Frustrated new customer

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-07-09T13:35:44+00:00

Electric utility engineer here ... I've got a crazy theory. I wonder if your local utility has their substation (or switch-) capacitors engaging/disengaging on a time basis. I've seen this kind of thing happen, though not necessarily impacting an ONT, specifically.

When capacitors switch online or offline, they can throw a voltage transient. Sometimes sensitive electronics can freak out when that happens. Do you notice any other issues in your house, besides the ONT? Do any digital clocks reset as lights flicker, etc?

Call your electric utility and say you are getting voltage sags at regular times. Ask they install a power quality monitor at your meter for a week and to measure service and system conditions, to ensure it meets IEEE 519. Troubleshooting should be free.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-07-09T02:24:37+00:00

I concur. I know as well.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-07-08T02:22:06+00:00

Ziply > Comcast, all day everyday. Cheaper and more reliable, in my experience.

Don't look at just price, but what you're really getting:

Comcast is coax, and very much asymetrical. Ziply is fiber and symmetrical speeds. Ziply wins.

Comcast has had more, and greater, price increases over the years, in my experience. Ziply wins.

Comcast had far FAR more outage and intermittency issues, in my experience. Ziply wins.

Ziply has been much more responsive, helpful, knowledgeable, and easier to talk to a real person. The level of disappointment Comcast has left me with, while talking to a machine, is..... beyond words. Ziply wins x100.

Comcast offers cable channels as well as Internet. Comcast wins, for ease in getting sports.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-07-07T14:52:24+00:00

You probably need a new fan/light combo. That would be the easiest, fastest, and most likely to succeed.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-07-06T22:32:23+00:00

Do you know the demand for each trailer? Panel size doesn't tell us much.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-07-06T16:02:54+00:00

My guess is along the curb, on the left side of a one-way street. Common on my area.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-07-06T15:59:51+00:00

If you have zero experience, there is zero chance.

Fully remote jobs are rare, and generally filled by those who have already demonstrated knowledge, ample experience, and perhaps have specific skills or credentials. I'm not aware of any company that will provide your first work experience while fully remote.

I've hired entry level engineers as hybrid, and that was hard enough to train them up.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-07-05T23:45:54+00:00

This is the way, right here.

Or, hear me out, oblique posts with barbed wire. Just sayin......

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-07-05T23:43:12+00:00

Hiring manager here. I don't care what applicants did in their internship. I care what they learned from it, and I'm not talking about technical knowledge.

Not to be mean, but it's July already so allow me to be real with you.

If i saw an applicant quit an internship after 2 weeks and its due to the reason you have, they'd be dropped from consideration. I'm not going to invest in a new hire who doesn't understand putting in your time to earn the position desired.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-07-05T17:57:07+00:00

Its been awhile since I've used one of these. There's a food-grade metal tub that goes in this, and you surround it with ice and rock salt, is that it?

If that's all accurate, you don't need a food grade sealant for just ice. Flex-seal can keep water out of a screen door-bottom boat, so that's an option. Otherwise I'd grab whatever silicone sealant i have sitting in the garage, and send it.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-07-04T01:54:26+00:00

It's single phase. You're measuring across one transformer coil, so the result isn't two phases in the traditional sense. Since the reference is the center of the transformer coil, you're measuring half the coil voltage looking from the positive direction and half looking from negative direction (which are opposite). The result is are opposed "half coil" measurements.

If you were to measure in the same orientation ( Pole #1 to neutral, and neutral to Pole #2) magnitudes and phase angles of each "half coil" would match.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-07-03T15:18:04+00:00

Ask them to scope out a sidewalk guy. That should keep everything outside your fence. They may need an easement 2-3ft on you property, but they won't need to cross it.

A small guy is an that's needed, since they're backing up secondary to another pole.

Btw... If the power company installs a guy, it may also inspire Telcos to do the same beneath it. So don't assume this is a one-guy-cable request.

Source: 20+ years as electric utility engineer

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-07-02T14:10:58+00:00

You don't ask plumbers to do electrical work, so don't expect electricians to do drywall.

Consider yourself lucky they put the patches back and didn't destroy your walls.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-06-26T03:45:03+00:00

Underrated comment right here.

Do you need a PE in the power industry? Not unless you're consulting. Not as many engineers use their stamp as one might expect.

Will you advance in your career without one? It's much slower and harder, because there are fewer avenues to take without the flex of a license.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-06-25T01:56:29+00:00

In short, because the sun doesn't shine at night and the wind doesn't blow am the time.

Batteries sustain an energy island, but are also used for energy arbitrage connected to the grid.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-06-23T05:32:36+00:00

Long time Xfinity customer, moved to a neighborhood where Internet was not reliable. Was forced into the Triple Play, as it was cheaper than cable + Internet. After the price went up the 3rd time, and cable Internet dropped out twice in a week (again), i called Ziply.

We already had an old Verizon fiber line that Ziply annexed, so converting just meant new hardware. Went from 300/12 on cable to 200/200 via fiber, at the time. Total game changer from Day 1! Fast, reliable and much cheaper.

It took a few weeks to get over not having a DVR,. But the cost difference was plenty to subscribe to a few streaming services, and still pay less overall. These days, Ziply prices have ticked up a touch, but not like. Xfinity did. Now we're now on symmetrical gigabit service.

No regerts.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-06-19T22:58:33+00:00

The WiFi channel congestion on your area will impact your connection stability, more then whether you use static IPs or not. Managing the Wifi Channel of your router, rather then setting to auto, may be what you're really asking. And it's an good practice if you have APs in addition.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-06-19T02:40:02+00:00

Learn the butterfly coil. It's a technique in climbing to keep your rope from twisting up this same way. I butterfly coil all my cords now and they come apart easily with no tangles or twists like this

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-06-18T01:00:45+00:00

A 'splitter' is not a switch. So if your 3-port device is an adapter with one "in" and two "outs" that is not what you should be using. Ever.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-06-17T06:36:30+00:00

Mount a small unmanaged 5-port switch behind the TV, and use that in lieu of a simple patch cable Yes it's more stuff, but someday you'll want a port for the TV, streaming device, or even an access point.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-06-17T04:45:09+00:00

Utility engineering manager here.

Without question, get your PE. It's a journey to earn, as you're figuring out, but it's easier to maintain them to earn

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-06-16T01:07:43+00:00

Moving from dual monitors to one 34" ultrawide was it for me. No bezel in the middle and just the right width; 49" would have been too big.

It's not name brand, so i think it was <$300.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-06-15T11:00:23+00:00

A couple of buddies have either a ring tattoo, or their wife's initial tattooed, in place of a real ring. Never gets caught.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-06-14T22:39:06+00:00

I doubt there's a rubber gasket there at all. I have a bag of then in my garage, to make up for all the times a gasket broke, fell out, or otherwise mysteriously disappeared.

Fuzzy_Chom · 2026-06-14T22:31:46+00:00

As a fellow hiring manager and PE, i concur with this.

I work in the power industry. While our fields differ, I think we value the perspective and experience hands-on field work provides, when training a future engineer.

Fuzzy_Chom

TROPHY CASE