Replaced Belkin WeMo Insight $60 wifi plug with Smartthings multi-sensor to get notification at the end of clothes washer cycle.

Update 9/2 /14: Received replacement Belkin WeMo Insight as RMA and sold it right away because smartthings vibration sensor worked very well. Read on..

I first got Belkin WeMo Insight for $60 for the washer because it measures power and detects end of cycle when the power goes from normal level to standby level. As I wrote in a blog, it did work fine until I had to replace my router. New router is Asus RT-N66U which is very well rated and more RAM and CPU than the previous router and also had 3 external antennas to increase the range.

For the 220V electric dryer, Belkin does not have a solution. WeMo Insight is only for 110V. So, I tried smartthings multi-sensor which detects vibration of the dryer and so detects end of dryer cycle as the end of vibration. I decided to to try the same solution for the clothes washer it works just fine.

From this experience, I am convinced that Z-Wave and ZigBee are the way to go than Wifi. There is a big installed base of Z-Wave sensors. Smarthings is one of the few companies now part of Samsung to come out with ZigBee sensors but their hub supports both standards. Problem with WiFi is that they add too much to the interference at home or even enterprise. Also, they consume more power for the Radio and even need more expensive processor and software in the sensor. WiFi's main use case at home will continue to be the laptops, tablets and phones in addition to TVs or Bluray players or Chromecast like devices for watching or hearing media. No need to add to the clutter. Bluetooth low energy is a potential challenger to Z-Wave and ZigBee now that mesh networking (one device passes on the message to another) is coming to bluetooth.

Beauty of mesh networking with Bluetooth is that laptops, tablets and phones are going to have bluetooth in addition to WiFi. They are great for peer to peer communications even without connection to internet (example keyboard, mouse). Android touchscreens can be made really cheap and integrated into most appliances, home automation/security controllers, thermostats etc without causing congestion to the WiFi network. Main disadvantage of Bluetooth is the frequency band is too close to the 2.4GHz wifi band. That is where Z-Wave (single vendor) ZigBee (open standard multi-vendor) 900MHz radios shine.

There will be a war for the control of the Hub and cloud services. It is ridiculous to have so many hubs in the house. Router, Home Automation, Security, Cable/Sat master box and even game boxes, AppleTV. Too many players pulling in different directions and no motivation to inter-operate. I think Samsung is the common denominator at home with the acquisition of Smartthings. They are very much in TV, Bluray players, Home Appliances, smartphones, tablets. They do have some presence in laptop market. What they lack is router. With so many companies in that space, it is not hard for them to acquire a good enough router company. But then LG could enter the field by acquiring a player like iSmartAlarm.

It will be interesting to watch....

Downloaded parts of youtube videos combined them.

mencoder on linux can merge files if they are all encoded the same way. So, the idea is to re-encode them to be the same. If you do not have lot of motion 1000bits/sec bit rate is fine for a 720p video. If there is lot of motion try 2500 which is what you see usually on Netflix.

mencoder -ovc lavc -lavcopts vocdec=mpeg4:vbitrate=1000 -oac faac file1-in.mp4 file1-out.mp4

mencoder -ovc lavc -lavcopts vocdec=mpeg4:vbitrate=1000 -oac faac file2-in.mp4 file2-out.mp4
mencoder -ovc lavc -lavcopts vocdec=mpeg4:vbitrate=1000 -oac faac file3-in.mp4 file3-out.mp4

mencoder -ovc copy -oac copy file1-out.mp4 file2-out.mp4 file3-out.mp4 -o merged-out.mp4

If you are using Windows platform, try this
http://mplayerwin.sourceforge.net/downloads.html

If you are using Mac platform, try this
http://matt.fragilegeek.com/mencoder

Disclaimer: I did this on Xubuntu 14.04. Just used synaptics package manager to install youtube-dl and mencoder. I am not the right person to tell you how to install mencoder on other platforms. Once you do and have the right codecs, the above command line should work. Good luck.

An example of Big Brother Amazon.com censoring the reviews.

My review:

Not compatible with some routers?, August 21, 2014

By Srihari Kotcherlakota "Hari" (Fremont, CA)
  

Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Belkin WeMo Insight Switch, Control Your Electronics and Monitor Energy Usage From Anywhere with the Home Automation App for Smartphones and Tablets, Wi-Fi Enabled (Electronics)

I had to replace my router with Asus RT-N66U 802.11N router. Just 7 months after I bought, this switch will connect to the Smartphone with great difficulty after a reset and then it will just not connect properly to the router. It shows up as a connected device in the router but does not communicate with the App or respond to "ping" from any computer in the house. I spent 2hrs myself and 4 hrs on a chat session.

They offered me 2 ways to get exchange.
1. I ship the old unit at my cost and give them my credit card for replacement unit. They will ship in 2 to 3 business days and then I would get it another 3 to 4 days later.
2. I ship the old unit at my cost. They will ship the replacement unit in 2 to 3 to business days and then I would get it another 3 to 4 days later.

When I complained that after spending 6hrs to trouble shoot, the least they should do is send me a shipping label by email. I received the shipping label 2 days after I called and I shipped it on saturday. They may receive it today Thursday and then send me a replacement. If it does not work, I will test it with another router and return it or just sell it on Craigslist for someone who wants a new unit without paying tax or waiting for 2 days.

smartthings sells a hub for $100 and this kind of switch for $50 but it actually works with many off the shelf z-wave or zigbee sensors. You can read my blogs at hari dash google dash blog dot blogspot dot com...

 

Amazon's respinse:

Thanks for submitting a customer review on Amazon. Your review could not be posted to the website in its current form. While we appreciate your time and comments, reviews must adhere to the following guidelines: http://www.amazon.com/review-guidelines We encourage you to revise your review and submit it again. A few common issues to keep in mind:

Belkin WeMo Insight Switch, Cont...  (1,035)

Your review should focus on specific features of the product and your experience with it. Feedback on the seller or your shipment experience should be provided at www.amazon.com/feedback. We do not allow profane or obscene content. This applies to adult products too. Advertisements, promotional material or repeated posts that make the same point excessively are considered spam. Please do not include URLs external to Amazon or personally identifiable content in your review. We welcome your honest opinion about products - positive or negative. We do not remove reviews because they are critical. We believe all helpful information can inform our customers’ buying decisions. If you have questions about the product or opinions that do not fit the review format, please feel free to use the Customer Discussions feature on the product page.

If you are interested in Solar power, have you tried the free Solar dryer?

If you are living in California and using more than 400Kwh per month in electricity, the rate climbs to about 35cents per KWh. A family of 4 with 2 kids in a single family home may need to do 15 loads of dryer a month. At 5000W, in 1hr a load consumes 5Kwh, 15 loads consume 150KWh or about $60 a month in dryer alone.

Luckily there is lots of sun shine. $20 invested in clothes line and White Vinegar as a clothes softener can save $70 a month. I have been doing it. Great ROI. That is like getting free high speed internet for life!

Are no fee ETFs offered by brokerage houses really a bargain?

Fidelity for example offers ETF with symbol IVE to track S & P 500 Index. If you are a long term investor and bought $1000 worth of IVE 5 yrs ago and saved $8 in commissions, your paper profit today would be a nice $858.90. Instead you bought $1000 worth of SPY and paid $8 commission your paper profit today is $972.90 - 8 = $964.90 which is extra $100 for you.

If you are short term options trader or you want to use options as insurance on your investment, there is hardly any trading in IVE. The spread between as bid and ask is so much and your trade may never go through. Use ctrl + to increase the zoom to see the graphics.

Replaced surboard 5120 modem with surfboard 6141 modem on Comcast.

In the last one week, the internet connection was intermittent. Changing the router did help on the range and stability. Bought the Surfboard 5120 modem was bought in Dec 2008 for $28 on E-Bay when DOCSIS 1.1 was common and I replaced an old DOCSIS 1.1 modem with a DOCSIS 2.0 modem. I saw that the market value is just $10 now and Comcast recommends DOCSIS 3.0 modems effective July 2014.
http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/
http://forums.comcast.com/t5/Basic-Internet-Connectivity-And/Connection-Troubleshooting-Tips/m-p/1253575#U1253575
"As of July 2014, all DOCSIS 1 and 2 modems are being phased out." Comcast sent me email  recently that with "Performance High Speed Internet" I was supposed to get 50Mbps down if I just reset the modem. I got about 31Mbps up from 25Mbps.

I did some reading and decided to get Surfboard 6141 modem white retail version with warranty by Arris for $88 on Amazon.

It may be cheaper on E-Bay.

I had to call Comcast in Fremont, CA to provide the new MAC address, make and serial number. Self-activation was not possible unless I buy directly from Comcast. I had to call Comcast twice due to a dropped call. The second time I called I gave the call back number before I said anything. Got it activated 15 min after I opened the box. Remember to connect a laptop or PC directly to the cable modem before calling Comcast or your cable provider unless you can self-activate with your cable provider.

So, what was the difference? I have so called  according to an email I received from Comcast recently. The best I saw was 31Mbps with Surfboard 5120. Today I measured 57+Mbps!

Here is the comparison of the 5120 and 6141 modem status reported by looking at 192.168.100.1

Note that there is only 1 channel up and 1 channel down and note the signal level.

Here is the same status with 6141.

Note that signal is about the same but there are 8 channels down and 4 up. I guess the fatter pipe helped get the bandwidth I paid for.

Moral of the story: Do not rent a cable modem. Do your homework and buy a modem. $88 was well worth the higher speed I was paying for.

I will update this blog based on my experience. Hope to see no intermittent failures.

Now when my Garage door is open, I get a text message and I can close it remotely too.

I already $100 have a smarthings hub

I bought a smarthings multi-sensor for $50.

On hindsight, I should have got the kit for $50 more.

I attached the sensor (larger) part to the garage door added the device using my phone as a Garage Door sensor and that is it.

If I want to control it, this is all I need to do. That will be another blog if I do it.

Optional control module:
http://www.amazon.com/Evolve-LFM-20-Fixture-Module/dp/B006U1O978/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

http://blog.smartthings.com/how-to/how-to-openclose-your-garage-door/

I went ahead and installed the LFM-20 control module. I placed the module on the garage door opener. Used a 2 pin plug from a dead old rice cooker to tap on to the power socket of the garage door opener, stripped off about 1/4" insulation on 2 wires from the garage remote coming to the garage door opener and taped 2 wires of the LFM-20. Opened smarthings app on my phone and added it. Opened a smartapp in smartthings to add control feature. Done. I even added my wife's phone to it. Security is at least 2 levels which is more secure than most old fashioned locks. Of course I do have 2 alarm systems and a German Shepherd! Nothing to beat the Shepherd for sure if there is an intruder. She only likes the people we open the door to...

T Mobile charges $2 a minute to call India. If you call very often, take their $15 a month plan.

I am usually careful about making international calls but when I swapped my phone, I made the mistake of making 50min of calls to India without realizing that I did not set my Android phone to use Google Voice for all International  calls. The 50min would have cost me $1 at 2 cents a minute. It is galling that the rate is 100 times more on T Mobile and not a thing a consumer can do about it. There is no way to set a warning if a single call bill is so high. This is typical of how cell phone companies make huge profits to make up for all the promotions. My only saving grace is that I bought a 8 month old Samsung Galaxy Note 3 on Swappa for $420 instead of buying directly from  T Mobile a new one for $750. You just cannot win them all and you have to hope that when you get older and not so quick to spot so many ways of getting ripped off, you trained your kids in how to watch out and they are available to watch out for you..

===========================================
 I sent this the following email and got a phone call back in few hours!
===========================================
Date: Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 8:29 AM
Subject: I admire your pro-consumer messages but your company really disappointed me.
To: john.legere@t-mobile.com, Michael.Sievert@t-mobile.com

My first shock came when I saw my phone bill was 30% more and there was no change in my calling pattern. My second shock came when I discovered that 2 calls of 50 min to India cost $100. I swapped my phone and I made the mistake of making those calls without setting Google Voice to make International calls which would have cost me 2 cents a minute.

Really! 100 times more? Obviously you are entitled to charge what ever but this is beyond ridiculous.
===========================================
I got a phone call from the Executive Response team about 4hrs later.
===========================================
They said that the normal rate is $1.95 a minute but there is an international calling plan for $15 a month. So, they reduced the $99.50 to $15 for that month and gave me credit. That is fair and I maintain my regard for John Legere.

This is the follow-up email.
-------------------------------------------
Per our conversation on August 12, 2014, I have applied a courtesy credit of $84.50 to been applied to your account.

Thank you,

Leah Tokar
Executive Response
Office of the President/CEO
===========================================
Good job John!

I suggest that you announce that T Mobile will limit international call overage to $15 for the first time a user has this kind of experience and send a text message right after the expensive call offering $15 a month plan.You will win more loyal customers!

Different ways of adding a video surveiilance system without monthly payments.

I was asked by a friend for advice on how to add surveillance to home without monthly payments. I have iSmartAlarm and well as Smarthings and so 2 levels of security without monthly payment. You can read my blogs about them.

I suggested 3 approaches in addition to the conventional set of video cameras and a recorder.

1. Smarthings hub, motion sensor and Dropcam. Total cost $550.

You can start with this kit. The add this Dropcam.
There are many videos on youtube on Smarthings.
This link shows how Dropcam works with Smarthings.
If you want to know more about IFTTT read here.

This link shows how you can detect motion using smarthings sensor and take picture. You may have to monthly fee for some features but not all.

Note that Nest which was bought by Google now bought dropcam
http://support.dropcam.com/entries/87199006

2. Smarthings hub, motion sensor and Samsung Smartcom.
With this, you can use smartthings motion sensor to send you email using IFTTT and then you can watch live while recording and make phone calls. You can use IFTTT to call cell phones based on this trigger. I like that level of control without monthly payment.

I personally favor this.

3. iSmartAlarm system with a camera added.

Basic system is under $400. Main thing is this is proprietary vs the zigbee and zwave device support of smarthings.

Is Amazon is the cheapest and fastest to order and receive? Not necessarily.

Like many people who have Amazon Prime account, I was used to looking at Amazon and ordering almost assuming that the local place is not the same price.

Here is what happened.

1. My wireless router needed replacement. It is was $120 on Amazon when I looked on a Friday evening. If I ordered, I was going to get it on Tuesday. I looked at a local store Fry's electronics online 2 miles away. Same price. I paid online Friday night and picked it up Sat morning. For what it is worth, there is a $20 mail in rebate to pay for my gas plus some. I needed to fill a propane gas tank near there anyway.

2. I needed to replace a dead Panasonic rice cooker. I looked for it on Sunday on Amazon. It was $38. If I ordered, I could have received it on Wed by end of the day. I did google search and found the same directly from Panasonic for $30 with free shipping. I ordered 2 cookers. They were delivered on Thu morning at 9:30am.

3. I needed a chimney starter on Sun for an outdoor barbecue grill. The cheapest was $15 on Amazon. I looked at the local stores and found one at Ace Hardware store 1.5 miles away for $10. Incidentally I needed an outdoor thermometer which was $15 on Amazon. Also $10 at Ace. As a bonus, I was able to find a unique lamp socket I needed to revive a floor lamp for just $4 at Ace. Besides, my dog was happy to get out of the house and she is welcome at Ace. Winners all around including support for a local merchant who is very good at service!

I can go on...

You get the idea?

You may be able to repair your Tivo and even "upgrade" and keep the lifetime service really cheap.

Recently I got a call from someone who owns a Tivo Premier DVR. There were some LEDs but not showing anything on the screen. He called Tivo. They offered to swap his Premier for a Tivo Premier XL4 4 tuners 1TB drive and transfer the lifetime service for about $280. I did some home work and found out that usual failures are the power supply and hard drive. The lifetime service is tied to the motherboard.

Remove original hard drive.

Install hard drive from a working Tivo Premier.

Reboot Tivo and perform a clear and reset under Help menu,

The drive swap was easy because it was pre formatted for Premier and Premier XL.

On my suggestion he shopped around and bought for $50 a working Tivo Premier DVR with 1TB hard drive good for over 150hrs of HD recording but no lifetime service. He needed to replace 6 screws to open the box and a couple of screws to remove the hard drive and swap it. It came back to life!

The data ID changed and so he had to call the cable company to re-authenticate the cable card but once that was done, his problem was solved for $50 and he upgraded to Premier 1TB. He did not not 2 more tuners

As a bonus he has spare power supply and an extra remote just in case.