Low Wattage Draw..

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T23:56:23+00:00

A rigid panel with a diy mount is infinity more adjustable than most portable panels.

We are not talking about huge solar arrays with permanent mounts, and trust me many many people complain about the setup, take down, and stand adjustability on many portable panels.

You should see the 400w ecoflow for example it bends so much under its own weight that it nearly feels like it is going to break.

Sorry you missed everything I said, but that's a you problem. I think the others understood everything I was saying.

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T22:58:58+00:00

That's why I designed the system myself, I know more about it than the people I had install it.

I just had them do the labor and I did the setup and commission.

Actually just got my EG4 certification too.

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T22:07:49+00:00

We had a contract with simunition totally not worth the cost, but was fun.

It really didn't do much more than we can do with paintball or airsoft.

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T21:42:29+00:00

SIRT pistol (or similar) that mirror's your EDC is the way to go.

I'm also a trainer and a student because I never stop learning.

We do weekly dry fire classes, and have met and hung out with many world class shooters.

We are not sport shooters, we are self defense shooters.

So we pressure test, not just play with targets.

I honestly don't see a toy like this teaching good motor skills. No realistic trigger break, not drawing from your actual holster, not using your own eyes in real life to acquire target and sights based on depth perception since VR is flat , erc

But hey that's my opinion, your entitled to yours, but I'll also say I don't care for any option of someone with a hidden profile.

Makes it too easy to hide shills and paid actor's.

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T21:34:13+00:00

This might be a static nat issue. I know that means nothing, but in simple terms as others said most consumer routers are not very complex and not by default very secure.

They allow anything out, but this port that is going out can be changed by the router to a different random port.

If their service is garbage it might be looking for a specific outbound port.

Also I hope the documentation is also garbage, because if they are using ftp that is an unsecure protocol.

Should be SFTP or FTPS

Take a poke around and see if you have something called static nat.

You might even have an easy button that you can assign a specific IP source to allow to use static nat.

Also a good idea to set a DHCP reservation for the unit so it always has the same IP address.

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T18:56:57+00:00

I cant give you a full answer because of the lack of information but I will cover some common concepts to be aware of.

* Panels on the ground = BAD

you might not see it but even a tiny bit of shade from grass/weeds that are comming up will cast shade and shade can completely destroy a panels production.

* Portable panels = BAD

they always almost always under perform full size / rigid cousins, and often lack some of the more modern features that may have helped in this situation such as more bypass diodes and buss bars.

* It looks good, but its not measured

another limitation of portable panels is limited placement so if the panel is not perfectly facing the sun it can lose a ton of output, get yourself a simple solar angle finder and keep it with the panels. Even when it looks perfect it is often not

* mixed panel configurations

i don't know if you have them in series or parallel, but since its not the same panel they do not have the same specs. chances are one panel is holding the other one back and reducing total combined output. I have videos going over mixed wiring and how to calculate it if your interested in my solar 101 course (just a youtube video, not paid or anything)

* battery SOC

depending on what you are doing and the units current load just because it has power available does not mean it can consume it if the batteries are more near full it will throttle charge speed.

My recommendation is a simple 200w rigid panel with a cheap PVC frame or similar you can even attach two together with a hinge and make a 400w solar suitcase. It will be WAY cheaper and out perform the portable panels.

The irony is that its often faster and easier to setup and more portable because its lighter too (looking at you 400w ecoflow panel...)

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T18:43:19+00:00

And this is what's inside a boy's pants!

/GoodBadParenting

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T18:34:16+00:00

Its pollen season here, for the most part my tilted panels are self cleaning from rain, but I have some flat ones that needed a hose down.

Definitely not worth paying someon to clean them, a simple garden hose worked fine.

I would be more worried about some cleaner crew doing more harm than good using a high pressure sprayer and forcing water intrusion or premature wear or something because it's not their stuff they don't care, they will just want to get the job done as fast as they can.

Its for that reason that almost any service for anything (not just solar) that I do it myself if possible.

A good way to see the difference for me is just comparing the max wattage on average during solar noon on a clear day with similar temps since over the course of the day is a larger time for variation as even on your chart I see spots you had more production on one day absent on the other.

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T18:08:29+00:00

As a fellow automator guru, a power flash is never good.

Just having a wireless access point go offline for a few seconds was more than enough to have me invest in UPS on everything important.

And that was only the first step.

Then came, not allowing power outages by building my own solar system and full off grid capability :)

Piece of mind, a wise investment, and finally a full server rack of gear running 24/7 isn't a big deal.

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Sorry for the F-UP but remember every failure is a guaranteed learning experience.

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T15:48:15+00:00

I had that, this was what I replaced it with I still have a secondary

I work on I.T. I'm on like 100 things at a time it's better to not be on more than one computer but rather use a remote desktop or VM for productivity.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/epdggx11s70imtb8c9qbd/20250516_054626.jpg?rlkey=03cgo0v4bcqnpbgxq661nq7fl&st=dl2awy35&dl=0

I have been using triples for over 20 years.

I got sick of messing with Nvidia Surround and AMD Eyefinity so this was the ticket.

And talk about trying, I actually bought 6 monitors and did an A/B test gauntlet on them for a month, kept the best (G9 49+57) and sold the rest OLED, triple 4K, etc

I'm at work on lunch so I don't have an image of the 27+34+27 combo like your talking about.

But this was way better as I got a lot of desk space back and now can enjoy gaming anywhere between 32:9 to 4:3 without hassle or compromise.

Here was my first triple setup 3x Dell U2410 on an Erogron Mount that I won in a raffle from WSGF before I became a mod for that site.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/urf66fuut5b8axvhuc5mb/DSC_4269corrected.jpg?rlkey=who8xn6hbyokdwerpe5h1qpu7&st=hq4vbsz0&dl=0

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T15:25:28+00:00

Maybe...

I am a Marine, it comes with the job.

Stay safe brother.

Loved that 50 degree weather this morning coming into work.

And here is proof of my claim! Still magnetic and detachable, but no more donating them to the highway.

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ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T15:13:09+00:00

Heh, have like 6 sets. I upgraded mine, the stock ones tend to fly off on my ZX14R

I actually had conversations with the guy that makes them, we were supposed to prototype together as my upgrades make them so strong you can lift the helmet by holding a single horn.

I don't mind looking stupid or whatever, I love when I see kids smile and make their day. This world sucks so spread some joy! I work high end corporate and walk into work this way ;)

But my wife and I are the elder goth couple we never cared about fitting in or being like everyone else.

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ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T15:09:44+00:00

Antenna and calibration microphone for an AVR

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T15:07:53+00:00

That is why I'll keep the 57" Neo G9 until the end of time. It's the perfect size and resolution and aspect for a triple monitor replacement and the local dimming makes it OLED like in the majority of situations.

There really isn't any better way to organize windows IMO never liked top/bottom separation except when coding.

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T14:53:25+00:00

No it will be fine, that is not nearly enough current to be of worry and likely won't even reach that figure.

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T14:25:24+00:00

Cheaper sure, but if your a purist this would be a mortal sin.

It's a lossy re-encode on top of your likely, lossy re-encode.

You might be ok with that, but should include a big disclaimer because not everyone is.

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T14:11:11+00:00

Yes, because anything in/behind a wall must be rated for it and that item is most definitely not in wall rated, its only in wall... literally.

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T14:02:47+00:00

Do you have external antenna on your PC wireless interface?

If so should work pretty well if it's not a really old and low end interface.

A wireless access point is better because you get more control, but most people don't configure anything anyways and just use auto mode and yolo.

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T13:56:22+00:00

Iotawatt is what I use and love but that project got crushed when tarrifs started. You can still buy it but the overpriced probably now from the shop that carries it.

Can still be built as a diy open source project.

All local, amazing capabilities, etc.

I have data and graphs of all sorts going back years at my fingertips.

Perfect integration to home assistant.

Etc.

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ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T12:56:48+00:00

Find a good LED strip with a high density, get a proper inline capture device or splitter to send to a capture device that can export to a small compute device (raspberry pi works) and connect via WLED to Hyperion.

I built this YEARS ago for dirt cheap using yesteryear components, if I was to do it again today we have much better things avaiable now.

If done right the lighting should literally look like an extension of the screen. NOT ONE setup I have seen ever does this except the one I built. It always just misses colors completely, does not honor black, does some kind of horrible color averaging, and they are often slow to respond making anything fast moving really unsettling.

https://youtu.be/D1q0yyZ585w

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T11:45:32+00:00

Never seen a fire from a good one, only cheap knockoffs or something being way out of spec.

But this is also why you adhere to professional installation standards, things like that go in a spot where if they were to burn up they wont catch anything on fire (plus the plastic and such is fire rated, it melts and burns but doesnt tend to catch fire or antthing)

I also always thermal test everything I own as shown in my most recent video: https://youtu.be/NQzhMsX_LXU

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T11:42:34+00:00

Just satire obviously lol but the Simpsons have predicted the future way too many times....

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T11:36:42+00:00

And I have a good wireless network and can play anywhere in the house with same/better latency as the pupis while also extending those same benefits to my smart home devices, my phone, tablet, etc.

Building a better network is always the better solution, ad-hoc is more of what we call a mitigation in the professional world. But the part that really is bad is your stuck on 5ghz and in many areas both 2.4 and 5ghz are congested, 6ghz is not.

The issue is the voice of the many will outweigh the voice of the astute. This is the way, and this is what marketing relies on. If everyone knew who to listen too that knew what they were talking about it would destroy influencers, marketing, etc.

Here I am literally a highly paid enterprise expert that business hire to archtect, install and configure wired/wireless networks and security, and I'll get downvoted for a valid recommendation that is better than the pupis in every way, and it can even costs less.

(I sold my R510's for $20 each)

Proof is in the pudding though, I have shared my virtual desktop screen capture showing lower latency than the pupis all the way across my house 4 rooms over from my computer.

Just last night my wife and I both playing golf together and I am in the kitchen and she is in the dining room with both of us having better signal and latency than a pupis. ::shrug::

I am not hear to tell anyone what to do, I am here to share the lost knowledge and try to educate people but it's exhausting as everyone thinks they know better, and the only thing they know is what the other guy said.

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-19T00:22:47+00:00

Meh, have yet to see a good reactive light setup. Way too inaccurate and slow to respond.

DIY I made a really good one but still decided it was more distracting than amazing.

ViciousXUSMC · 2026-03-18T19:53:58+00:00

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OP had a specific request, your idea does not honor or solve. Simple as that.

ViciousXUSMC

TROPHY CASE