What home improvement work did you do today?

Not a major home improvement but one I am happy with... MIL bought me a rando safe from a garage sale. She boke the key in it so I fixed it, added patch velcro and now have an ammo safe to help keep the kid away from fun....

 

Late to the party on this one, but some advice, if you're not already in the know:

• Synology is great, I've had more luck with QNAP products
• When buying your drives, drives made in the same batch often see similar longevity and/or are prone to the same manufacturing defects which could cause back-to-back failures; it's OK to stick with the same brands/models, but consider varying where you buy them to avoid consecutive serial numbers (indicative of same batch)
• Always use NAS-ready (or NVR-/Surveillance-ready) drives
• Install the NAS somewhere breathable where temps tend to stay under 85°F
• Use RAID5/RAID6 or similar one-or-more-disks-can-fail arrays for data
• RAID is not a replacement for backups; I usually keep one huge-TB disk in one of my slots to incrementally backup my array data on the other disks
• Ensure you've got alerts setup for your NAS to email you when a disk goes down and needs to be hot-swapped

 

All amazing advice!

I purchased the drives all at the same time on Amazon and am seeing similar issues across multiple drives. I am still working on a local and remote back up.

All in all, love this and will research Qnap.

 

Yeah, when populating new NASes, either for myself or for customers, I'll usually recommend grabbing a disk or two off scAmazon, one or two off NewEgg, one or two at Microcenter, from CDW, or whatever. If you buy from high-volume dealers, you're liable to get same-batch. When I used to help with datacenter buildout at work, we would specifically request from HP (whose SANs we normally used) they send disks in batches with non-consecutive serials.

RE: QNAP, here's what I'll say:

• If you won't be doing any virtualization, really as long as it'll run QTS or QuTS, you can buy anything they sell
• The following, if you want to virtualize (Containers, or full-VM)...
• The AMD-based units are great. The Intel XEON/i5/i7-based units are great. I'd avoid the i3, Celeron, Atom, and similar small-chip based units. You will pay $$ for one of the "great" options.
• I'd be sure to get something that supports NVMe disks, just note that QNAP is a bit more stringent with their HCL than Synology, for stability reasons, so always check compatibility before ordering disks
• If you need to do transcoding ... like, you intend to remotely stream your video collection while outside of your home ... add a SFF/low-profile GPU to handle transcoding in Plex, but verify it will actually work ... some units have limitations on the PCI-E 'CPU' slot / 1st slot where some have the TB3 card installed
• I've installed a number of the TS-x72 and TS-x73 and TS-x73A modelse (where "X" is the # of disk slots) in my own home and at customer sites and they're just generall badass, overpowered, and do everything you can imagine
• You have a choice during initial setup: Use QuTS Hero or QTS, one important note: QuTS is better for data safety, but it locks down 40% of your RAM, but QTS doesn't; I typically use QuTS for customers ... but point being:
• If you intend to do any virtualization OR you intend to use QuTS Hero, you'll want to upgrade the RAM; most modern units support up to 64GB, and you can pick up compatible 2x32GB kits for around $90-110 = Crucial, Kingston, Mushkin, Samsung, and Hynix are almost always compatible, IMPE

If you ever have any questions about QNAP hardware or Ubiquiti hardware, don't hesitate to give me a shout. After difficulty (ageism is real, my friends) trying to find a job after my layoff last March, I finally bit the bullet and started my own small business focused on restaurant/small business Ubiquiti buildouts which typically include a QNAP NAS, Unifi network/wifi, Unifi Talk telephony, cameras, access control, and low voltage/structured cabling (plus some e-recycling/hardware refurb). I've spent my career doing all of this stuff, so it just made sense, since nobody wants to hire someone half a century old with oodles of experience, why not just do my own thing?

 

Stitched an emergency exit zipper into the loft. I figure everything that uses gas is by the door so having another way out probably isn't a bad idea. This exits out to the roof of the truck

 

Excellent download!

I am pretty handy in Unifi/Ubiquiti. When I stumble I have some smarter friends but I will definitely let you know. I love that for you too and hope you find great success in it! These systems are great and I really like my buildout. Only issue is $$$ limiting my scalability as desired... so we will see how things play out in the near future.

 

It definitely is spendy.

But you know what I hear from 100% of the customers I've installed Ubiquiti systems for in the last 5-6 years, typically within the first 6-12 months?

"I cannot believe how much money I wasted on service calls and replacing hardware before I got this stuff. It's paid for itself, maybe two or three times over already..."

Doesn't matter if it's primarily network equipment, or the most recent buildout I did which has a shitload of Unifi door access and telephony, which they absolutely love, being able to see who is at the door and buzz them in using a $75 used Unifi Talk phone off fleaBay and their new door intercom. Everyone loves it.

And the best part is, most of them are tech savvy enough that once I get their setup planned out, and get the base config in place, they can take the rest from there. Sucks for me, but so far I've gotten at least one or two leads out of every customer, and it's resulted in a number of call-outs to come help with more difficult problems, which is what I really prefer doing anyway.

I really dunno if the business will go anywhere, I've only been able to bill out about $5k in work since February as of this weekend. If I can manage to get that closer to $6k-8k/mo in billables, I think I can make it work. I'd ultimately prefer to get to a subscription model where I'm charging out monthly for X# hours of support/install time on a couple dozen customers. If I could do that and juggle 1-2 new builds per month, I'd be in a really good place.

 

I understand and love all of that. When I did my install about a year ago, my only issue was when I switched from Starlink to Fiber. There was a router thing that I had to work out with the to get my system to operate correctly. Now I love it. Other than that, i ignorantly bought the stupid ATT backup but was able to sell it off on the flea site so I am much happier now.

These things are great!

And for the record, I hope you can scale! That would be awesome!

 

Again, fingers crossed!

On the ATT backup - I've seen some interesting feedback on that, and some cool hacks you can get away with to drive pricing down on the service. What I've been using for failover is cheap 4G modems that can utilize external antennae with T-Mo sims. T-Mo's data rates are pretty solid. It'll suck when 4G goes down because the same units in 5G are painfully priced. But for now, it's been working alright.

 

Threw together a little cedar planter box for the front steps.

 

"Ditto."

Seriously though...literally the only time I've EVER had to reboot has been when an update required it.

Nice side effect - previously, anytime I'd call the ISP, they'd blame it on the router. Now they ask what I have and sort of say "oh..." and immediately start troubleshooting THEIR equipment.

 

So I have been cutting a lot of wood recently, as I had a bunch of ash and cherry taken down that were rotting/infested. I'm basically self taught and I have missed a few of the important lessons. One being how to tell when you chain is worn out. I used to replace them reguarly but thought I was being wasteful so I realllllly try to get my use out of them now.

I've been having trouble the last few years since I made that change. Cutting at a angle. Having to use force or wiggle the saw to get it going on harder stuff, getting tough to sharpen etc.... I finally did a google yesterday, turns out you shouldn't sharpen your chain as long as I have and those are all signs that they are used up. So I popped a new chain on (I have extras, just don't want to waste) and WOW. Melts through hardwood, no pressure, takes about 1/10th of the effort and battery power on the saw. Holy cow I have been being silly. So now I'll sharpen them until I start to notice any issues, then toss them. I use a good sized battery saw that can cut 18-20 inch stuff up easy with a fresh chain. I was struggling on 6 inch stuff with the worn out chains I was using.

Just an FYI for people who might be like me and are out there winging it. That said I've cut probably 500 trees down in the last 9 years here (small only a few dozen big guys), so I am a slow learner.

 

I need to figure out a way to keep my uncle from wandering away again, 1 more time and I get to do a lil time for negligence I could easily padlock the gates but I hate the idea of my elders being trapped if some shit hits a fan.

This is the type of latch I have, I'm open to suggestions.




I sure wish I could get the guy the help he needs but at almost $10k a month his money and mine would be gone in no time flat and then we'd just be in the same sinking boat only without a money life jacket

If I had my way id anchor a chain to the wall and just chain the damn gate closed.

 

I know it's probably unrealistic, but the few folks in my life with similar issues have resorted to keeping someone with them all day. Maybe you know someone in your neighborhood who you trust and would stay there during the day while you work and do it for "cheap"? Otherwise you sort of have to lock them up, and also keep any way of climbing the fence inaccessible. These old folks get crafty when fixated.

It's a sad, hard and uncomfortable time for everyone involved. Sometimes hard choices must be made for their safety, and apparently your freedom.

If they lock you up, who the hell looks after him next? How does that even make sense. Good luck and I hope you find an answer.

 

excellent advice.

 

I think they'd expect my 93 year old grandma to watch her 89 year old brother, it really is dumb AF.

I'm just glad that grandma is still sharp like a fillet knife. I think it's the diet Coke and the popcorn, she definitely doesn't take good care of herself.

 

Side note: I may need to go the nursing home and find me a shuga momma.

 

F it



Temporary solution

 

What is the recommended Merv rating for a 16x20x4 AC filter at the air handler? I need to order some.

 

I was told 13 when my new units were installed.
Actually using 11 and still using the cheapo fiber glass filter at ceiling grills.

 

Looking online it says 13 max to prevent the unit from working too hard due to restricted airflow at 14 or higher.

 

Have heard that as well. The 11 is much more dense than any filter I ever put in the ceiling grill. Air Flow seems good as well.

 

You can get a lot of life out of a chain of you sharpen it right. That includes correctly setting the anti-kickback “nub” in front every few sharpenings to a height just below the cutting tooth. Otherwise no matter how sharp it is the kickback nub is making contact before the tooth and it won’t cut for shit.

I’ve run them down to where the cutting tooth is pretty much gone and as long as everything is kept at the right offset they cut just as good as new.

 

This is the way....

I always run the budget 3 pack. I cant trust the green ones you can see through, so I am one up from those. I would rather my system work and stress trying to be some magical filter of micron crap.

 

I use a "cheater" sharpener that hits the nub as you do the teeth. I don't doubt I could have done a more precise job. I was sharpening the chains probably 30-40 times. Not sure what you get doing it your way.

 

A buddy of mine is C-level at a "startup" (air quotes b/c they've been doing it seemingly forever) with several private sector and gov't contracts. They make GPS products for tracking. Everything from pucks you toss into crates to ensure humidity/temp was never in danger zone or the crate never exceeded certain angles or shock, to wearable items that clock in/out and track staff around construction sites, to accelerometer-laden safety harnesses which can detect staff falling and alert out, to human-wearable sensors for assisted living facilities that can sense if a patient has fallen over and is laying on the fround, to 'snitch' style products for your classic car with geofencing and smartphone alerts.

You may want to consider the latter and find a way to attach it to your loved on. Set a geofence on your yard in the smartphone app. Any time he walks outside that geofence, not only would you get an immediate alert, but you could easily pinpoint him to his exact location, making retreival a snap.

Look ... it's not going to be cheap. You need to pay for the GSM/CDMA service to get alerts, and the monthly subscription. But you're talking <$100/month for this versus $10k/mo which is painful. The hardest part would be keeping the device (A) on him, embedded in something he never leaves home without and (B) charged up, I know the unit I had in my car needed to be recharged once every couple weeks, but I haven't used a more-recent interation of their product, so batteries may be longer-life now.

I can ping him to get his thoughts if it's interesting. Just tossing out an unconventional idea at you.

 

What is a cheater sharpener? I badly need to learn how to sharpen my chain. All I have at my house is oak and it's eating them up like crazy. It's just one of those things I have never learned to do and should have.

 

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Husqvarna-...saw-File-Kit/1002541840?gStoreCode=3206&gQT=1 This is what I have and use. There are others available, but there is a guide that sits on the chain and then you run your file through the guide slots. Not sure what @RainMan_PNW is using though. Hard woods definitely dull the teeth quicker. I harvest 3-4 cords of beetle kill pine annually from the Forrest.

 

One of these, I think they are great for an average joe like myself. I have never used the traditional ones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3IX-6sb3Jk

 

My dad was a sawyer growing up, and many of my friends still are. Many of my habits come from their years of habits built off using the tools to make a living.

I’ve tried a lot of different saw sharpeners over the years trying to find better/easier/faster (I haven’t tried that specific Husky one though - it’s nice and compact). I constantly go back to the old clip on style that clips over the round file and rides across the top of the tooth. That and a cheap harbor freight chop-saw style power sharpener.

when going out for the day, I’ll always bring 2 spare chains with me. Every tank of gas (or battery on the cordless), I’ll do a quick dress on the teeth with the file. Nothing too precise or careful, but enough to refresh the cutting edge - 1-2 passes per tooth. If I’m noticing it’s really not cutting well or if I fuck up and run the chain into a rock, spike, or into the dirt a bunch, I’ll just switch chains and keep going. That is usually all I need to get through a day of cutting (as much as my body can handle any more at least).

when I get back to the house, any chain that has been used gets a full sharpen using the power sharpener and I load the saw with a fresh chain before putting it away. I go over them carefully here, making sure the angles are consistent, antikickback nubs are adjusted, teeth are there same length, etc. then they get hung up and are ready for next time.