Internet in the sticks

[rl71459]

Chris

Your system sounds absolutely spectacular! That 100kw unit must be able to burn some serious fuel.
Do you sync when switching from one to the other?

I would love to see some pict's if you have any.

Rob

[rcavictim]

Chris,

Your power system and the wireless internet all sound so far upscale to anything the rest of us have cobbled together you just have to post some pictures.  In a word...WOW. 

Do you actually need the power of the 100 kW White or was that just a good deal machine that came your way?  I wouldn't be able to afford the fuel to idle an engine that size.

[cschuerm]

I am always looking for good used generators for customers and ran across this one at an auction.  Although it only had 280 hours on it, it was represented as non-functional, so I did pick it up pretty cheap (relatively speaking).  As I suspected, the injection pump was shot due to fuel contamination.  An overhaul + new belts and hoses had the beast back online in no time.  Since it gets plenty hot here in Oklahoma, I wanted something big enough to run both A/C units plus everything else if needed.  The White burns about 3gph, so I wouldn't want to feed it for a long time.  Fine for those brief storm related outages where I just want to get on with life, but not ideal for those multi-week winter ice storm outages.  That's why the Lister is available also (plus I enjoy tinkering with it )
The ASCO transfer switch does indeed do sync-before-switch transfers.  It works quite nicely although I can usually tell when I transfer from generator back to line (If I'm running the lister/ST) as the generator output is about 8 volts higher than line so lights dim ever so slightly.  Otherwise, there's not so much as a flicker.
My next hobby project is to tie this all together to my local telemetry network so the "house" can send me a text message if anything happens.  If nobody is at home, I want to be able to shut down the generator via cell phone.

Hobbies can sure get out of control if you start applying random justifications to them, can't they :-)

[cschuerm]

Thought y'all might get a chuckle out of this pic:  Lifting a bit over 12,000 lbs over the top of my shop to get the big gen to it's new home.  As soon as the weather gets better, next task is to sand and re-paint the box.  It's actually in good shape, but sure is ugly.  Fortunately, it's like new inside though.

[rbodell]

Thought y'all might get a chuckle out of this pic:  Lifting a bit over 12,000 lbs over the top of my shop to get the big gen to it's new home.  As soon as the weather gets better, next task is to sand and re-paint the box.  It's actually in good shape, but sure is ugly.  Fortunately, it's like new inside though.

Man that crane looks small for that much weight. Obviously it wasn't but the hard hat still looked a little useless LOL. I would like to have that just to say I owned it.

[cschuerm]

Amazingly, the crane was rated for 24 tons (de-rated based on boom angle of course).
Yeah, I had to chuckle at the rigger's hat too.  Had this mental image of Wylie Coyote holding a little umbrella over his head while a huge rock fell on top of him :-)

Chris

[mobile_bob]

something is way wrong with the crane rating of 24tons
that crane can't lift 24tons at anywhere past the side of the truck, and that truck is far to light for that sort of load.

someone mislabeled that crane!

i work on just that sort of crane and that is a very light truck for a boom that is to lift much over maybe 10tons with the first stage
and have the load much over maybe 8-10ft off the edge of the truck bed.

all i can say is you are lucky he got it placed for you, and i would not want any part of service work on that crane for that company
someone will end up getting killed before long if they do lifting anywhere near 24tons.

thats just flat out scary

bob g

[cschuerm]

Thanks Jens :-)
Saved up for many years to finally get my dream shop - it's sure nice to have!  Of course, it's almost totally full of "toys" now.
Regarding the synchronization:
The Asco assumes that there is a slight variation in frequency of multiple sources and when the logic decides to transfer between two live sources, it just waits until they come into phase.  You can configure to to just transfer without sync or wait a period of time for sync to occur.  If it doesn't come into sync in the configured time, it can be configured to either not transfer or go ahead and ignore the out of sync condition.  It also monitors just about every aspect of power you'd care to care about.  Pretty spiffy bit of hardware.  I lucked across a great deal on this one from an electrical contractor I work with who had a couple left over after a big telecom project.

re the crane:  I'm no expert - just read what the instructions on the unit said.  It was provided by a major cartage firm with a professional rigger, so I assume they know what they're doing.  I do think it looks a LOT smaller in the pictures than it really was. 

cheers,
chris

[rbodell]

Thanks Jens :-)
Saved up for many years to finally get my dream shop - it's sure nice to have!  Of course, it's almost totally full of "toys" now.
cheers,
chris

I know what you mean about toys. When I moved out here to Texas from Florida I had to get the biggest u-haul truck they had and that was loaded to the top. All my personal stuff was in two boxes and a duffel bag on the seat beside me. You know how they say to throw out anything you haven't used in the last g months, well ...... some of that junk collection I have had for 30 years and I have become quite attached to it. Hay you never know when you might need a vacuum tube. That is why my home is a 20 foot shipping container and my shop is a 40 footer.

[a31ford]

FWIW (For What It's Worth)

I currently Use a set of profesional wireless units (one is an "AP" access point), the other is a "CPE" Client Premise Equipment (Client of the AP)

The connection is over 10 miles and the units with the right antennas will do 25+ miles.

If anyone is intrested, I would consider selling the extra units I have, with 50% of the sale going to the message board as a donation.

I have a total of 4 Ap's (Base) and 12 CPE's (Remote) all S/W and installation instructions, as well as I would be willing to "consult" free of charge for the install.

More than one CPE can talk to the base at once, so a small sharing network could be configured for people that live close to each other.


Price is open to offers, (again 50% would be a board donation),  units where over 1000 each new, 7 years ago.

[Jedon]

a31ford,
I might be interested in your links, my "neighbor" is attempting to get a WISP that I don't have LOS to, but I can probably get near LOS ( some trees in the way maybe ) to him. Distance is 2500ft, he is up on the cliffs above me, 300ft elevation higher.
What kind of antenna would be used for a short distance like that, yagi? parabolic? bi-quad?

[Chris]

OK my internet has been up and down driving me crazy.
A quick refresher on my system.

Land line with DSL is about 3 mile down the shore at a neighbours generator shed with an access point atnennas etc pointing to my house.
He has been having trouble with people messing with his stuff, so he has locked the gate to his property. Can't blame him! So when I need to do a reset on the DSL modem, I used to drive down and plug and unplug. Now I have to try and track him down to do the reset. So far he has been OK with this, but I see this as becoming a problem. So I want to reset remotely! I have been trying to find a "Black Box" that I can plug the Modem into that will allow me to call it and turn the power off and then back on via the land line. Anyone have any suggestions where to get the "Black Box"?

Thanks,

Chris

[rcavictim]

OK my internet has been up and down driving me crazy.
A quick refresher on my system.

Land line with DSL is about 3 mile down the shore at a neighbours generator shed with an access point atnennas etc pointing to my house.
He has been having trouble with people messing with his stuff, so he has locked the gate to his property. Can't blame him! So when I need to do a reset on the DSL modem, I used to drive down and plug and unplug. Now I have to try and track him down to do the reset. So far he has been OK with this, but I see this as becoming a problem. So I want to reset remotely! I have been trying to find a "Black Box" that I can plug the Modem into that will allow me to call it and turn the power off and then back on via the land line. Anyone have any suggestions where to get the "Black Box"?

Thanks,

Chris

That's easy.  Just run a second string and instead of a tin can on each end one end has a pull ring, the other a spring loaded switch....

I gotta show you guys the Universal Remote Volume Control I made for my living room stereo!

[sailawayrb]

I have been trying to find a "Black Box" that I can plug the Modem into that will allow me to call it and turn the power off and then back on via the land line. Anyone have any suggestions where to get the "Black Box"?

One of these might work for you:

http://www.homecontrols.com/Monterey-Instruments-X10-TeleMaster-MITMS

http://www.homecontrols.com/X10-PRO-Telephone-Responder-XPPHC06

At my remote ranch, I use X10 to turn ON/OFF a 56K modem/router/wireless access point (google Wiflyer) and several wireless cameras (google Linksys WVC54GCA) that are trigged by motion detection and email me the photos/video (sample photo attached).  When powered ON, the Wiflyer 56K modem dials the IP phone number and gains access to Internet.  The cameras wirelessly communicate to the Wiflyer access point and no computer is even required at the remote location.

[rcavictim]

A friend also uses the X10 system. When I was a kid I was a fan of the XL5 system.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oboly57qxjg

You could send the XL5 to your remote ranch and Steve Zodiak could blast any intruders directly.

Sorry, I've had a really rough week!