WiFi


Lux GEO WiFi Thermost 5
Thermostats have come a long way since the days of the gold-colored round Honeywell dial thermostats at your grandma’s house. Ecobee launched the first “smart” thermostat in 2007, but others like Google’s Nest and Honeywell’s Lyric weren’t far behind. But now even those manufacturers are shipping 2nd or 3rd generation hardware… meaning that […]

Review: Lux GEO WiFi Thermostat


Setting up multiple WLANs in DD-WRT 24
For the past while, I’ve recommended DD-WRT K2.6 firmware builds for the Linksys E4200 router, as well as other Linksys / Cisco WiFi routers. The builds based on the newer K3.x Linux kernel have now reached a stable enough point where you can run them… but I still recommend the […]

DD-WRT K2.6 Kernel vs. K3.x and How To Upgrade


Ubiquiti UAP-PRO access point 27
Getting decent WiFi coverage at my house has always been a challenge. The house is three stories (the bottom floor is a daylight basement) and has a footprint of 50′ x 100′. A four car garage extends the footprint even farther to the south, and because I use WiFi-controller irrigation […]

How to Install a Ubiquiti UniFi Access Point Pro (UAP-PRO)



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“Smart” home devices don’t only make your life easier, but in many cases can also save you money. Readers of my blog already know I’m a big fan of ecobee’s smart thermostat products. They’re WiFi enabled controllers that use weather data available via the Internet to predicatively (and reactively) minimize HVAC system […]

WiFi Sprinker Controller Review: Rachio Iro vs. RainMachine vs. IrrigationCaddy


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In an effort to extend my WiFi coverage outside our vacation home on a lake, I purchased a Ubiquiti NanoStation LOCO M5. My goal was to provide a strong WiFi signal a few hundred feet into the back yard, onto the beach, and all the way out to the dock. […]

Connecting iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod) to Ubiquiti NanoStation M5 ...


Blueline PowerCost Monitor Facebook Post 5
Initially, I had intended this post to be one of my “rant” posts. In fact, I’d already written it in my head after a frustrating day of wrestling with a combination of badly-behaved piece of network hardware and unhelpful front-line tech support personnel. Regular followers of my blog are familiar […]

Rave: Blueline Innovations Customer Service



WiFi connection on iPhone 4 680
UPDATED Dec 21, 2016. This post is a reference post for those looking to squeeze maximum speed out of their Cisco Linksys E4200 v1 wireless router running DD-WRT. The DD-WRT build I currently recommend for this router is K2.6 30880 (by BrainSlayer). IMPORTANT: My testing shows that DD-WRT K2.6 builds are much faster on the […]

My Cisco Linksys E4200 DD-WRT Settings for Max Speed


Setting up multiple WLANs in DD-WRT 14
Even for the extremely ungeeky, having WiFi available throughout your house is pretty much standard these days. And while the next logical step of securing that network via encryption (WEP is for n00bs — those in the know use WPA2-AES) may not be standard, it really should be. Assuming you do […]

Use DD-WRT to Create a Guest WiFi Network and Block ...


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A few months ago, I wrote a product review for the ecobee Smart Thermostat (along with complete installation instructions and photos) which had I purchased to remotely monitor and control the thermostat in my Utah house while I was away. Overall, my review of the ecobee was

Installing my 2nd ecobee and Using Group Admin Features



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One of my favorite movie lines is from the 2001 movie Bandits, starring Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton. Billy Bob plays a neurotic genius who, at one point in the movie, states “You know the hardest thing about being smart? I always pretty much know what’s going to happen next. […]

ecobee Mothership Won’t Let My Thermostat Phone Home