. Sadly until Safari supports extensions properly you can’t install the ones you…
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Monitor color calibration and extending the life of my DataColor Spyder3
Ok I know this sounds little strange for an electronic gizmo, but I’ve had for 10 years, the same color calibrator. There are newer ones out there, but for a device that I literally use once a year, it seems sad to have to buy a new one. This is the Spyder3 and about three…
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Devcare a budget guide to chairs, monitor stands, monitors, great mice, keyboards, wrist rest, and mousepads
OK, as the geeks are staying home more and more, it’s way more important to have the right working environment and to make sure it is ergonomic and not going to give you Carpal Tunnel syndrome or neck aches. So here are some notes on things to get in order of importance (at last IMHO):…
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Strange pricing at Xfinity get 1Gbps and unlimited data for $90 vs $110 for 300Mbps and unlimited
Well you can see how they manage their incentives so that for now: 1. Move to 1Gbps plan for $90 on a year and you get unlimited data. Normally this is $30 a month. But if you use their gateway for $25 then you get it for free. 2. More strangely if you get the…
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Social Distancing and Indoors with better air handling with HEPA filters and Indoor Air Monitoring
Well during the summer we had our socially distanced walks and meals with 2-4 friends. That is wearing masks and at least six feet apart and outdoors as much as we could. But now that the fall is here in the Northern Hemisphere that is going to get harder and harder. So what can we…