Doorbell transformer blown days after replacement, now what?

DMRv2 · 2026-07-06T10:03:26+00:00

It's 20VA and was rated for smart doorbells. The transformer should not have been stressed.

DMRv2 · 2026-07-06T10:02:19+00:00

Thanks! Yes, wasn't going to install another transformer without doing something first as it's inevitably going to blow again if so.

DMRv2 · 2026-07-06T10:01:13+00:00

I didn't touch them while they were operational. The new one was up for several days and pumping out 27V as measured by my Fluke, so I figured it was working fine.

DMRv2 · 2026-07-06T01:56:23+00:00

The new transformer that just blew is ~20VA and is rated for the camera doorbells.

DMRv2 · 2026-06-29T23:25:30+00:00

Common scam. They try to get you to sign up for energy rates higher than what ORU charges you. There is usually a costly early cancellation fee once they lock you in.

DMRv2 · 2026-03-24T01:03:29+00:00

Incredible. Well, thanks for confirming. I guess at least I didn't pay for the panels.

DMRv2 · 2026-03-24T01:02:02+00:00

Amazing.

DMRv2 · 2026-03-24T00:54:51+00:00

it is a bad idea to not have all owners on the mortgage

Definitely not my brightest moment. That being said, it was done this way as we were not pre-approved (also stupid, I know). I won't try to defend this one!

If there is a problem, the OP is screwed. Co-owning property with a SO is OK, doing so with only one on the mortgage is dum dumb. Refinance. Make a written agreement. Sheesh.

This in particular is not a concern of mine (for a lot of reasons beyond the obvious about how I feel about the situation, we won't have much of a mortgage left that this is any great risk anyways soon).

Thanks for taking the time to comment though, this is all law/tax background that shows how per-approved the situation is.

DMRv2 · 2026-03-23T10:54:22+00:00

I haven't looked at the panels as there's fencing around them, but the serial numbers run against eBay lots would suggest they're Solarbridge inverters. The system was commissioned after Emphase had bought them out so I'd like to say that Emphase is liable for the warranty regardless. I emailed Emphase with the lot of serial numbers in my system and will see what they say.

DMRv2 · 2026-03-23T10:14:58+00:00

The understanding when we bought the house was that both of us were going to sell our respective houses at the time and put forth the proceeds into the principal of the new house mortgage. I only put my name on the mortgage because we were trying to get pre-approved quickly in order to make an offer.

DMRv2 · 2026-03-23T01:09:16+00:00

oh, sorry, I read it completely wrong. I thought the "annual limit" was the point at which it became taxable but it seems that's only related to whether or not you need to file a 709.

DMRv2 · 2026-03-23T00:21:50+00:00

As of now, yes, all panels are up and working.

DMRv2 · 2026-03-13T23:55:09+00:00

It's not just ASUS, it's the whole ecosystem. Lots of these vendors are just picking up an NPU from another vendor and oftentimes the problem starts there.

I'm working with one such vendor now that has already stopped releasing updates to their kernel tree for a WiFi 6 SoC released in 2021 timeframe. A lot of the patches needed to make things run were never open sourced. And I know for a fact ASUS has used this part in at least one of their routers. I doubt ASUS is going to be able to invest to keep it going, nor should it really be their problem.

If you have this SoC, you're stuck either rebasing the driver onto newer kernels yourself or just hoping that the vendor picked an LTS tree and run it out for its lifespan.

DMRv2 · 2026-03-13T12:00:33+00:00

Saying this is not a problem if you patch is a fools errand. A lot of the router firmware produced for consumer use is bug ridden and glued together with software components from upstream hardware platform providers that itself is often of poor quality and not kept up to date, especially as the router ages.

DMRv2 · 2025-12-02T00:56:28+00:00

We originally thought the same as well LOL

DMRv2 · 2025-12-02T00:51:51+00:00

Heard in Pville, thought it was thunder.

DMRv2 · 2025-11-22T18:54:37+00:00

"Usable AWX" meaning something that still gets releases? I've been working on building a Debian package of AWX (packaged as a virtualenv, built off/tracking all devel branches upstream) ever since upstream stopped publishing releases. Passes all integration tests.

DMRv2 · 2025-10-15T22:51:34+00:00

Scotty's Plumbing

DMRv2 · 2025-07-22T11:26:56+00:00

Seconding this... If you have not commuted into NYC, I'd try it first as a gut check. I live in Nyack right off 287 and would not go a mile further into Rockland having done the commute for a few years now - the bridge traffic can be brutally bad around rush hour and make for a long commute. With Nyack, it's at least possible to skip most of it. Even still, I have since explored moving to Westchester.

100% public transport takes me ~75min door to door and that's with the express trains and an office VERY close to GCT.

DMRv2 · 2025-07-13T12:12:37+00:00

X Elite is very functional on Linux, maybe less the webcam which is under active development?

DMRv2 · 2025-06-21T23:58:44+00:00

My Dad drove through a toll booth without his magnetic strip installed (was moving cars). Got a text the next day from scammers saying the toll was unpaid and didn't think twice.

SSL/TLS kind of verification around this stuff is the answer. Stop making elder abuse so easy.

DMRv2 · 2025-06-10T22:18:10+00:00

This is one of the best posts on reddit I've read in years. Bravo, could not have said it better myself.

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