# Why I swore off residential AV



## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

WiFi and ISPs

For those that don’t know, WiFi and ISPs in residential AV are everything. And to me is’s a bit of a crap shoot if they work well or not. I have been using a product called open mesh for distributed WiFi solutions and it usually works well most of the time but some times I have trouble with particular customers, high latency and dropouts and it drives me insaine. 

Just a rant but if I could find a rock solid distributed/mesh WiFi solution I might start taking residential AV jobs again because there’s money there but.


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

I pretty much quit doing AV unless they tell me exactly what they want. I had way to many times where the standard wiring made me look stupid to the homeowner. Mainly because the equipment was changing so fast.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

Even though the market is growing, I still don't find the juice worth the squeeze for residential automation / tech work. 

RE residential wifi - keep it simple, buy decent quality APs, run cables to each AP, no mesh or etc., keep what you can off the wifi - run cables to TVs, home offices, etc., it's very easy to light up residential architecture.


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

splatz said:


> RE residential wifi - keep it simple, buy decent quality APs, run cables to each AP, no mesh or etc., keep what you can off the wifi - run cables to TVs, home offices, etc., it's very easy to light up residential architecture.


I do all that and still it’s a crap shoot 

Mostly it works and sometimes it has issues.


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## joebanana (Dec 21, 2010)

I have a simple philosophy for home network situations, plug it in, if it works, fine, if not, it's crap and needs to be replaced.
This is for my personal network, for others, I refer the GeekSquad. (I ain't gots time for sorting out the interwebs).


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

I want nothing to do with it. Nothing.

I want to install something, make lots of money, and leave never to hear from the customer again until they are ready to pay me lots more money for something else.

I don't want calls because some gadget doesn't work and they don't want to believe that it's the router or internet or anything else. 

I will install newer things, but I am very clear that it is up to them to set it up and maintain it working properly. I only install it and ensure that there is proper power going to it. 

For example, the Ring motion sensor camera light, I will show them the power is going to it and then ask for my check. I will not wait for them to get it connected and see thru the camera.


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## 3DDesign (Oct 25, 2014)

Mesh Routers usually work well. When too much is applied to a single WiFi network, it's a good idea to install a second network. One dedicated to cameras and other devices and one for computers, phone, iPads etc. You can simply install a second Wifi system plugged into the same Router.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

3DDesign said:


> Mesh Routers usually work well. When too much is applied to a single WiFi network, it's a good idea to install a second network. One dedicated to cameras and other devices and one for computers, phone, iPads etc. You can simply install a second Wifi system plugged into the same Router.


Absolutely. If there are many cameras and many people in the house, splitting it into 2 networks is a great idea.


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## stuiec (Sep 25, 2010)

HackWork said:


> I want nothing to do with it. Nothing.
> 
> I want to install something, make lots of money, and leave never to hear from the customer again until they are ready to pay me lots more money for something else.
> 
> ...



Glad I had a look at this thread. I have a customer, a GC that I work for (commercial) that needs a few things at his residence. Mostly lighting and power, but is interested in some Ring products and automation. I'd been wondering whether or not I ought to refer him to someone else for the automation etc...now I'm certain I should. I too cannot stand fiddling around with end user home electronics on someone else's behalf. They lie about what is happening, what they did, what they didn't do.......makes me hate people more than usual. He's getting a home theater later anyway, might as well introduce him to someone who does it all, and keep the electrical to myself.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

stuiec said:


> Glad I had a look at this thread. I have a customer, a GC that I work for (commercial) that needs a few things at his residence. Mostly lighting and power, but is interested in some Ring products and automation. I'd been wondering whether or not I ought to refer him to someone else for the automation etc...now I'm certain I should. I too cannot stand fiddling around with end user home electronics on someone else's behalf. They lie about what is happening, what they did, what they didn't do.......makes me hate people more than usual. He's getting a home theater later anyway, might as well introduce him to someone who does it all, and keep the electrical to myself.


Something like the light, an electrician needs to do it. But you just have to be very open and clear about it. Tell him you will bring 120V power to it, but nothing else. He has to set it up on his own time.


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## gnuuser (Jan 13, 2013)

When i do networking I hard wire as much as I can, generally when I pull cables for cat 5 or cat 6 I tape a lable on each end denoting the termination and room location (for example T568b/ living-room)I can terminate at one end and hook up the transmitters (off of course)
and terminate the other ends referring to the label.
once I have the terminations done I turn on the transmitters and go from room to room with a receiver and test the cabling. (applying a passed sticker on successful test.) (I rarely have to re-terminate)

I usually don't do a lot of wireless because building material composition can seriously degrade performance

Its actually far easier to have a data port in every room (with exception of the bathroom)
and much more reliable.


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## StarCat (Oct 15, 2018)

*Wifi IS Insane*



five.five-six said:


> WiFi and ISPs
> 
> For those that don’t know, WiFi and ISPs in residential AV are everything. And to me is’s a bit of a crap shoot if they work well or not. I have been using a product called open mesh for distributed WiFi solutions and it usually works well most of the time but some times I have trouble with particular customers, high latency and dropouts and it drives me insaine.
> 
> Just a rant but if I could find a rock solid distributed/mesh WiFi solution I might start taking residential AV jobs again because there’s money there but.



Wifi is a very bad idea, the power density iss definitely too high, and the waveform is toxic to human biology:
1.Because its Microwave and your body is mostly water

2.Because the Wavelengths are close to the size of your body and organs
Its not possible for this type of Frequency Pollution not to have negative impact on Organic Living systems.
It could have been implemented with a different Frequency set. Same thing with cell phones.
Sane and intelligent people are turning a willful blind eye to this thing.
A few on the fringes are waking up to just how dangerous it is.


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

StarCat said:


> Wifi is a very bad idea, the power density iss definitely too high, and the waveform is toxic to human biology:
> 1.Because its Microwave and your body is mostly water
> 
> 2.Because the Wavelengths are close to the size of your body and organs
> ...


Wow, you should hook up with mikey.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

StarCat said:


> Wifi is a very bad idea, the power density iss definitely too high, and the waveform is toxic to human biology:
> 1.Because its Microwave and your body is mostly water
> 
> 2.Because the Wavelengths are close to the size of your body and organs
> ...


You are correct. There is similar danger in electricity itself, and I refuse to live in a house in which electricity is flowing thru every wall, so I ripped all the wires out.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

Having cordless landline phones in your house is way worse than the computing stuff. Those are equal to having a cell tower inside your house. 


Starcat is absolutely correct about the dangers present with the wifi, but......

The 5G is the one that is going to cause the obvious damage to humans , and it is going to happen within a few years of startup. DNA damage. Smart and usually very very wealthy people are already consuming carbon 60 in olive oil daily . You don't think the .1%'rs are going to allow themselves to be cooked like the rest of us now do you?


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## catsparky1 (Sep 24, 2013)

They will be roasted in Olive Oil yeah ?


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

HackWork said:


> You are correct. There is similar danger in electricity itself, and I refuse to live in a house in which electricity is flowing thru every wall, so I ripped all the wires out.


I covered all my walls in tinfoil. 
Works great and I’m doing well. 

Except for the real sunny days then I feel like I’m in a convection oven. 
Someday I’ll buy shades for the windows.


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

stuiec said:


> Glad I had a look at this thread. I have a customer, a GC that I work for (commercial) that needs a few things at his residence. Mostly lighting and power, but is interested in some Ring products and automation. I'd been wondering whether or not I ought to refer him to someone else for the automation etc...now I'm certain I should. I too cannot stand fiddling around with end user home electronics on someone else's behalf. They lie about what is happening, what they did, what they didn't do.......makes me hate people more than usual. He's getting a home theater later anyway, might as well introduce him to someone who does it all, and keep the electrical to myself.


I installed the Ring door bell at my house. It Sucs big time. The lag is so bad and they charge for video storage. You can’t connect 1/2 the time and the audio is bad. I ripped it out after a couple months. 

I have great WiFi at the house but the brick front is a killer for that ring a ling thing.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

The first generation wifi doorbell cams had issues, especially with lag. But the newer ones get much better reviews.


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## Service Call (Jul 9, 2011)

Wirenuting said:


> I installed the Ring door bell at my house. It Sucs big time. The lag is so bad and they charge for video storage. You can’t connect 1/2 the time and the audio is bad. I ripped it out after a couple months.
> 
> 
> 
> I have great WiFi at the house but the brick front is a killer for that ring a ling thing.




Wire it in. I’ve got one also and the lag is literally non existent. I have talked to people at the front door from over 30 miles away and not see or hear any lag in it. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

Service Call said:


> Wire it in. I’ve got one also and the lag is literally non existent. I have talked to people at the front door from over 30 miles away and not see or hear any lag in it.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



There is no way to hard wire it in beyond powering it., 
It's the brick front that just kills it. 
I used to use web cams and a local hard drive that worked great.. 
But I'm not paying for their cloud storage.

I'll be moving soon and I'll install something better at the next place.


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

StarCat said:


> Wifi is a very bad idea, the power density iss definitely too high, and the waveform is toxic to human biology:
> 1.Because its Microwave and your body is mostly water
> 
> 2.Because the Wavelengths are close to the size of your body and organs
> ...



Absolutly true! This is why I refuse to install GD openers with remotes and fluorescent lighting, it’s all about the custoemr’s health and I have to sleep at night.


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## sparkiez (Aug 1, 2015)

3DDesign said:


> Mesh Routers usually work well. When too much is applied to a single WiFi network, it's a good idea to install a second network. One dedicated to cameras and other devices and one for computers, phone, iPads etc. You can simply install a second Wifi system plugged into the same Router.


I simply refuse to do jobs where there is going to be a lot of wireless equipment. I just don't want to mess with troubleshooting or supporting that jazz. Then, all the consumer stuff is some app that connects to a manufacturer's cloud and I just keep thinking to myself how I want nothing to do with that crap either. Until we have quantum encryption, forget it.


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