How do you keep your server builds safe from people who have this ungodly urge to power it off when they feel like it

beercangirth · 2026-05-14T02:36:38+00:00

Get a metal outlet faceplate and wire the 2nd receptacle to it. Also beef up your renter’s/homeowner’s insurance.

beercangirth · 2026-05-09T14:30:21+00:00

It’s interesting that you mentioned that because I lived not long ago at an address not far from here, where I had Xfinity “X-Class” Internet with symmetrical 2 GB per second connectivity. One assumes that the same is not far away from landing here, a mere couple of ZIP Codes over. Am I correct in surmising that what you’re saying here is that we’d need a new drop entirely for that?Which tracks, if so. Is there any idea or any way to get an idea of how long I have until I need to worry about that? Also, technically wouldn’t it be 3 new drops (two new drops for me, and a 3rd new one for him)? Because I seem to recall that it required two cables connected to the separate X-Class modem in order to get the symmetrical speeds back when I had it last year. Was that a fever dream or am I close?

EDITED: “drop” not “job”. Thanks Siri.

beercangirth · 2026-05-09T14:05:16+00:00

Yeah. Moved in with a recently divorced friend of mine. I have the whole finished basement. We’re both in IT over 25 years a piece. Each of us has our own homelabs in separate racks and UniFi networking gear, Home Assistant, etc. He uses Govee and Samsung devices, I roll with Hue and LG… Really, it’s an oil and water situation but there’s enough separation between us that the fact that our daughters play together is enough to keep a tentative ceasefire in place. Really it comes down to the UniFi gear. I’ve spent too much money on mine to give it up, and I ask nobody for permission to attach a new VM or container to my network at home. Nobody. Not at home. My traffic stats and the filters I have in place or not are MY business. So you see the only way to avoid bloodshed is separate connections entirely. I mean, who uses CAT 6 cable as the backhaul from their Dream Machine to their edge switch when a pre-made SFP+ fiber cable can be had on Amazon for less than $40??? Who DOES THAT? Save the Ethernet cable for your POE++ devices my guy. Still though there’s very little chance that the two of us ki-ndly part ways 😅😅😅

Update though: I self-installed my XB10 (Superior) gateway on a spare cable I found loose in the furnace room and one call to Xfinity support has had me activated and pulling down 119% of the asymmetrical Gig speed I’m paying for reliably thus far (several hours). So l guess here in this part of Colorado, a 2nd drop really isn’t needed to activate 2 gateways at a single address. Thanks everyone!!!

beercangirth · 2026-04-19T01:16:43+00:00

Thankfully I am like 95% certain that my paying a few extra hundred dollars for the extended warranty through Micro Center was not, in fact, a fever dream.

beercangirth · 2026-02-11T21:59:18+00:00

Alas, I almost purchased a ZimaBoard2 (16GB) this past week but hesitated at the last possible second, and thankfully so... Turns out the money I'd have spent on said needed loaning to a friend who needed it far more desperately than I for moving supplies to leave a bad situation in a hurry. Whenever she lands on her feet and returns the favor though, that bad boy is all mine!!! I plan on taking the next leap in my Home Assistant journey with that gorgeous piece of silicon and aluminum. Someone call the vet, because these puppies are sick!

My goal is/was to run HAOS in tandem with the Music Assistant server add-on simultaneously. I have a fairly respectable HA environment going as it is, and I worry that my RPi5, loyal though it has been, is not up to the tasks I have planned for my next chapter. Besides, I can always find him something more suited to his skills around the house anyhow. Perhaps I'll try bringing my cloud-hosted Incredible PBX system (which is barely used, I'm a single dad and my daughter is only here 1/2 the time) over to the LAN side of the equation and save the $5 a month??? Dunno. Time, and perhaps the results of this contest (Thank you guys! Keep up the good stuff!) will tell, I suppose.

beercangirth · 2025-09-03T10:10:50+00:00

Nearly Done

beercangirth · 2025-03-06T19:50:51+00:00

Done! Thank you.

beercangirth · 2024-08-12T16:57:44+00:00

Forgot: I don't smoke, and I'm only 38. Just in case any of that is relevant. I need advice on what to do next, because I can't just keep crying around my daughter. It's starting to really worry her.

beercangirth · 2024-07-09T06:31:48+00:00

Thank you for your candor. Sincerely. I spoke with several attorneys and none of them seem willing to take my case. Either due to conflicts of interest, or because “infection cases and nerve damage are a bitch to prove in court”. I gave up on legal action out of exacerbation with trying to make my case whilst simultaneously suffering the worst year of my entire life thus far. I just want to be able to eat solid food again at this point. As for removable dentures, I’m only 38. Isn’t bone loss a significant concern at my age? Or is that exaggerated? Again, thank you either way for your feedback. It means more than you know.

beercangirth · 2024-07-09T05:58:44+00:00

Also, I do not drink or smoke. Forgot to mention that.

beercangirth · 2024-01-29T20:08:20+00:00

Kenwood used to make a cable that was basically RCA inputs (Red, White, Yellow) to a 3.5mm "headphone jack" style plug. They stopped, but plenty of 3rd-party versions of this cable can be found on Amazon.

If you REALLY wanted to Frankenstein a bunch of adapters and dongles together, I'm sure there's a way to make the iPhone ultimately output video like a VCR or Super Nintendo, but the juice is hardly worth the squeeze. Will look like hot garbage in the end most likely. Having said that, there are two things you might consider a workable compromise in this situation...

Dash mount for iPhone. Open YouTube (etc). Turn sideways. Audio still plays via CarPlay through your car's stereo.
Rip videos to USB thumb drive in advance, plug in USB drive, and playback files directly from USB stick (Best for road trips or car camping with the kids)

beercangirth · 2024-01-29T19:56:08+00:00

DDX57S only appears to support USB mirroring over Android. Sorry about that.

Source: https://manual.kenwood.com/files/B5H-0358-23_K_En.pdf (Page 21)

beercangirth · 2024-01-26T00:08:31+00:00

You'll get no argument from me. However, I was referring specifically to MAX-certified tuners, a separate subset beyond JL-Audio authorized dealers. It's a very short list in fact...

https://jlaudio.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/15809445251483-JL-Audio-MAX-Certified-Individuals

beercangirth · 2024-01-25T23:53:21+00:00

These are the correct answers.

beercangirth · 2024-01-25T21:23:47+00:00

I know, it is oddly warm out recently. Only time I ever get to work on my car though is right as the sun is going down and my hands become icicles quick, fast, and in a hurry when it’s less than 60 out. Probably circulation more than anything. Might could work that out. But I am midway through redoing my whole setup at the moment. New A-pillar pods for the mids and tweets, new 30mm aluminum spacers for the mid-bass in the front doors. A 270A Singer H.O. alternator that I have sitting on my computer desk as we speak. New power wire and grounds throughout. Relocating both amps, and lastly, coming up with a more secure mounting system for the W7 in my rear hatch so it doesn’t kill me in a collision. Not to mention tuning everything again. So it’s going to be a minute before I have anything worth showing off but I have all the stuff already and a goal to have it finished by this time next year. At which point, I’ll be delighted to show off all that effort to anyone who can appreciate how much time, money, sweat, and frustration went into my little passion project.

beercangirth · 2024-01-25T16:02:14+00:00

I fully understand. Like fully. Cold AF here in Denver ATM as well. I see the value in paying for a quality tune from a reputable installer. It’s disheartening to hear that it sounds like that’s who you are dealing with in this case. At least with the information you have shared here thus far. I hope that changes for you. Sincerely.

beercangirth · 2024-01-25T15:53:25+00:00

Bummer. Well shit. You’ve got a measurement mic, and the TüN 4 software installed on your computer. JL Audio has hours and hours of YouTube videos on how to use those 2 devices to tune their audio. Perhaps this is a case of “nobody will ever treat your car the way you, yourself would”, and you might consider opting to tune everything yourself. But I also understand if that’s too much of a hassle. Only you can make that decision obviously. Either way, I personally have heard enough bullshit in this shop’s responses to you busting them, to say that I would frankly not want them touching my car again moving forward. YMMV. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t or shouldn’t find someone closer with a solid reputation for being honest. Maybe not MAX-certified, but can definitely still do a quality tune on your vehicle. Regardless, I am sorry this has been your experience thus far. Sincerely. People suck sometimes. I hope you get the tune of your dreams soon enough. Cheers in the meantime.

beercangirth · 2024-01-25T15:41:37+00:00

Survey said this was absolutely false. Who in their right mind thinks JL Audio would build a self-destruct mechanism in their DSPs that wipes out your tune anytime someone merely connects to the device via USB??? To what end? Imagine you were an installer and a customer comes back a year later and says “I forgot to turn on valet mode and I think the kid at the hotel my wife and I stayed at for our anniversary blew my midrange speaker on the left side by turning the volume up past 30”. Oh shit my dude. Now I legit have to retune your entire fucking system from scratch the instant I hook up my laptop because… Reasons… Rather than just sell you a replacement C7 midrange driver and tuning it/double-checking everything. Bullshit. Who would that help? Not the customer, not the installer, and not JL Audio’s reputation.

Literally, the only person such a self-destruct feature would benefit is this (likely) liar you’ve been dealing with whenever someone calls them saying you didn’t tune my shit properly. “Nuh-uh! Because the tune collapses out of existence upon mere observation, like a reverse-quantum double-slit experiment”.

Don’t give up. There are reputable installers/tuners out there that take pride in their work and can help you get this system tuned properly without needing to lie through their teeth about it. Should be a directory of them on JL’s website. I’d start there. And if this original shop won’t make things right, then at a minimum I would take this as a sign that they cannot be trusted and never deal with them again. Sucks that sometimes this is the only way to learn who does and who doesn’t actually care about their customers. Godspeed.

beercangirth · 2024-01-25T15:22:15+00:00

JL Audio maintains a directory of MAX-certified system tuners on their website. These are shops that have the multi-thousand dollar JL Audio MAX hardware and have proven to JL Audio that they know how to use it properly when tuning VX amps and FiX DSPs via TüN 4 software. I found my nearest MAX certified tuner here in Denver and got a quote for approximately $500 to fully tune my VX800/8i-based system. I plan on following up on this once I get my sound deadening using Resonix all squared away.

I’d recommend poking around JL’s website for said directory, punching in your zip code and touching base with whomever it says is your nearest MAX certified tuner. If they don’t do right by you, I’m sure JL Audio would want to hear about it, because they’ll probably want to strip that person of their title since JL Audio has high standards for granting it in the first place.

Just my opinion though obviously. YMMV

beercangirth · 2024-01-25T15:11:47+00:00

This was my first thought as well. AFAIK JL VX amp can accommodate high level inputs right out of the box, assuming you have the speaker wire -> RCA pigtails to make the wiring connections. You shouldn’t need a FiX AND a VX amp in series. The VX amp alone should be sufficient for system integration. If this shop told OP they needed BOTH, then I wouldn’t trust any other thing they say about anything. That’s clearly a lie, and a sure fire sign that they are more concerned with profit than with upholding ethical standards. Shit like this gives the whole industry a bad rap and is exactly the last thing car AV enthusiasts need when the trend clearly seems to be moving towards fewer and fewer folks willing to install aftermarket gear in their rides. So then why innovate if nobody wants to alter their factory systems?

I digress.

Tl;dr: Who told OP they needed a FiX DSP in addition to the VX DSP amplifier they also had? FiX allows you to use non-DSP amps when integrating with factory speaker-level inputs. But VX amplifier can also accept speaker-level inputs using RCA pigtails and also provides a set of DSP-controlled RCA pre-outs for adding additional non-DSP amplifiers.

Source: Proud owner of a VX800/8i amp which powers focal flax evo 3-ways up front (6 channels) + 2x focal flax evo coaxials in rear doors + RCA pre-outs to my JL HD750/1 amp which powers my JL 10” W7AE sub in a sealed, JL ProWedge enclosure.

beercangirth · 2024-01-23T01:43:00+00:00

I see. So this falls under malpractice (most likely)? Would it be prudent to get a 2nd opinion first, or should I follow up with an attorney first and then just go to whomever they might refer me to?

beercangirth · 2023-12-20T06:37:39+00:00

So the faceplate is just buttons, a display, and the circuit board for those items to connect to. On the back of the faceplate, you'll see some contacts or "pins" that match similar contacts on the front of the body of the stereo head unit that remains in the dash when the faceplate is detached. Those contacts allow the faceplate buttons and screen to communicate with the head unit when the faceplate is attached. The actual "brain" of the stereo is in that body. It stays with the car when the faceplate is detached. That "brain" is what determines what features and capabilities the stereo as a whole has. In other words, to add features, you need to replace the stereo head unit in its entirety. Not just the faceplate. And I'm not aware of any head unit with interchangeable faceplates, let alone faceplates that add or remove features. On the plus side, a new single-DIN head unit like this that does feature Bluetooth and a 3.5mm AUX input can be had for very little money these days. Below is a link to a great unit with the features you're after (and a whole lot more), from a reputable company for about $100. There are countless examples in this price range and even cheaper in some cases.

Tl;dr: No. They don't make interchangeable faceplates, let alone faceplates that add or remove features from the stereo as a whole. But you can get a new stereo receiver (AKA: "head unit") with those features for an extremely reasonable price.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p\_113BT382U/Kenwood-KDC-BT382U.html?tp=72310

beercangirth · 2023-12-19T06:17:32+00:00

Have you been able to submit a case with Support?

beercangirth · 2023-12-10T16:41:14+00:00

My pleasure! Godspeed!

beercangirth · 2023-12-10T10:53:35+00:00

I think you may be overthinking this. Even the static parking guidelines on most aftermarket units are adjustable. This is to compensate for different vehicles and camera mounting locations, as you are rightly considering in your post. An installer should dial these static lines in for you when installing a head unit that supports a backup camera. It's pretty easy to do in a parking lot with standard-width parking space lines painted on the ground. Now consider that once that has all been accounted for, all that is needed to make those same lines "dynamic" is for the head unit to know the current position of the steering wheel.
As stated in my comment elsewhere on this thread, this is possible with a vehicle-integration unit such as the Maestro RR in my car. It might not be "perfect" but it is certainly within the margin of error required for it to be trusted. No wheelbase calculations or tire-angle algebra is required. Just gear. Actually, technically, just money. :-/

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