Advice The Home Improvement/Automation Thread

[Syrup Beaver]

I don’t think there’s any people left in NYC.

Driving through in a few weeks, so I’ll confirm, but it seems like every single one moved to Tennessee.

 

[Valve1138]

NYC is gross.

 

[Mikeawesome]

My brother actually has developmental disorder (retarded) from eating paint chips on our 1940s house.

Sounds like he was already retarded

 

[ZRH]

So you both ate them though, rite?!?!

I was... 8 when he was born so no.

 

[Syrup Beaver]

Sounds like he was already retarded

You haven’t lived until you’ve tried paint chips.

On a poached egg, there’s nothing like it.

 

[ZRH]

Sounds like he was already retarded

The paint was chipping in spots especially in the windows which were toddler height. He's also autistic but coincidence really.

 

[Syrup Beaver]

The paint was chipping in spots especially in the windows which were toddler height. He's also autistic but coincidence really.

I’m also autistic……..hmmm

 

[gee]

Got the quote back from the cable company for cable internet. I figured "oh, they gotta run about 150 feet from the road to the house, they'll charge me an extra 50 bucks for that over the usual distance they charge, whatever..."

NOPE. They want me to pay $4700 before taxes to run ~500 feet of cable up my road. Even though my road is in their service area map. and they took a bunch of government money to build out the area and declare 100% high speed coverage.

Forwarded over the quote to the provincial agency to see what happens, and ordered a starlink dish in the meantime :/

 

[ZRH]

Got the quote back from the cable company for cable internet. I figured "oh, they gotta run about 150 feet from the road to the house, they'll charge me an extra 50 bucks for that over the usual distance they charge, whatever..."

NOPE. They want me to pay $4700 before taxes to run ~500 feet of cable up my road. Even though my road is in their service area map. and they took a bunch of government money to build out the area and declare 100% high speed coverage.

Forwarded over the quote to the provincial agency to see what happens, and ordered a starlink dish in the meantime :/

Yeah I only had dialup till 2001 because line ended at the corner.

 

[Domon]

Got the quote back from the cable company for cable internet. I figured "oh, they gotta run about 150 feet from the road to the house, they'll charge me an extra 50 bucks for that over the usual distance they charge, whatever..."

NOPE. They want me to pay $4700 before taxes to run ~500 feet of cable up my road. Even though my road is in their service area map. and they took a bunch of government money to build out the area and declare 100% high speed coverage.

Forwarded over the quote to the provincial agency to see what happens, and ordered a starlink dish in the meantime :/

Just trench it yourself and have the demarc at the road. Or drop a directional wifi or microwave link at the road and beam it up to the house.

Both will be cheaper than the starlink equipment buy

 

[Valve1138]

Put a small shed by the road, solar power it, then do a PTP wifi link back to the house.

Problem solved.

 

[fly]

Just trench it yourself and have the demarc at the road. Or drop a directional wifi or microwave link at the road and beam it up to the house.

Both will be cheaper than the starlink equipment buy

That's all going to be cheaper than $600?

 

[gee]

The problem isn't my driveway, it's the road in front of my house.

Nobody else on the road has cable TV or cable internet, there's only power and telephone infrastructure on the poles. So they have to run cable from the top of the road to the pole in front of my house.

 

[Domon]

The problem isn't my driveway, it's the road in front of my house.

Nobody else on the road has cable TV or cable internet, there's only power and telephone infrastructure on the poles. So they have to run cable from the top of the road to the pole in front of my house.

Make a deal with whatever neighbor is closest and run your own WISP for the neighborhood?

 

[gee]

Yeah, every ISP here forbids reselling their internet or using it for commercial purposes, unless you become a reseller for $toomuch. Landlords here have got in shit for sharing free internet across multiple apartments.

Anyway, I held off ordering starlink last night until I made absolutely sure I can make it work - figuring out what angle I gotta mount the thing at and if I need to roof mount or wall mount it and all that other bullshit. In the meantime, a friend offered up a free v1 starlink dishy thingy they had sitting on a box. Gonna give that a try for the short term.

 

[Valve1138]

Yeah, every ISP here forbids reselling their internet or using it for commercial purposes, unless you become a reseller for $toomuch. Landlords here have got in shit for sharing free internet across multiple apartments.

Anyway, I held off ordering starlink last night until I made absolutely sure I can make it work - figuring out what angle I gotta mount the thing at and if I need to roof mount or wall mount it and all that other bullshit. In the meantime, a friend offered up a free v1 starlink dishy thingy they had sitting on a box. Gonna give that a try for the short term.

You guys have anything like 5G home internet available?

It’s gaining popularity down this way.

 

[Jehannum]

Yeah, every ISP here forbids reselling their internet or using it for commercial purposes, unless you become a reseller for $toomuch. Landlords here have got in shit for sharing free internet across multiple apartments.

Anyway, I held off ordering starlink last night until I made absolutely sure I can make it work - figuring out what angle I gotta mount the thing at and if I need to roof mount or wall mount it and all that other bullshit. In the meantime, a friend offered up a free v1 starlink dishy thingy they had sitting on a box. Gonna give that a try for the short term.

Cablecos are gonna find themselves out of a market if they keep that bullshit up in areas with 5G and satellite access now that they're actually not terrible.

 

[fly]

Cablecos are gonna find themselves out of a market if they keep that bullshit up in areas with 5G and satellite access now that they're actually not terrible.

That's why things like Starlink exist, because the US government (and everyone else) knows that rural areas are a net loss for wired internet providers.

 

[Jehannum]

That's why things like Starlink exist, because the US government (and everyone else) knows that rural areas are a net loss for wired internet providers.

Also because the existing providers have worked to keep the markets they're in completely devoid of competition by making poles and infrastructure completely inaccessible. 5G is more of a thing for urban areas that should be served in a proper capitalist situation by a bunch of competition but in actuality are served by maybe two ISPs.

 

[gee]

You guys have anything like 5G home internet available?

It’s gaining popularity down this way.

We have it at the camper, and I'd happily bring it home and set it up here. Unfortunately it talks on a separate LTE band than cellphones, and they don't have the hardware on the towers in this area to make it work.