My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

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Teken
Posts: 2700
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: The Bad Lands

Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Thu Dec 07, 2017 6:38 pm

PROJECT TITAN - FUNDING MY GOALS: AUCTIONS AND TAKING A CHANCE
This past summer there were several large government and private auctions here in town. There were tons of interesting things from appliances, electronics, computers, hardware, supplies, tools, vehicles, etc. Since everything was in bulk it really came down to getting the best value and knowing if the items could be used vs resold.

I took a big chance on a few large pallets sight unseen which they call *Lottery Bins*. :roll: I normally wouldn't entertain such a thing but this specific vendor was hosting large government agencies and enterprise corporations. So the odds of getting screwed were less likely but there would be no way to know how old, condition, operating state of said *Lottery Bins*! :|

As noted I took a gamble because there were some items I considered no brainers in terms practical use and the odds said item regardless of condition would impact its usefulness.

One of the bins came with 48 brand new plus heavy duty wide body collapsible chairs.

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I've never owned a *Wide Back* lawn chair before but can say they are comfortable, solid, and excellent quality.

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In another box were coffee makers, carafes, kettles, and thermoses. This photo doesn't really do justice how many there were in this pallet.

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The bulk of the items were brand new while some had what they call *Single Use*. Meaning they were purchased brand new and used for a single event and then placed back into their cartons. As seen below I didn't want to take a chance anything had been holding coffee, tea, milk, etc. So spent the afternoon sanitizing and cleaning them all out by hand one by one.

It was a beautiful 25'C that day with blue skies and what better way to kill some time than to wash some Carafes! :lol: :mrgreen:

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What I was really interested in were the industrial grade *Lifetime* branded extreme duty chairs. These crazy fold out chairs are rated to hold more than 350 lbs?!?! I got to say if you're pushing more than 275 lbs guess what I gots some extreme duty chairs ready for you! :mrgreen:

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All told there were 54 chairs in this lot and I can't even begin to tell you how much this auction saved me in buying the very same from the store.

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There were 12 huge refrigerator sized server racks made by APC. I would love to publish a picture of them here but was asked not to by the vendor as they have asset tags from the Feds. :cry: Regardless those beautiful server racks found a new home here and elsewhere in town. :P 183 servers were found in another pallet that ranged from HPE Apollo, Dell EMC, Cisco USC, IBM Power Systems. :shock:

This time 2005 I would have been wiring up these systems in the home with out a second thought. But this isn't 2005 its late 2017 and my mission statement and goal has changed drastically. I am very happy to say 173 of these servers from new to one years old found a new home! :P I simply could not afford to keep these systems powered up 24.7.365.

But I did keep a few of the brand new units for myself for several long term projects in the works! :mrgreen:
PROJECT TITAN - BACKUP REFRIGERATION: SMALL IS GREAT
The primary reason I went to this auction was to obtain some of the new and next to new coolers, freezer, and small fridges. That goal was met on that day as I walked away with four of these brand new Master Chef 1.6 cubic foot (45 liters) mini fridges. :D This little guy comes in at 20 1/16" H x 17 5/16" W x 18 1/2" D @32 lbs 10 oz.

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As seen these units just sip power and the Energy Star rating has them at the lowest range for such an appliance. The placard indicates the device is rated to consume 207 KWH per year. Based on my initial test and validating from the GEM its actually lower! :shock:

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Since I really didn't need four of these mini bar fridges the other two have been sold to a new home. The primary goal of these two fridges are for back up and to store medical supplies. This model has the option to configure the door from left to right and vice versa.

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This unit comes with a removable grill to allow larger items, ice tray, and freezer compartment.

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The single thermostat resides in the back of the unit and based on the default setting of 4. The fridge was very cold and well within the range I expected while balancing energy consumption.

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The little freezer compartment is large enough for a ice tray, ice cream, T-Bones, etc. To save floor space I plan on stacking the two together on top of one another. Given the feet are not rubber I'll need to add a plate cover to ensure it doesn't mar the bottom fridge and keep it balanced.

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While plugged in these mini fridges are extremely quite unlike the GE fridge up stairs! I swear its like listening to a freaking giant compressor in automotive shop. :evil: If that GE fridge wasn't so efficient I would have thrown that bloody thing out the door by now. In the future its on the road map to be replaced with a much quieter one.

Regardless, the plan was to have a few back up units in case of a failure so having these two units will fit that need very well. At the moment I still need to run a dedicate 120 VAC circuit for these units and have them connected to the secondary GEM for long term monitoring. I hope to complete that wiring once the other systems are in place.
PROJECT TITAN - HELPING THOSE WHO NEED IT: HURRICANE VICTIMS
Its been a very long road in many aspects of the projects on the go. But as other say patience pays off and waiting for those auctions not only sped up my time line for back up refrigeration. But also enabled me to make a tidy profit to fund other long term projects slated for 2018.

One of the most rewarding aspects of winning some of these large auctions was having the ability to send money to those impacted by hurricane Irma that reside in Texas, Florida, and Portia Rico. There are always someone who has less and someone who needs help. Those who purchased items such as carafes, chairs, servers, etc should know the bulk of the funds went toward helping others! :P

Every time you have coffee, tea, sit down, or play on that server. Know your generosity went toward helping someone thousands of miles away to get back on their feet!
Teken . . .

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Teken
Posts: 2700
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: The Bad Lands

Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Sun Dec 10, 2017 6:18 pm

2017 WINTER COMES - THE DARK DAYS: WINDOW INSULATION FILM
December 10, 2017 old man winter is upon us all in the GWN as such the annual tradition of installing window barriers through out the home is the task at hand. :roll: Last year I pulled an epic fail and decided to try out a new in house brand from Home Depot.

Their Uber Hause brand was being discounted through our utility as part of the *Power Smart* program. As I recall one of the reasons I went that route was that the window film was cheaper and also offered more linear foot of material.

As noted in this old thread entry it turned out to be a epic fail as it was when I used the *Dollar Store* brand nine years ago!! :cry: :oops: (Add URL)

You would figure I would have learned my lesson by simply using what has been proven and tested in my home.

The adage learn from your mistakes and don't repeat them is something I continue to be reminded. :| :evil:

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This year true to form the Canadian RCR branded window film was purchased and not any of that cheap sh^t from American, China, Mexico. :|

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What separates great from a sh^t product is the window film and the double sided tape. Cheaper branded window film will not shrink and hold its shape over the long run. The idea is when you place a hair dryer to the film it will shrink and will literally become as clear as glass but offer a vapor barrier from the inside to the first plate of glass.

This reduces the amount of sweating, moisture, and freezing.

Next is the double sided tape cheaper tape will not hold or even worse when it comes time to remove said tape it simply will not come off. Thus leaving you with a gluey and sticky mess that literally takes weeks to remove with what ever tool or solvent you think will help! :cry:

The adage about paying now or paying later is true in this case . . .

You either pay more up front for a high quality window film or you will pay in the form of sweat equity and labor to remove said product later. Never mind the window film doesn't even operate as expected and starts to unravel. :shock:

This package is intended to cover the double patio doors.

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This year there wasn't a Energy Smart discount when I purchased the film so will need to recoup some of that money next year. Normally I remove all of the window film especially for any windows that can be opened to allow natural passive cooling / venting.

But last year I decided to leave a few windows I knew would have little impact to the passive cooling / venting program I had going on. Thus those window film have paid for themselves for many seasons and investing a few dollars this year balances out that out of pocket cost(s).

I purchased two box's of 64" X 168" which cover four windows each in my home. The spare box will be kept on hand for next season and in case I feel compelled to remove the existing window film from the past years.

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Having spoken to a few good old folks in the farming community the bulk of them indicate the above average weather seen in the GWN means a longer and colder winter on January and beyond. :cry:

The dark days are upon us all and day light max's out at 4~6 hours per day.

Waking up in the dark and coming back at the end of the day in the dark is something that is pretty hard for most folks to get used to when first coming here. It doesn't personally bother me but when there are outdoor chores its hella pain in the ass wearing a head lamp all the time.

Office window that has the RCR window film applied to the frame assembly. No sweating or ice build up yet given the mild temperatures seen here.

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My daughters bedroom with out the RCR window film applied to the frame assembly. :| Lots of sweating and moisture build up.

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Teken . . .

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Teken
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Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Wed Dec 13, 2017 5:42 pm

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Add Blah . . .
Teken . . .

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Teken
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Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
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Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Thu Dec 21, 2017 4:06 pm

PROJECT TITAN - WEATHER FLOW: WEATHER 34 INTEGRATION
I've met a new friend who is participating in the development process for the Weather Flow Air & Sky weather system. He is the developer for this beautiful PHP web based application which you see below. In the new year both of us plan on developing this new platform to offer even more features and capabilities. :P

The beauty of this weather display is the mix of analog and digital information in one window pane.

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The system has both light and dark modes. I prefer the dark mode as it just looks crazy sexy!

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Some of the fantastic extra's this weather display offers is AQI (Air Quality Index). The system is linked to a local government station in my city to provide real time metrics of the air quality from ozone, nitro, sulfur dioxide, etc.

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The system will also indicate if and when the Aurora is visible in my region. One of the most impressive elements is being alerted to Geo Electromagnetic Storms! From time to time depending upon where you reside on the planet a solar flair or sun burst will happen and can impact you and the electronics in and around the home.

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The system is capable of alerting a person when an earth quake is present and the distance from your location. I am working with the developer to refine the geo location to my specific area for more relevant threat management.

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The system is capable of informing the user the moon phase and level of brightness. One of most fantastic elements I like is seeing the estimated day light vs darkness. The system also indicates when sun set vs sun rise is expected in my specific location.

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Of the new features I really look forward to using is the Meteor Shower notification. :D I can't say given living in the city is going to help me at this point. But the plan is to plan ahead and drive outside of the city limits to observe said meteor showers if and when they are scheduled to happen. :lol:

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The system also offers a great UV Index chart to help determine safe to hazardous levels of UV.

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The system offers three types of weather forecasts which are tiled similar to what is seen below.

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ITS FREAKING COLD OUT HERE:
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Teken . . .

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Teken
Posts: 2700
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
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Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Thu Dec 21, 2017 5:51 pm

PROJECT TITAN - DASH BOX: WEATHER FLOW INTEGRATION
December 22, 2017 Ben at Brultech has taken the first steps in helping me integrate the Weather Flow Air & Sky weather system into the Dash Box. :mrgreen: This is very much a first pass as to how the weather module reacts in the Alpha / Beta firmware. As of this writing the basic metrics of temperature, pressure, and humidity are present.

The team is re-writing the entire platform which supports the weather module. Our discussions have revolved around how to best support the widest audience from basic to advanced users. For some the weather module may not be something they consider important or relevant so in those cases the *Open Weather Map* weather module is more than fine.

I've stressed the importance of keeping this module in place for everyone as it does offer a reference base line for me and many others. For me the station which is being referenced is the local airport in my city.

The next step was having the ability to have more local weather metrics which a broader audience could and do use. The natural integration with Weather Underground which millions use to track and display their PWS data was a natural choice.

In both cases, the Open Weather Map & Weather Underground are solely dependent upon having Internet connection and reaching the cloud hosted portal services. :|

This is why I have pushed the team to support a local weather PWS via Weather Flows UDP API which does not rely on the Internet or cloud hosted portal service. :P As noted up above this is the very first pass and the end goal is to have all the metrics from temperature, humidity, pressure, wind, solar radiation, brightness, UV, etc supported.

Below is a image capture from my silver test Dash Box. As seen below the first weather module labeled *Airport Weather* is provided by the Open Weather Map portal services. I've asked the team to allow the module to be renamed hence why it has a custom name. In the future it will also support having the ability to select a custom image. :ugeek:

Below that are the two Weather Flow Air systems. The top one is from my Beta station and the one below that is the final production unit being shipped to the public.

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Image capture from the production Air unit show casing the temperature within the Dash Box (DB).

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Image capture from the production Air unit show casing the humidity within the Dash Box (DB).

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Image capture from the production Air unit show casing the pressure within the Dash Box (DB).

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PROJECT TITAN - DASH BOX: WEATHER FLOW COMPARISON
Having this new found capability allows me to track development changes in the hardware and software for the Weather Flow team. Having two Air stations on site enables me to have a base reference to which I can compare to other systems in the home. Since Ben enabled the ability to compare three different channels at a time in the channels tab this has made auditing and comparisons very easy to do. :P

December 21, 2017 was the first official launch of the Weather Flow integration just in time to track the massive arctic cold front headed my way.

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December 22, 2017 temperatures are extremely mild before the storm.

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December 23, 2017

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December 24, 2017 the arctic cold front has just arrived and the mercury has started to plunge. With it comes biting windchill that break -40'C ~ -50'C!! :cry: :evil:

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December 25, 2017

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December 26, 2017

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December 27, 2017

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December 28, 2017

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December 29, 2017

Had a network outage which interrupted the Weather Flow UDP broadcast. :cry:

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December 30, 2017

Didn't realize until this day the UDP broadcast wasn't being captured. Hoping to back fill the data by using the Weather Flow & Weather Underground metrics captured for these two days.

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December 31, 2017

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Teken . . .

My ongoing projects thread: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... ?f=2&t=929
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Teken
Posts: 2700
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: The Bad Lands

Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Wed Dec 27, 2017 9:31 am

PROJECT TITAN - ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING: WINTER 2017 IN THE BAD LANDS
The culmination of many years of projects have started to gel together finally. As of this writing there are no less than eight systems which track, monitor, and record the environmental's in and around the home. I have many cloud based services which connect to government and high accuracy weather stations around the city and province. All of them are programmed to send out alerts defined by me which I feel are important to know about.

These systems push the alerts to all family members via cellular, tablets, personal computers, and force protection systems.

Below is one such weather system which is provided by the Government of Canada which is called Environment Canada Alert Me.

On this day Environment Canada released several hazard alerts for my area indicating a Arctic cold front would be present for the entire X-MAS season. :| As seen below the mercury will hover during the day around -25'C and below. In the evening it will plunge down and hover below -31'C with a bone chilling (windchill) that will break -40 ~ -50'C?!?!? :shock: :?

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This cold front will remain for the next 4~5 days per this alert message. :roll:

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Awoke to seeing this on the alert system indicating the temperature was -30'C before the windchill!!

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Drilling in deeper the next few hours will hold steady at -30 ~ -31'C. :| Windchill of -40'C that will make you snap like a twig in under 60 seconds.

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The darkest colored region indicates the coldest zones as of this writing. I am located in that white dotted red area. Only six more months of this arctic weather to do go . . . :roll:

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The ISY Series Controllers weather module affirms the very same.

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PROJECT TITAN - ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING: FORCE PROTECTION SYSTEMS
The primary environmental's are monitored by the guardian security alarm system in my home. The home is embedded with 1 wire sensors which monitor every room, floor, zone, sector for out of band readings which could happen due to HVAC failure to fire condition.

As seen below on December 24, 2017 X-MAS eve the system indicates the cold front is headed my way as the temperatures are plunging down to sub -26'C.

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December 26, 2017 Boxing Day I awoke to see the system indicating -29.50'C. Windchill has broke -50'C in my area anyone outside not properly clothed will be dead in under 120 seconds. :|

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December 27, 2017 the guardian system indicates the mercury is still below -31.5'C. Windchill continues to hover around -40'C ~ -45'C. :shock:

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PROJECT TITAN - ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING: BRULTECH 1 WIRE SYSTEM
The two Brultech GEM's offers me yet another layer of environmental monitoring via its sixteen 1 wire sensor arrays. The primary role for this system is to monitor areas which impact the homes electrical consumption while balancing home comfort.

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PROJECT TITAN - ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING: WEATHER FLOW SYSTEM
With the deployment of the Weather Flow Air & Sky system this has been another invaluable tool which can help me track, monitor, and recall historic events that impact my energy consumption and threat management while outdoors. Once fully deployed the Air & Sky will provide real time micro climate data to me and the systems in my home.

Weather Flow Beta station temperatures as of December 27, 2017.

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Weather Flow Production temperatures as of December 27, 2017. Oh its not cold out here in the Bad Lands at all with a windchill of -45'C ~ -50'C. :roll: :?

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PROJECT TITAN - ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING: AUTELIS 1 WIRE SYSTEM
The Autelis 1 Wire system is linked to the ISY Series Controller and the Guardian Watch Monitor System. There are 64 sensor arrays embedded through out the home and property to track zones of interest and concern to me.

The two Autelis Bridge systems primary role is to monitor infrastructure zones while offering an extra measure of fail over for the other two systems. As seen here there is a lot of overlap between the Autelis, GEM, Guardian Systems.

Should there ever be a failure the other two systems will pick up the slack and allow me to continue to track and monitor the environment. As of this writing the three systems are deployed in such a way that all three systems must agree before a critical system is brought off line.

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Teken . . .

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Teken
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Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Wed Dec 27, 2017 11:12 pm

HARDWARE MEMORY READER - UGREEN: BEST $7.00 READER EVER???
As 2017 comes to a final close I've had several projects on the go that were literally halted due to the fact none of the memory card readers I had on hand worked?!? :? Less to say a memory card reader is one of those things you either use all the time in a short period of time or never at all once done. :lol:

I had four projects where having the ability to read and write to a Micro SD was required. Out of no where every card reader I had for more than eight years literally stopped working! I must have tried these readers on 25 computer systems in the home to no avail. :| At that point it was clear to me it wasn't the computers but a hardware failure ~ How I don't know. :shock:

At this point I decided to let my fingers do the walking on the Internet to see what kind of hardware was out there that could meet my needs. I already knew a USB 3.0 reader was the only hardware that would be considered because this would cut transfer times from hours to minutes when moving Gigabytes of data.

The hardware had to balance price vs value, small form factor, and offer high quality build for long service life.

After ten minutes of surfing I stumbled upon this uGreen multi card reader that has tons of five star reviews from Amazon, Ebay, etc. I've never heard of the company uGreen before so decided to do a little more research on the products and performance of such.

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Thirty minutes of reading I decided why not take a chance on this *No Name* uGreen brand. :lol: I was a little surprised to find this hardware ranged in price from $7~35.00 USD?? :? Depending upon where you shopped or looked at so for me I decided it wasn't worth the effort and time to buy something that might end up being a clone / fake copy. So I did more research and found the actual uGreen company was selling direct to the public via AliExpress.

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This multi reader covers all the most common Micro & SD card formats I will ever see or use in my home.

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This hardware supports memory cards with a capacity 256 GB and a theoretical transfer rate of 5 Gbps.

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As noted up above I was shocked to all hell to find out the OEM uGreen mutli card reader was selling for $7.XX CDN with free shipping direct to Canada??? :shock: :o You didn't have to ask me twice I promptly issued the $7.XX Canadian via Pay Pal and four weeks later this is what arrived.

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Cracking open the box enclosed the uGreen multi reader in a opaque plastic bag.

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The device comes with a (approx) six inch cord that mates the USB 3.0 connector to the main housing.

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The entire card reader is completely sealed with zero seems or penetration points. The plastic case feels very solid the fit and finish of the hardware was outstanding to say the least. I honestly can't believe this device cost me only $7.00 Canadian with FREE shipping direct from China!! :o

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The other end of the USB 3.0 terminal was of equal quality and inserted into every computer system in my home with out issue. .

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Every Windows & Linux system detected the card reader with out issue and promptly appeared as an external drive

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The uGreen card reader will replace these units which I stated early on either never worked or stopped operating with out any signs prior to its failure?? The SanDisk reader was brand new and came with a 128 GB Micro SD that was used to replace a failed Samsung card. :| :evil: The SanDisk SD reader for what ever reason also didn't show up in the systems I inserted them into??

The super large white reader here is actually from the *Dollar Store*! :lol: :mrgreen: I bought this reader in a pinch while off site for a enterprise deployment. As I recall we needed a reader and no one had one on hand and most of the places in that area were closed. Of course it popped into my head there was a local Dollar Store nearby so luck would have it they had this on hand and it saved my bacon!!

Fast forward more than eight years later it just stopped working??? :cry:

Anyways, there were ten Samnsung SD card readers which came with their respective memory and to my shock and amazement nine of them were defective!!! I have to take a few moments to state that Samsung has the worst customer service and warranty I have ever dealt with.

The company is sh^t, the products are pure sh^t, and the so called customer service they offer is utter sh^t!!! :x :| Given the top CEO was just convicted of bribery, lying, and ten other crimes. It doesn't surprise me in the least from the top down all of the employees in this sh^t company have no business ethics, morals, or the ability to do the right thing.

One needs only do a quick Google about how they deal with warranty claims for their memory cards. The cards I purchased stated in *Writing* 10 year warranty. Not 30 days, not 1 year, never mind NO WARRANTY.

Yet these f^cken criminals will literally tell the consumer there is zero warranty on their products!

AVOID SAMSUNG MEMORY LIKE THE PLAGUE BECAUSE THEY WILL NOT HELP YOU IF AND WHEN THE CARD FAILS.

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Back on point: As of this writing I have transferred six terabytes of data using this uGreen reader. If this device holds up over the next twelve months of hard use I will be buying a couple more for my tool case and extra on hand.

For now the product works as expected and for $7.00 it has to be hands down the best USB 3.0 reader on the market.
Teken . . .

My ongoing projects thread: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... ?f=2&t=929
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Teken
Posts: 2700
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: The Bad Lands

Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Sun Dec 31, 2017 2:42 pm

THE ARCTIC COLD FRONT 2017 - BREAKING -50'C: COLD? WHAT COLD?!?
As of this writing since December 24th 2017 a heavy arctic cold front has come over the entire region of our Province. Daily mean averages hover at -26'C for the day time highs depending upon where you're in the city.

Night time temperatures have plummeted to -35'C before the windchill . . . :?

Extremely high winds of 45~65 KMS in the open plains are often seen along with complete white outs which makes visibility near impossible at two feet away. :|

It seems no matter what year it is there is at least one thing that drives me outside to do something incredibly stupid for hours on end. As always its when the mercury has dropped to sub thirties this is when the chores need to be done.

To get ready for the eight hours outside the alert system indicated the current conditions as these.

December 30, 2017 at 6:53 AM the system indicates the outside temperature is -33'C before the wind. With the windchill factored in the temperature is -44'C.

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Checking the alert message it indicates windchill will be -40'C ~ -50'C :shock:

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As always planning ahead its best to get a general idea of how the rest of the day will be. But of course there is going to be no relief and by 10:00 AM it will only be two degree's warmer. I guess warmer is relative given the windchill is still going to hover around -41'C while I'm standing out there like an idiot!! :twisted:

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Might as well check to see what the guardian system indicates the outside temperatures are. It's only -32'C before the wind so not bad

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Asked the girl friend to snap this photo while I was outside and enroute to the work site. Great instead of getting warmer its getting colder am I ever lucky eh?? :cry:

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Enroute and the vehicle indicates the outside temperature is still -33'C.

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The two system has a *Follow Me* feature where it tracks my present location to calculate the temperature. Oh its only -34.7'C before the windchill and with its -46'C :|

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As I'm standing here pounding away at this frozen assembly its -35'C with a windchill of -47'C but its sunny!! :lol:

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Six hours outside in this project and blew a hammer and dead blow. This is what's left of the dead blow the top shattered into a dozen pieces all over the snow. All that was left is the handle thank God my safety glasses were on. :o The hammers claw sheared clean off but had to leave it on site for the other guys to use.

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Teken . . .

My ongoing projects thread: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... ?f=2&t=929
Buy me a cup of coffee: https://www.paypal.me/Teken https://gfinotify.com/ Discount Code: PC10
Teken
Posts: 2700
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: The Bad Lands

Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Mon Jan 01, 2018 1:42 pm

THE ARCTIC COLD FRONT 2017 - NO RELIEF YET: 14 HOURS SPENT OUTSIDE
After a grueling eight hours in -47'C temperatures trying to fix a communications tower the previous day hundreds of miles away from home.

It didn't take long for me to lay head to pillow and be out like a light. :cry:

No sooner was I out like a light a massive exploding crack was heard through out the home?!? :| :shock: :? The security alarm system went off and every light in the house was turned full on. Julie U.S. streamed out several vocal message that impact was detected in three zones along with a unknown condition??? :evil:

Checking the security alarm panel logs indicated there was a extremely brief impact vibration sound detected in three zones. None of the physical layers of the home were breached and the system indicated all zones were closed and secure.

Walking around the home I could not see or find anything wrong from the inside. Peering outside with all the perimeter lighting on I didn't see a thing. :? At 3:00 AM the system indicates the outside temperature are still -32'C and with the windchill its -44'C.

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The rest of the day will continue to be in the sub thirties with windchill of -43'C.

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Alert message remains the same in noting extreme windchill is present at 8:22 AM.

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The other systems confirm the balmy weather is here to stay for today,

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Follow Me tracking indicates the very same at 3:01 AM

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Global tracking affirms the very same at 3:01 AM :roll:

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Changing the global tracking to a different view at 8:22 AM its almost comical to see the bar graph stops at -30'C!!! Yet the temperatures are below that level so I guess it doesn't really matter at that point you know its just f^cken cold!! :lol:

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Guardian system at 3:02 AM affirms on site the temperatures are -32'C.

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Five hours later the system indicates at 8:23 AM its still -32'C

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By nine something in the morning the Weather Flow and other systems indicate its only warmed up by 0.4 degree's in my area. While the airport still shows its still -32'C.

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Zoomed into the charts on the Dash Box just to see a quick over view of the different zones. I am extremely pleased to see the Weather Flow system is very accurate and tracks well with other certified systems I have in place.

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The last time I heard such an explosion the sound came from the windows expanding from the extreme cold. This photo doesn't do justice to how thick and high the ice build up is on the windows.

That's four inches of solid ice . . . :?

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After the sun rose I decided it was a good idea to go outside for a perimeter check. One of the vibration sensors indicated it was located on the walkway zone.

The entire walkway separated 1/8" from wall . . . :?

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Coming along the side of the home I found one of the vents frozen shut. :| When Julie U.S. announced a unknown condition. After reviewing the logs it was tied to the this exterior vent flap. This summer I installed a pressure and micro switch in this housing to monitor for this exact condition.

Obviously I made the mistake of selecting *Unknown Condition* instead of the vent being restricted and blocked. I will be creating the proper voice announcement for this problem issue in the next day or to. :oops:

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As I made my way toward the back of the home I saw random objects on the snow?!? Looking more closely it was stucco on the ground!?! :?

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As I looked up seven hells a massive crack on the side of the house!!

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Standing back that massive crack and pop I heard in the house at 3:00 AM was this mounting plate that warped and pulled away from the house. The end looks to have warped more than 1.25" from its straight edge.

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Looking straight down the beam you can see the huge taper that is present now. Hey Mother Nature & Old Man Winter ~ F^ck You!!! :evil: That incredible thundering snap and bang was just unbelievable so here's what caused that sound.

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Teken . . .

My ongoing projects thread: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... ?f=2&t=929
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Teken
Posts: 2700
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: The Bad Lands

Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Mon Jan 01, 2018 6:54 pm

All of this reminds me of that famous cartoon image that's been floating around the Internet. :mrgreen: :lol: :shock:
Wife on the phone with husband:

Wife: I don't know what to do. Its so cold and the car doesn't turn on. The dashboard is showing a picture of a man taking a sh^t.

Come quickly!!

Husband: What?!?! Can you send me a photo??

Wife: Sure here it is ->
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When people tell me its cold where they live I always burst out and laugh. :lol: Where I live its routinely colder if not colder than the North Pole, Ant Arctic, North West Territories, etc. After 14 long hours outside the neighbor came knocking on my door. I was literally beat up, frozen, and had very little energones left.

He says none of the sinks, toilets, and tubs will drain properly. :? :roll:

I already know the reason and the answer and if you can't tell what the hell you're looking at. That massive blob is ice!!! That ice blob is for the vent stack to the plumbing to allow air behind water so the above appliances can drain properly.

That ice blob is more than 8 inches in diameter surrounding the vent stack. :| People don't know what cold is until they come to my part of Canada, period.

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For reference sake here is a map of one of my friends who lives 817 KMS from the North Pole.

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He always laughs at me saying given my location we endure almost the same extreme cold weather. People have told me its because of the air currents blah blah. I honestly don't know why it gets this cold for such a long period of time.

But here's a quick snap shot of my friends location which is very close to what I am seeing here which is thousands of KMS away from him.

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Daily break down for the remainder of the week for him and his family.

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Teken . . .

My ongoing projects thread: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... ?f=2&t=929
Buy me a cup of coffee: https://www.paypal.me/Teken https://gfinotify.com/ Discount Code: PC10
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