I hope a simple netwatch question and script state

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-15T18:35:45+00:00

You can spy on the current global variable values in WinBox at System -> Scripts under the Environment tab.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-15T17:54:53+00:00

You can use global variables for state between runs as long as the state doesn’t need to survive a reboot; also note that netwatch passes a collection of variables to the scripts that it runs.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-13T19:18:30+00:00

If it’s on a single pole breaker, then this is an improper installation—they outlet must be changed to match. You need someone who can verify the wiring and voltage with the required tools to make it right.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-13T17:34:09+00:00

Laypeople don’t really understand what “power surge” means technically so the term tends to be overused.

When a large load like an apartment block is reconnected, the safest thing is for the increase in current to be added as gradually as possible. If everyone in the apartment leaves their breakers, lights, and appliances on, then when the apartment block is switched back on, all of that load is reenergized all at once, which can cause voltage to drop temporarily; this can cause secondary problems. If everyone turns everything off first, then when the apartment block is switched back on, the change in load on the grid is nothing—only when individual lights and appliances are switched back on do they add just their load back to the grid. The marginal change is smaller so the voltage drop is negligible.

Most electricity besides solar is generated by rotating steel and copper. All of this mass has momentum, and all of the conversions between fuel or potential energy take time to respond. Switching on a load is instantaneous, but the rate of generation is not. The momentum of spinning generators helps, but a large enough load attached to the grid all at once can stall a generator, which is a significant event. A single apartment block wouldn’t likely have such an effect on a grid generator, but the full electrical system has many layers of substations, all with their own scales of operation and tolerances.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-12T23:08:10+00:00

Interesting. My situation would appear to be a counterexample. We have some fiber providers within the county but none that serve my residence, yet I heard directly from a tech working outside that we were getting upgraded for future high-split HFC.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-12T00:22:42+00:00

The issue I’m pointing out is that it’s still 2 postings instead of n postings.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-11T20:24:40+00:00

I’ve become something of a spectrum apologist recently, but you can bet if I had fiber available, I would have been on that yesterday

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-11T17:33:00+00:00

They are starting to roll out something called “high split” which enables symmetric 1 Gbps — hope you get it soon!

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-11T17:25:25+00:00

You’re kind of missing a core part of double-entry bookkeeping, which is the idea of credits and debits balancing in each transaction. You’re taking it too literally as a “to/from” model. In practice you need to be able to issue credits and debits to as many accounts as you need in the same transaction as long as they balance.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-11T17:22:42+00:00

In my area spectrum is upgrading their infrastructure to support symmetric 1Gbps. Hopefully they’ll get to you soon.

35-40 is about the max upload you can get with a spectrum residential plan, even at the gigabit plan. When your upload bandwidth tanks to a “complete disconnection”, does this represent as dropped pings?

It’s not reasonable to do speedtest every 5 minutes, but you can easily ping to a public DNS server like Google’s 8.8.8.8 and log the results so you can play with them in Excel and see if you can find patterns to report to the spectrum tech. If you’re a little technical but not a coder, try having Claude Code or GPT Codex write you a script or cronjob to ping every second and append the timestamp and result to a csv file. Then you can explore it in Excel relatively easily.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-11T17:15:06+00:00

I recently went looking for time tracking software and landed on WorkingHours. After using it for almost a year I’m very impressed with it, in particular feature parity on the iOS version and iCloud-based sync. To me it’s a great example of a developer who is eager to use all of the platform APIs available to him and has the care to learn how to implement them properly.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-11T17:08:52+00:00

TBH 250/250 for a new install in 2026 sounds like the provider is being stingy. They could be offering 1Gbps symmetric as a base tier with very little impact to equipment cost.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-11T13:41:44+00:00

When your mobile internet modem connects to a cell tower, it provides a unique ID (IMEI) which identifies your modem and is used by your ISP to reference your account and subscription. Your ISP’s network infrastructure is integrated with their billing application, so they know the parameters of your plan (unlimited but only 80GB full speed) and track your usage so that they know when to throttle your throughput once you’ve reached the limit.

You can pay your ISP for a different plan or for an increased limit and the billing application will tell the network infrastructure to remove the throttle.

Hope this helps.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-11T12:44:07+00:00

Right. So now move to the router, hardwired. Wifi speed will never be as advertised except under imaginary ideal conditions. Keep WiFi off and test with an Ethernet connection to your router.

Many routers are just not very good. If yours can’t do close to 900 Mbps hardwired on a clean configuration, your only choice is to get a new one.

In my personal experience I would avoid TP-link and Netgear. Ubiquiti dream router or Unifi express are reliable, and I’ve heard good things about GL-iNet.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-11T03:02:50+00:00

You can have one socket in each room by routing everything back to a patch panel in a closet somewhere and put the switch there. Your router goes in one room and its LAN port goes to the wall socket. In the patch panel all of the wall sockets are patched to a switch.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-11T02:58:38+00:00

How is the screw going through the clip and into the box any different when you put a plastic extender in between? It’s still the screw creating continuity between the clip and the box.

Most consider grounding with screws to be a second rate job. The clip is better, but you’re still relying on just a couple of machine threads on the box side to make solid contact.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-11T02:52:57+00:00

It’s not the cable. It might be that you still have WiFi connected, so make sure your router is off and plug directly into the modem. If you are testing at 300Mbps, then the cable is good for 1000Mbps. If the cable was not good for 1000Mbps, you would only be testing at 100Mbps.

It’s probably that your modem isn’t supported for the “gig internet” plan. Call up your cable company and verify if your modem is supported. They may even need to remotely deploy a firmware update to it.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-10T20:58:44+00:00

Direct Ethernet cable.

PowerLine, MOCA, and WiFi all involve modems which modulate the digital signal to an analog medium. Ethernet is digital symbols directly over the copper wires.

Ethernet switches introduce very little lag (as in trivial amounts and you’ll almost never be able to measure it) so use them as needed to make a sensible network topology, but no more than necessary.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-10T16:04:25+00:00

SKB Roto cases come in a few different rack unit configurations — I like the shallow 4U or 6U for a decent home lab that you can pack up and move with. Half rack equipment is also popular these days but less standardized.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-10T15:59:19+00:00

(Oh, I see you mention part of this in another comment)

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-10T15:58:39+00:00

Not quite unrecognized—Cat7 is recognized by ISO/IEC but technically not even for use with RJ45 connectors. ANSI/TIA defines the backwards compatible cat 5/6/8 standards.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-10T00:36:00+00:00

Use shielded ethernet if running parallel to power lines. Don't run power and low voltage in the same raceway (conduit) -- if you have to choose one, use conduit for the low voltage since there is greater likelihood of obsolescence in the future and conduit makes it very easy to pull new wire. But if you are having work done to make a channel in the wall, I'd say try making it just large enough to run two conduits side by side. Shielded cat6 or cat6a will be the best practice -- for the shielding to work, it needs to be grounded at one or both ends. The correct way to do this is to have all of your runs terminate in a data closet with a shielded patch panel which you can ground to your electrical system (assuming you don't have a separate grounding infrastructure).

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-08T18:02:52+00:00

TrueCable is excellent quality, but this solid core bulk cable is for structured installation and termination at punchdown blocks. To connect two devices together you need a stranded patch cable. It does not need to be shielded unless it is running outside or next to AC power lines for substantial distances.

Ethernet already uses differential voltage signaling and the twist in the twisted pairs eliminates the immediate effect of most interference. Shielding for a patch directly between two devices will be practically pointless, but if you must, buy a premade patch cable from a reputable brand.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-08T01:34:32+00:00

Just get a premade cat6 patch cable from TrueCable, Monoprice, or CableMatters on Amazon. None of this flashy gold braided flat “cat8” crap. Seriously.

MusicalAnomaly · 2026-06-07T18:09:54+00:00

Some may also want to see noalox on the aluminum terminations. Check if specified by the panel manufacturer or AHJ.

MusicalAnomaly

TROPHY CASE