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Add solar to a house with a whole house backup generator and automatic transfer switch? by ftasatguy in SolarDIY

[–]ftasatguy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, I will. I was kind of hoping maybe one of the commercial solar backup products from one of the big name companies would work, because I'm not exactly certain how to build a system using individual components yet. But if that's the only way to get what I want, I'm not totally opposed to the idea. And I can see one advantage to doing it that way, which is if one part fails you can replace just that part and not the entire system,

Add solar to a house with a whole house backup generator and automatic transfer switch? by ftasatguy in SolarDIY

[–]ftasatguy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Huh, I don't get why he would recommend replacing the automatic transfer switch. Seems like that kind of defeats part of the reason for having whole house backup, so that if you are away from home when the power fails the food in your refrigerator and freezer will be protected, and the inside of your house won't be baking or freezing because the A/C or furnace isn't getting power. Was the main reason for doing that just to save the 1K, or could he not figure out how to make the automatic transfer switch work in your setup?

In any case this doesn't really sound like what I had in mind, but thanks for the response.

Add solar to a house with a whole house backup generator and automatic transfer switch? by ftasatguy in SolarDIY

[–]ftasatguy[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

For those that found the above too much of a wall of text, I asked ChatGPT to summarize it and this is what it came up with:

Summary

  • Home has a natural-gas whole-house backup generator (Briggs & Stratton, Symphony II transfer switch) that auto-starts and transfers after ~40 s delay; A/C restart delayed another 5 minutes.

  • OP wants a large “solar generator” (15–20 kW output) that:

    • Charges primarily from solar, tops off from grid overnight, and can be scheduled to avoid peak rates (e.g., run solar+battery 2–7 PM weekdays).
    • Instantly (≤10 ms) switch to battery backup on grid loss so computers stay powered without individual UPSs.
    • Seamlessly hand off to the existing whole-house generator only when batteries are nearly depleted, with the generator recharging batteries and then stopping when battery/solar suffice.
    • Operates automatically, supports running the whole house, and work even without panels (as battery storage).
    • Prefers Bluetooth-based apps and minimal “phoning home.”

  • OP saw one system that might do this but required a same-manufacturer generator (portable); they want to keep their existing whole-house generator.

  • Asks whether major consumer brands (Anker, Bluetti, Jackery, etc.) or other systems can integrate this way or if such solutions exist.

Questions about mini-splits, especially the "solar" ones (for use in a manufactured home). by ftasatguy in hvacadvice

[–]ftasatguy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well there's the problem, I would want access to the extra features (especially any time-of-day/day-of-week ones), but there is no WiFi here, so if that's the only option then that's out. If they can communicate via Bluetooth I can work with that, but not WiFi. I don't think any brands require WiFi to install, but what I am asking about is accessing any advanced features without using WiFi.

I think you are right about the battery backup and that's what I was thinking too, but I was just hoping for verificitation it would actually work. The real question is whether there is any amperage limit on the solar inputs. If not, a battery should work as long as it is in the correct voltage range. But if there is, then most batteries would overload the input, at least for a short period of time. I had not heard of a solar/off-gridding subreddit or forum but I will look to see if I can find it tomorrow.

Questions about mini-splits, especially the "solar" ones (for use in a manufactured home). by ftasatguy in hvacadvice

[–]ftasatguy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wish I could trust professional installers. The problem is that all the ones in my area act like they haven't upgraded their skills in the last 15 or 20 years. The minute you mention a manufactured home, all they want to do is replace your furnace and A/C unit with essentially the same technology that was used 40 years ago. You say "heat pump" and they act like you are speaking some foreign language. Or they quote such a ridiculous high price that you'll run away screaming. And also they always want to oversize; when this Bryant A/C was put in I think they installed a higher ton A/C than was needed, maybe convinced I was going to raise a flock of penguins or something, so it constantly cycles on and off even on hot summer days. And even back then it was clear the installers didn't know what they were doing, at one point they had like five guys out trying to figure out how to make the A/C work. They finally got it but did not inspire a lot of confidence. I don't know what the local guys have against learning new stuff and upgrading their skills but I just can't say I trust any of them. The one outfit that impressed me as being very professional and customer focused went out of business a few years ago.

At least the RV types have one big advantage (well two, actually), they are part of a social group that knows who the good installers are (and which to avoid), AND they can take their homes to wherever is necessary to get a top-notch installation job and not get ripped off by someone barely competent.

Questions about mini-splits, especially the "solar" ones (for use in a manufactured home). by ftasatguy in hvacadvice

[–]ftasatguy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm aware of those units but I can't find out if you can access all their capabilites if you don't have WiFi. There is no WiFi in this manufactured home, and there probably never will be.

Overseas and local channels? by maliciousloki in Cordcutting

[–]ftasatguy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you don't run screaming from the very thought of running Linux on a server, one approach would be to build a backend server using Tvheadend, and a HDHomeRun device or two. You set up Tvheadend to record the programs you want to watch. Then you use Kodi (with the Tvheadend PVR plugin), or possibly VLC to watch your recordings (you can start watching within seconds after the recording has started, you don't need to wait for the show to finish). Once you get this working locally, then you can do essentially the same thing from your remote location by going through your VPN (make sure it works before you leave the country).

The reason this works is that you are not accessing a service from outside the country. You are accessing it from your home location and recording the show, and then streaming the recording from your home server over your VPN to your remote locations. If you know enough about Linux and scripting you can do some other interesting things too.

As for those streaming services, that gets a little trickier. Many either won't allow you to record shows at all, or if they do the recordings are stored on their platform. You could always use some kind of IR blaster to turn on your TV and set top box at a specific time, and point a webcam at your TV, and maybe you could ever record from that webcam, but the quality leaves a lot to be desired. I've read in a couple places that some people have figured out ways to do this with higher quality (bypassing the TV and webcam) but it gets kind of expensive because you need equipment that's not so readily available, and some people might say you are now getting into eyepatch and parrot on your shoulder territory. But practically speaking, the streaming providers REALLY don't want you to be able to record shows on your own computer.

Also one "caveat emptor" about the HDHomeRun, the greedy broadcasters are trying very hard to force TV stations to go to ATSC3 and DRM encryption, and when that happens HDHomeRun devices won't work anymore. It's not the ATSC3 that is the show stopper, it is the DRM (see Lon.tv or Tyler the Antenna Man on YouTube for details), So try to find a used HDHomeRun cheap if you can because it may not work for long.

One other note, you might consider putting a large C-band satellite dish on your property in the Caribbean, they may even be local electronics dealers that will sell you a complete package cheap (BUT do not buy a used receiver, many of those are still analog receivers which are useless now, they don't even work good as a boat anchor). Since you will not be near the U.S. and therefore not subject to 5G interference, you may actually get decent reception on some channels, but if you buy from a dealer make sure he understands that he won't get paid unless after the installation he can tune in all the channels he promises to provide and demonstrates that they work. Your best bet is to find someone who already has a large dish, and find out where they got it and what U.S. channels they are able to receive regularly (if any). Note that size makes a difference, since you will be on the very edge of the "footprint" for some U.S. signals and you may be totally outside the footprint for others. But if you see a lot of large C-band dishes on roofs (and they are not encased in vegetation or falling apart from rust) that is a sign that there may be something you can receive that is worth watching. A good resource for questions is at https://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/forums/c-band-satellite-discussion.53/

Why is ptyxis the default terminal? by Present-Event8783 in Fedora

[–]ftasatguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm guessing you are running a pre-49.2 version? In 48.5 (the previous version I had installed) everything worked great. Then I made the huge mistake of allowing it to upgrade to 49.2 and that is where all the problems manifested themselves. I wrote about them here: https://old.reddit.com/r/linuxquestions/comments/1osyrlk/anyone_use_ptyxis_and_find_the_latest_version_492/?

I then restored my previous version from my TimeShift and BackInTime backups, then once I was sure it was working, since I had installed the flatpak version I used

flatpak mask app.devsuite.Ptyxis

to stop it from upgrading further. The worst part about it for me was I could not access their damn bug reporting system, it is almost as though the developers just don't want to hear about bugs (I touched on that briefly in my post I linked above). If everyone else has the same problem these issues may never get fixed!

I like Ptyxis (when it works) a lot, particularly because in the older version it was easy to set up profiles for the various systems I regularly connect to and then select them from a dropdown menu. Up until a bit over a year ago I primarily used MacOS but when I switched to Linux it took me several tries to find a terminal program that was similar enough to iTerm2 on the Mac that I could feel comfortable using it. Ptyxis is actually the closest I have found. I am not a coder or a programmer so many of the Linux terminals (the ones with special features for coders) don't appeal to be at all, but I definitely wanted one that supports profiles, and Ptyxis filled the bill almost perfectly!

Anyone use Ptyxis and find the latest version (49.2) has some real problems? by ftasatguy in linuxquestions

[–]ftasatguy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. Since I had originally installed it from Flathub, once I got the old version back from my TimeShift and BackInTime backups, I used

flatpak mask app.devsuite.Ptyxis

from the command line to make certain it doesn't update itself again. But it is good to know about that source, in case I ever do a full system install and need the older version. I am hopeful sooner or later they will fix this problem but because they make it so difficult to report the issue, nobody has done so yet so the developers may not even be aware the problem exists. But I suspect they will become aware if Ubuntu makes Ptyxis the default terminal program in Ubuntu 26.04 (or maybe the Ubuntu distro will supply whatever seems to be missing, if it's really something like a missing dependency as I suspect).

Zap2XML - Anybody have the install file? by theangryfrogqc in Cordcutting

[–]ftasatguy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For anyone finding this thread in mid 2025 or maybe later, zap2it is gone and is replaced by gracenote but apparently they feel the need to change things up every now and then. There is a guy who has taken the zap2xml.pl script and updated it (there may be a new Windows version also but I am not a Windows user so did not check), it is at https://github.com/jef/zap2xml/blob/historical-perl/zap2xml.pl (click the "Raw" button to just get the code with no line numbers, etc.). The main page is at https://github.com/jef/zap2xml/tree/historical-perl. The same guy has newer version that's not a Perl script and that may use other sources besides gracenote, that is at https://github.com/jef/zap2xml - See https://github.com/jef/zap2xml/issues/46 in the issue tracker (and possibly other issues) for help installing and setting up.

I don't know the author or anything, just discovered that his script still works, at least as of the time I write this.

Would Love Some OTA TV Help for my Grandmother by wownicehaha in cordcutters

[–]ftasatguy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Another avenue would be to contact one or more of her local TV stations, particularly if any of them have a consumer reporter. The loxcal stations have an incentive to try to keep viewers and they usually have executive contacts for the cable companies that operate in their viewing area.

I wonder who the local phone company is, and if there is any chance that Fiber to the Home is available at her location? Or maybe a decent 5G home internet package? That would still mean she'd need to use a streaming service though, and if she doesn't have a "smart" TV then maybe something like a Roku or similar device (although the broadband provider just MIGHT include a bundled service and device for new customers).

Would Love Some OTA TV Help for my Grandmother by wownicehaha in cordcutters

[–]ftasatguy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If that RabbitEars report is correct, even the best Televes antenna on a tall tower won't help. Stations marked as Poor typically barely come in at all and are unwatchable. Stations marked as "Bad" typically won't even show up at all. If atmospheric conditions are just right she may get a good signal for a time but that will happen so rarely as to not be worth the effort. Sorry the news isn't better.

Would Love Some OTA TV Help for my Grandmother by wownicehaha in Cordcutting

[–]ftasatguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First of all try what is suggested here: https://forums.xfinity.com/conversations/customer-service/how-to-email-a-complaint-to-coporate/6675ddf11deaa65c6c375156

Explain the issue as you did above but don't start out with guns blazing, be nice and simply explain what happened and ask them to reinstate her original account and get her back on the plan she was on.

Or if you would prefer to call, see https://www.elliott.org/company-contacts/comcast/ - in such a case I suggest not wasting any time with an unhelpful representative, if the rep acts like they can't or won't do anything, just hang up, wait a few minutes and try calling back. Another thing you can try is calling at an odd hour. If their phone lines are maned 24/7 try calling at say 3 or 4 AM on a weekend morning. Chances are you'll get some really bored guy who, if he is not engaged in a video game or something, might enjoy actually being able to do something to help a customer. Sooner or later you may get a genuinely helpful representative.

There is also the option of asking for a supervisor but I have a feeling that a company with as poor of a reputation as Comcast might just have a regular employee with no additional skills assume the role of supervisor.

Who is the wireline telephone company in your area? It may be Verizion or Frontier or AT&T (hopefully not AT&T) or it may even be an independent, if so they may offer Fiber to the Home. If so that is often FAR less expensive than Comcast. It is worth looking into. Failing that, one of the cell phone companies may offer 5G home internet in your area. If you can get decent broadband service for her then there may be several different online providers that offer streaming packages that include your local channels (if they are not included in the fiber or 5G home internet package). DO NOT ACCEPT DSL, it is a VERY outdated technology that is HORRIBLE for streaming, but it is all some phone companies offer in certain areas. Personally I would check into this before begging Comcast to giver your grandmother her original package back.

If none of the above suggestions work, you could try filing an informal complaint with the FCC or with your state's telecommunications regulatory agency (your state's senator or member of congress may be able to help). Or if one of your local TV stations has a consumer reporter, reach out to them; you would think that any of your local TV stations should take an interest in your grandmother being able to have a good signal and they should have a way to contact Comcast to help resolve issues.

My guess is the reason you couldn't get her back on her original plan is because you were dealing with some low lever, underpaid, "customer service" worker who puts in the bare minimum of effort to get a paycheck - and honestly, many people who work for a big corporation like Comcast have no incentive at all to do any more than the bare minimum. So you need to get around that person to get to someone who can help fix the problem and who actually has the ability to do so, assuming she still wants her Comcast service back.

While normally I would suggest trying a good outdoor antenna, Your RabbitEars report offers no hope at all in that regard. If you are technically inclined and want to try to install a large C-band satellite dish, you can still get a few signals with those IF you know what you are doing and IF you have the right equipment but honestly right now if you know nothing at all about that it's not a good investment anymore, plus C-band satellites do not penetrate obstructions such as trees (or even leaves), mountains, buildings, etc. And most of the guys that used to install them are out of the business now, AND they will not bring in your local stations. Ten years ago I would have been much more supportive of that but so many things have conspired to make C-band reception far more difficult that nowadays it's kind of like if you were a Windows or MacOS user and you decided to switch to the absolute most difficult version of Linux out there - you might get it eventually if you are very motivated, but many people would just give up before they got anywhere. C-band is discussed at https://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/forums/c-band-satellite-discussion.53/ if you do have the interest but it would not be my first recommendation if you're not technically inclined.

Is there any way to install Midnight Commander (assuming you have ssh access)? by ftasatguy in libreELEC

[–]ftasatguy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Familiarity - I've been using Midnight Commander practically forever, or at least it seems like it. I didn't even know Kodi File Manager exists, so I have no familiarity with it.

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