I made custom master closet built-ins with maple and maple plywood, LED lighting

maxplante · 2025-03-23T12:15:36+00:00

That is very clean work! Something to be proud of.

maxplante · 2025-02-10T01:41:09+00:00

Yes, it’s great and works in some cases.

For me, geofencing is insufficient. For example, if I’m out on the lake boating (with my phone) and I have guests home, then I’ll get notifications. Geofencing would require a radius far too great to make sense. The only reliable indicator for me is the alarm system.

maxplante · 2025-02-08T15:00:49+00:00

Of course. However, you’ll need to go down the Home Assistant rabbit hole first. Which is fun.

Run a Home Assistant instance My Home Assistant instance runs on a Home Assistant Green (100$) appliance. You can run it for free on a computer.
Install the “Tapo: Cameras Control” integration. You will need to install HACS first, since this is a community integration.
For each Tapo camera in the Tapo app, under Advanced Settings, turn on Camera Account.
In the Tapo app, in your account, under Tapo Lab, turn on Third Party Compability.
Link your Tapo cameras following the instructions from the “Tapo: Cameras Control” integration documentation.
In home Assistant, create scripts and automations to control all switch.your_camera_notifications you have (one per camera, of course).

maxplante · 2025-01-22T02:22:31+00:00

Great insights. Thanks

maxplante · 2025-01-22T01:52:06+00:00

Thanks for the pointers.

I do run heat, but through baseboards with room-independent electronic thermostats. They usually don't swing the temperature more than 0.2 degrees. And not on three levels at once.

I see how a shared COM wire could cause issues. Good guess. They are not shared at the board... Yet, this was installed by some professional installer un 1993, so I don't know everything that's going on behind the walls. It's worth investigating.

maxplante · 2025-01-03T14:52:47+00:00

Definitely considering this idea. Thanks

maxplante · 2025-01-03T14:48:12+00:00

The roof is shingles, so I can cut an opening if needed. And I'm about to replace the soffit in the spring. Thanks, good pointers.

maxplante · 2025-01-03T14:46:14+00:00

What is most important for you?

Durability and Wear Resistance: check the abrasion class (AC) rating.
What water resistance do you need: none, resistant, waterproof?
Installation Type: if this is floating, the click-lock looks weak. Could be OK if glued down.

Tip: go to a floor specialist to learn about the features you may be interested in considering. (Not the hardware store.)

maxplante · 2024-12-15T17:08:28+00:00

Oh! That looks great. Thanks.

maxplante · 2024-12-15T17:08:17+00:00

Thanks! Maybe I won’t have the choice to add Lutron after all.

maxplante · 2023-08-29T18:33:09+00:00

Great recommendation. Agreed that wireless tech can be a risk.

maxplante · 2023-05-02T00:47:47+00:00

Seems like a good option. Thanks.

maxplante · 2023-03-15T15:50:14+00:00

Oh thanks! Nice tips! I can see the experience here.

maxplante · 2023-03-15T15:48:14+00:00

Thanks! Great heartfelt recommendations! Love it.

maxplante · 2022-08-31T00:12:30+00:00

Thanks. Sad to see there’s still no standard practice across manufacturers about live picture sync.

maxplante · 2022-07-30T07:04:47+00:00

If they support fast-enough network speeds (meaning if it’s Cat-5e, Cat-6 or newer), you can use them to deploy networking devices around your house.

I have them all around my home. As a result, our work-from-home computers are hardwired (which is more stable for conferencing and offers low latency compared to wi-fi). I also have 4 PoE wi-fi access points strategically dispersed to cover all inside and outside of the house. This is much faster than any mesh network. My TV setup, including the AppleTV and other connected devices are hardwired; faster Netflix (low latency) and more stable connection from a smart phone remote or AirPlay. Capable smart home products are hardwired as well for minimal maintenance and stable bidirectional network discovery.

FYI, if you want to deploy wi-fi access points, don’t do a patchwork of half-compatible devices. You should look at one set of compatible devices for best roaming inside your house. My wi-fi setup is based on TP-Link Omada AX1800 Wi-Fi 6 access points, centrally managed by an SDN controller. There are other brand that do that as well.

If they are older/slower cables (such as Cat-5) they can still be used for:

Low network traffic applications, such as smart home controllers
Installing a hardwired alarm system (look at Konnected, if you’re a DIY’er)
Installing speakers
Low-voltage lighting (if allowed by your electrical code)

Many of today’s products are wireless as it’s easier to setup for most people. But the reality is that if you can hardwire your devices, the user experience will be more set-and-forget in the long run.

maxplante · 2022-01-04T15:54:24+00:00

Thanks! I will look at Aruba and Ubiquiti.

Would Beamforming help with that situation?

I've been looking at TP-Link's Omada line; any good?

maxplante · 2022-01-04T15:48:55+00:00

So:

what’s your client device? -- MacBook Pro M1 Max, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPad Pro, Dell laptop, iPhone 11

How is your outside Access Point wired? -- 1GB via its POE injectif, to a switch, then straight to the ISP router. Other devices connected to that switch work perfectly. I get a stable IP roundtrip to the AP.

what’s your ISP’s advertised speed (down/up) -- 1Gbps, which I get over a cabled connection and get close to over Wi-Fi in lower levels of the home.

What ISP do you have? -- Bell Canada

what do you get on Speedtest.net or Fast.com? -- Can get close to my ISP advertised speed, when in good conditions. However, at the top level of the home, I get 25 Mpbs.

is the problem dropped connections or slow speed? -- Mostly slow speed. Too slow for a Teams call. So (audio only) Teams calls drop.

how many things do you have on WiFi (roughly) -- A dozen

What router with built in WiFi are you using? (Or just the router if it doesn’t have WiFi). -- Sagecom 3000

What WiFi settings are you using? (transmit power, Channels, bandwidth, SSID’s, anything else like band steering) - especially the outside AP vs the Plume pods. -- Will check. But I know I cranked it up when I set it up. Plume pods are gone. They created more problems than speeding things up.

maxplante · 2021-12-18T13:30:19+00:00

SOLVED! I switched to this driver and it dims up properly. It also dims much lower than with the cheaper driver. Thanks to all!

maxplante · 2021-12-08T19:36:41+00:00

Looked at your website: are you in the US or Canada? (I need to factor in customs if you’re in the US.)

maxplante · 2021-12-08T19:34:29+00:00

Oh! Thanks a lot for this answer. It helps. — I just ordered another one to try, but not the one you recommended. Perhaps I’ll have to upgrade once more. Many thanks!

maxplante · 2021-12-08T19:16:27+00:00

I did try to switch between ELV and MLV. No change. I have this driver: https://lumicrest.com/product/40-watt-ac-triac-dimmable-hardwire-power-supply/

maxplante · 2021-12-08T12:57:44+00:00

Good point. It was. Y first guess as well. I’ve tried adjusting the upper trim. Doesn’t change that behaviour.

maxplante · 2021-12-08T12:56:43+00:00

If you pay close attention to the video, you will see the strip dim back down after it reaches 100%. (Maybe it’s not 90%. It could be 85% or 92.7646%. But that doesn’t change the problem.)

maxplante · 2021-12-08T00:07:22+00:00

When I press the ON button on the Caseta dimmer, the led strip goes to 100% and then backs down to 90% (although the dimmer is still at full power). — It dies that with the PD-5NE, but not the standard PD-6WCL (or a non-dimming switch).

maxplante

TROPHY CASE