That would be wind turbines, KG doesn't live in the back of beyond but well back, I think he may be so far out he is off grid.
I am pretty interested and waiting to get excited...
- Thread starter KGIII
- Start date
OP
Wind turbines. Windmills, if you'd prefer. Windmills is kind of historically inaccurate, at least not descriptive enough. They were used to create rotational energy that did work, where turbines directly take the rotational energy and convert it to electricity in a self-contained unit.
A windmill may mechanically power a pump. A wind turbine may produce electricity that is used to power a pump.
OP
Not quite. I have grid/mains power. It's just not reliable. I have more outages than there are months in the year, some lasting for days (or even into the week category).
If you'd like, look up 'Rangeley, Maine'. I'm somewhere near 38 or 39 km from that village.
It's pretty remote. It's more than 70 km to the nearest hospital, large store, fast food, etc...
But we do have electricity and phone lines that run up the road I live on. I live on a private road with a few other houses. A long time ago, there was a logging camp in the area. We live in that area, well off the main road.
(I'm not too concerned with someone stalking me.)
To add to that, visit this link and scroll to the climate data:
I'm at a higher elevation than that, so my extremes are more drastic. We're also not far from Mt. Washington, which has the highest recorded wind speed. They had sustained winds of 231 mph, which is something like 370ish km/h. We don't get winds that strong, but they're often 100 km/h or greater.
We average over 3 meters worth of snow per year, though I get much more than that because of my elevation.
It's awesome! I love it here. I live here on purpose, when I could realistically live pretty much anywhere I want.
OP
Update: I now have fiber to the outside of my house. It's a big ol' coil of fiber optic line.
I can't do anything with it, but it's here. If I could hook it up as it sits outside, I'd do it. I've been using satellite internet long enough.
I can't do anything with it, but it's here. If I could hook it up as it sits outside, I'd do it. I've been using satellite internet long enough.
theLegionWithin
Well-Known Member
that "last mile" bit is often the toughest part to accomplish so congratulations are in order! congratulations!
OP
Assuming it functions as expected, it'll be worth every penny. Fortunately, they were running the fiber through my area, so it wasn't outlandishly expensive. I'm optimistic. The folks with the service in the village are happy enough, from what I've heard. I guess I can go all the way up to 2 GB service. I do not really see a reason to do so.
OP
Guess what I have?!?
Alas, I have work to do. The last few routers provided acceptable throughput throughout the house. I also have ethernet runs in much of the house. But it's not complete coverage.
The router they supplied is great, if you're not too far away. At 10 meters, it's a weak signal.
I used to have a nice router and had wireless access points throughout the house. I took that infrastructure out because I didn't need it. I have no idea where I put the gear. I think it might be out above the garage, but I'm not sure. Try as I might, I've yet to remember where I put the stuff.
A part of me thinks that I gave the stuff away. I'm not a huge fan of clutter and keeping stuff that isn't important in some way. This means I give stuff away. It means I donate a ton of stuff. Of course, I also send stuff off to be recycled.
So... Well...
I HAVE FIBER INTERNET!!!
This means I have work to do. The provided router only has four ports. It has a horribly weak wireless signal. The router's admin password is not something they shared with me. Yes, I explicitly asked for it, and they more or less told me to pound sand.
At a minimum, I need to get a replacement router. I'll be okay with just the four ports. One line goes down into the rack in the basement. where my switch is. Though, it's nice to be able to run a line when needed, that probably won't be a problem.
The lousy wireless is going to be a problem. I'm thinking about a better router and putting up extenders/access points.
I'm going to download the entire internet.
Also, it looks like I can go from my 100 mb/sec to 250 mb/sec for like five bucks. They changed their pricing structure. No, I do not know why they did that. It made that tier quite reasonable. So, we'll upgrade that. There's also 2 GB service for a business. I would be a business, technically. I even have my own business ID.
They need to come back out. They need to run fiber to the shop. Other than that, the installation was quick and painless. I already had everything marked out for them. Everything inside was marked out. (I have an 'envelope house'. So, they had to route through two walls.)
Now, let's see how well they keep the service up and running through a Maine winter.
Alas, I have work to do. The last few routers provided acceptable throughput throughout the house. I also have ethernet runs in much of the house. But it's not complete coverage.
The router they supplied is great, if you're not too far away. At 10 meters, it's a weak signal.
I used to have a nice router and had wireless access points throughout the house. I took that infrastructure out because I didn't need it. I have no idea where I put the gear. I think it might be out above the garage, but I'm not sure. Try as I might, I've yet to remember where I put the stuff.
A part of me thinks that I gave the stuff away. I'm not a huge fan of clutter and keeping stuff that isn't important in some way. This means I give stuff away. It means I donate a ton of stuff. Of course, I also send stuff off to be recycled.
So... Well...
I HAVE FIBER INTERNET!!!
This means I have work to do. The provided router only has four ports. It has a horribly weak wireless signal. The router's admin password is not something they shared with me. Yes, I explicitly asked for it, and they more or less told me to pound sand.
At a minimum, I need to get a replacement router. I'll be okay with just the four ports. One line goes down into the rack in the basement. where my switch is. Though, it's nice to be able to run a line when needed, that probably won't be a problem.
The lousy wireless is going to be a problem. I'm thinking about a better router and putting up extenders/access points.
I'm going to download the entire internet.
Also, it looks like I can go from my 100 mb/sec to 250 mb/sec for like five bucks. They changed their pricing structure. No, I do not know why they did that. It made that tier quite reasonable. So, we'll upgrade that. There's also 2 GB service for a business. I would be a business, technically. I even have my own business ID.
They need to come back out. They need to run fiber to the shop. Other than that, the installation was quick and painless. I already had everything marked out for them. Everything inside was marked out. (I have an 'envelope house'. So, they had to route through two walls.)
Now, let's see how well they keep the service up and running through a Maine winter.
Probably cheaper and a lot quicker to get 2 or 3 mini wi-fi extenders or extenders that use the house mains wiring
OP
Yeah, I'll be doing the extenders that also function as access points. I'll be replacing the router with one that has better integrated wireless but not so much for that. The main reason for grabbing a new router will be a control issue. It will mean that I'm in control of my router. I'll have the admin credentials.
I might even replace the 'MODEM' for one of my own choosing. They are separate right now, so maybe I can find one that is both a 'MODEM' and a router.
I use the quotes because I'm not sure if it's really a MODEM. I'd have to think about it and do some reading. It probably does not 'MOdulate and DEModulate'. At least it does not do so in a traditional way.
But, yeah, replacing the router is more about control. The access points might as well go back up. At the same time, I should do access points on all four corners of the house, ensuring some outside coverage.
Before I hit the post reply button, I decided to look. Yeah, it's not a MODEM. And, yes, I'm kind of anal about the spelling. It's not 'modem', nor is it 'Modem'. Sure, those have been in common use for a long time, but they're wrong. We don't call it an 'atm' or 'Atm'. We call it an ATM. Words have meaning!
For fiber it's an optical network terminator - ONT.
You'd enjoy a router with full control. I recommend using a fully OpenWRT supported model. If in doubt, order yourself the OpenWRT ONE - the distro's first own router development! Yeah, it misses a switch, but you probably find one in the attic.
OP
Yeah, I've done that route before. I used Tomato for a bit. I also built my own router with a built-in firewall. I went that route for a while, as well. Then, well, I just got kind of lazy and didn't really feel like maintaining it. Those were back in my early DSL days. That company was absorbed by another company, and they were so horrible that I went without good internet for a long time.
But...
This is a wired connection from all the way across the house. Though, I should mention that the infrastructure means that their equipment is pretty close to the center of the house. So, it's not an exceptionally long run...
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Yeah, that pleases me. That pleases the missus. I'm pretty sure even the dog is happy.
If you go back to the first post, you'll see that this process has taken me over a year. That's not a typo. It took over a year. In fact, the planning for it started a couple of years ago. I just didn't get interested until I learned they'd be running it down the road not too far from my house. When I first contacted them, they weren't even sure if they'd let me pay for the fiber to run up the private road we're on. Then, they decided that they'd do that, and I felt the investment was worth it. It wasn't inexpensive, but so far I think it's worth it!
But, yeah... I started this thread more than a year ago.
Also, the router I'm using is using OpenWRT. (I'm poking at the admin login page but it won't let me in with the usual default passwords.)
There's no default password sticker on the router. There is a reset button. I might be able to reset it to factory conditions. Then, I might be able to find the default password.
It's a good thing that I'm patient. Man, this has been a long process.
Bingo! That way you can upgrade the firmware when needed, monitor for suspicious activity, and configure it as you want (such as your choice of DNS).
So happy to hear that you finally have fiber.
A new access point ought to solve your weak WiFi problem. I solved mine by switching to a slower WiFi speed; the faster the WiFi the less of a distance it'll cover. And I don't notice any difference in speed.
OP
The router they gave me is capable of wi-fi 6. The only device I have that works with that is a new phone. All of my other wireless adapters are using older specs. I'll probably try a good (rated) USB wireless adapter. If that works, I might skip the access points. The thing is, I have a large house. I'm thinking that I'll need access points. I had them set up a while back (years ago). But, then I got a router (oddly good and from the ISP) that covered everything. So, I didn't bother configuring the access points/extenders. I just took them down.
But, yes... The most important thing for me is the ability to control the router. I don't have a modern router. In my basement, I have a rack with a 24-port switch, but I don't have a router. I might have an older one somewhere in storage. It's not really worth the effort to go hunt it down. I can just buy a replacement with all the modern bells and whistles.
I just looked, and your account creation date is more recent than the start of this thread. This thread wasn't even started until the process had been 'in the works' for a while. Fiber internet is extremely impressive. I have conduit in the walls, which means much of the house has, or can have, a wired connection. The house is wired with CAT5e. I will never need anything faster. At least I don't think I'll ever need anything faster.
I suppose the theoretical maximum throughput for fiber is petabytes per second (in lab conditions). Though 1 GB is offered in some areas, or even higher, I don't expect to see that much improvement in my area and in my lifetime. Frankly, I'm a bit amazed that I have fiber at all.
So long as they keep it working, I'll be pretty happy. Winter is coming, so we'll find out how well they do with maintaining the lines. The company I use is 'Axium' and they're a 'local' company. Well, a company headquartered in Maine. I can order up to 1 GB/sec, but I really don't see a need for it. That may change. I will upgrade to the 250 MB/sec level. That should provide all the headroom I'll need and future-proof my connection.
I can actually watch a YouTube video in 4k!
I don't have any reason to watch a video in 4k, but I checked to ensure that I could.
Again, I can't stress how remote I am. I'm not like 'Alaska-remote'. You can drive to my house with enough time. But, the village nearby is where the supply trucks turn around and go back to civilization. The grocery store in the village is literally the last stop for the grocery delivery trucks. I'm outside of that.
I'm pretty amazed that I can get fiber at all.
What sort of connection are you working with?
As long as the misses is happy then mission accomplished.
Don't reset anything until you find the password you will need it.
Look online it's posted somewhere as it's a generic password to get into the router.
Leastwise mine is.
Once inside the router you can reset to a password you choose.
If you own the equipment than they have to supply you the password.
OP
I was able to find the default password for this model of router. Sadly, it appears that they've changed it. So, I'll not be hitting the reset button until I know I can recover from it. More likely, I'll never bother with it. I've found some well-rated routers in the 'very affordable' category. Then, I'll have complete control over the router.
I'll do some more research, but that's going to be my plan. There are some in the low three-figure range, from brands that I recognize. One of those will do. If that doesn't do the trick, I'll just install access points to extend the range. I don't plan on throwing a lot of money at the problem. After all, I'll have to do something similar with the shop.
For simplicity, I'll likely go with the same brand for all the components. While I'm probably more familiar with Cisco (or Juniper), I'm purely in the 'consumer' market and will likely just use Netgear. I haven't decided yet. It'll take more reading and research before I come to a conclusion.
It's not really a pressing problem. In the places I'm likely to use the internet, there's either an acceptable wireless signal or an Ethernet jack on the wall.
This router doesn't really let me do anything. I can't create subnets. I can't isolate stuff (though I do that at the switch). I can't even configure the router to provide a separate network for guests. They obviously did not want to invest much money (or manpower) to this. Rather than get support calls on how to configure router settings, they just block everything. There's no port forwarding, no QoS, no dynamic DNS, or anything like that.
So, yeah... A new router is going to happen. I'll do my research. I'll set a budget. Then, it'll be tested in the house, and I can then expand it to the shop. That'll be nice.
Don't spend a pile of money on a router as it best to upgrade your internet equipment every 2 to 3 years.
That's what AT&T does here at no cost to me and I get it's all figured in the cost.
Glad you finally got working fiber in the house.
That's what AT&T does here at no cost to me and I get it's all figured in the cost.
Glad you finally got working fiber in the house.
You'll be surprised how it developed. OpenWRT even has a public build service now (initially developed as a google summer of code project), enabling users to build a fw-update including custom installed packages to flash.
A neat resource to start informing oneself about a vendor is the overview at https://www.cvedetails.com/vendor/16/. Not talking absolute numbers or colouring, but you can pick&click a number and browse a list of entries to get a feeling, then take an example and look how/if they fixed it.
OP
Oh, I won't. The whole house will be under a few hundred bucks and should be good for any improved services offered.
I do not foresee needing anything bigger than gear that will support gigabit speeds.
That sounds pretty cool.
Thanks. Folks really need to keep their hardware updated, including routers. It should probably be automatic because we humans forget that sort of stuff.
For a while, Verizon's DSL boxes were (seemingly universally, at least in my area) all able to be flashed with different firmware. Which is how I ended up with Tomato. It was pretty slick. I ended up with a couple of extras. They wouldn't be useful in my current situation, as they don't support the wireless speeds. At least I don't think they would.
They worked with other DSL services and they could just be used as a router. They had both RJ11 and RJ45 inputs.
To a point.
Internet equipment is updated when AT&T sends out the new stuff and all that is necessary is to connect it.
I update my desktops as often as I find them in thrift stores. or Windows user's I know give me their old Windows desktops.
I refuse to buy a new desktops/
I've a shelf with new desktops that have failed.
Some of them never lasted a year.
Modern electronics is garbage.
No one will convince me otherwise.
All manufactured with the cheapest components.
All designed and manufactured with planned obsolescence.
OP
That's cool. The equipment provided by my ISP is inadequate on a couple of important levels. I'll 'futureproof' things by ensuring I have at least an in-home gigabit network. The equipment the ISP provided does not fit my needs. The wireless range is unacceptable and my inability to control the router is unacceptable. Those are 'deal-breakers' for me.
I don't like the idea of something in my home that's connected to the internet without my control. Then, I don't trust a small ISP to regularly update the equipment, and I don't want to live with the current conditions until they do.
You mentioned that before. It seems like a solid solution for you. I did buy a refurbished computer during the COVID era. It was mostly just to see what I could get for $100. It turned out to be a pretty solid computer. I have newer devices.
I no longer keep up with the bleeding-edge. I used to constantly have a new computer, always moving to the next big thing as it came. These days, one could do well with just an older quad-core CPU and 16 GB of RAM. Heck, folks can make due with less than that. People here seem to be comfortable with lower specs than that.
On the other hand, I do still upgrade my devices. It has been a while, so I'll likely explore some AMD options in the uocoming months. I no longer build my own computers, nor do I upgrade the individual components. It has been adequate to just grab something that's already built.
While I do usually pick a budget and stick to it, I'm not what you'd maybe call 'price-sensitive'. I'd rather pay more and have a device that's assembled for me. Along those lines, I'd rather pay more than deal with the ISPs inferior equipment aimed at the lowest common denominator.
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