Friday, June 16, 2023

think and act like a rancher


When you have a ranch with countless buildings and a huge barn, there is no such thing as having too many power cords. In fact you want power cords (extension cables) of various lengths. I like my cords to be just the right length, and very often circa 25 ft work really well for powering battery chargers attaching to the vehicles.

door bell 1/4 mile away - part 3


With my plug-and-play harness made for the Shelly Plus 1 module I was so eager to get it working at the front gate. I actually wasted some time trying to use the wireless network bridge AP 1/8 mile away hoping I can avoid adding a PoE AP which will add power consumption. The signal is simply too weak down on the ground even for the iPhone to work.

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

door bell 1/4 mile away - part 2

More progress on my incremental work to improve my front gate of the ranch for expected and unexpected visitors. Since I installed the PoE remote door bell camera I am satisfied with its design and functional reliability given the challenges of being 1/4 mile from the house. I want to be able to operate the front gate from the house. I also want to keep the cost as well as power consumption down. The latter is most important as everything there relies on solar energy.

still another mini split installation - part 2

The LG 12,000 BTU heat pump is finally on hand for me to finish the installation. It is the exact same model that I chose to install for the racetrack's office. It is one that will work down to extremely low ambient during the coldest of winter here.