Sol-Ark, Helios and KB Solar References

Updated: Sat Jul 18 17:45:41 EDT 2026

This is a collection of references to useful information for owning and operating a Sol-Ark 15K-2P Hybrid Inverter with Discovery Energy Helios batteries and KB Solar Panels. Some of the references are to manuals for different equipment but have useful information not available in the specific model manuals.

Sol-Ark

• Basic Programming Guide
• Datasheet
• Installation Guide
• Time Of Use Application Guide
• Quick Start Guide
• Sol-Ark Low Voltage Battery Integration Guide
• 3rd Party Information
• Facebook Sol-Ark owners information network
• Florida Solar Design Group
• WiFi Dongle Manufacturer Manual

Helios Batteries

• Dimension Summary (latest)
• Document and Resource Library
• Product Manuals and Documentation with Search

Discover Energy LYNK II Gateway

• Installation and Operation
• LYNK II Sol-Ark User Manual
• Product Documentation

KB Solar Panels

• KBS-375-MONO-BF Panels

K2 Mounting

• K2 Systems CrossRail

Tigo RSS

• Downloads and Documentation
• Tigo TS4-A-F

Remember When.. Statements about Trump

Tue Jun 30 16:56:52 EDT 2026

See all political posts. See 2025, 2026 posts.

Remember when some people were not afraid to speak the truth.

Per Google Gemini

Query: show me old derogatory quotes about trump from Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham

Lindsey Graham

Before becoming one of Trump's staunchest allies, Graham was perhaps his most vocal critic during the 2016 Republican primary.

• A Race-Baiting Xenophobic Bigot - "He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot... He doesn’t represent my party. He doesn’t represent the values that the men and women who fought in the aftermath of 9/11 are fighting for." (CNN, December 2015)
• Tell Donald Trump to Go to Hell - "You know how you make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell." (CNN, December 2015)
• The "Wrecking Ball" Warning - "I think he’s a kook. I think he’s crazy. I think he’s unfit for office." (February 2016)
• The Prediction of Party Destruction - "If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed... and we will deserve it." (Twitter/X, May 2016)
• Enough is Enough - "Trump and I, we've had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way. Oh my God, I hate it... All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough." (Senate Floor, January 6, 2021)

Mitch McConnell

McConnell’s criticisms have generally been more clinical and institutional, often delivered in formal settings rather than cable news soundbites.

• Practically and Morally Responsible - "There’s no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day... The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the desires and instructions of their president." (Senate Floor, February 2021)
• A Disgraceful Dereliction of Duty - "He did not do his job. He didn’t take steps so federal law could be upheld and order restored. Instead, according to public reports, he watched television happily as the chaos unfolded." (Senate Floor, February 2021)
• The "America First" Comparison - In private comments (later reported in biographies and interviews), McConnell compared Trump’s "America First" movement to the isolationists of the 1930s, calling the rhetoric "dangerous" and "reminiscent of before World War II."
• On Trump's Character - According to the book Confidence Man by Maggie Haberman, McConnell privately referred to Trump as a "narcissist" and "dumb," and reportedly said of Trump's 2020 election claims: "This is a man who's got a very fragile ego."
• Despicable human being - "This despicable human being is sitting on this package of relief that the American people desperately need." from the book The Price of Power by Michael Tackett (released in late 2024).

Electric Co-ops and Customer Solar

Fri Mar 6 06:35:09 EST 2026

Electric Co-ops and Customer Solar

Residential solar PV systems for customers served by South Carolina Electric Co-ops are subject to sizing constraints based on historical consumption. This is likely driven by wholesale power agreements between the Electric Co-ops and their electricity suppliers. The co-ops are probably capping self-generation to historical consumption to prevent net-positive grid-sell (aka export, sell back, back feed).

The local co-op states in their interconnection guidelines. "System Sizing Limit: due to our wholesale power agreement, we are limiting the size solar PV connected to the annual kWh use divided by 1,800 for the AC kW size or the average monthly kWh use/150."

This document is an attempt to make sense of that guideline.

System Sizing Formula Analysis

The sizing limit is defined by the following ratio:
System Sizing Limit (kW) = Annual Consumption (kWh) / 1800 hours
or expressed monthly
System Sizing Limit (kW) = Average Monthly Consumption (kWh) / 150
Both these equations yield the same value.

The divisor 1,800 represents the expected annual specific yield (kWh/kW panels) based on approximately 5 peak sun hours per day in South Carolina. (1800 = 365 * 5)

Example Case

An example: A house with an annual consumption of 13,000 kWh and a daily consumption of 36 kWh. The maximum allowable "System Sizing Limit" or the "AC kW size" is 7.2 kW.

It is unclear whether "System Sizing Limit" and "AC kW size" are defined by the inverter nameplate capacity, the installed panels, the grid-sell power or is it really a kWh grid-sell energy limit.

Oddly the limit is given in kW but it seems the real goal is to limit the kWh (energy) delivered to the grid. The "AC kW size" can be converted to daily kWh by mutliplying by the 5 hours of sun. This would, of course, yield 36 kWh. Logically the limit would apply to the actual sell back energy. The logical limit would be selling back no more than 36 kWh of energy per day with assumably a maximum power of 7.2 kW.

The sizing limitation is apparently based on perfect panel location and sun angle with ideal sun exposure. In the case of homes governed by HOAs the ideal panel location is often not available. This example is constrained to the east and west roof areas towards the back of the house. The front faces south but is not permitted to have any panels. These HOA restrictions increase the number of panels required to acheive the same yield. This adds more confusion to the meaning of the "System Sizing Limit" or the "AC kW size". Does the Co-op allow for actual yield as opposed to ideal yield?

Compliance Options

There are a few configurations of the Sol-Ark 15K-2P inverter to limit grid-sell. To provide a margin, the example house would target grid-sell of less than 30 kWh per day.

• Method A: Time-of-Use (TOU) export. Restrict grid-sell to a specific window (e.g., 10:00–15:00) with an maximum power limit of 6 kW. Maximum grid-sell would be 30 kWh in ideal sun conditions.
• Method B: Constant power limiting. Apply a maximum grid-sell power limit of 3 kW with no TOU constraints. This assumes there will never be more than 10 hours of ideal sun.
• Method C: No grid-sell. Configure the inverter to never grid-sell.

Verification

A Co-op bi-directional meter would record any sell back that exceeded the 36 kWh per day.

Suggested Re-write for System Sizing Limit

In accordance with our wholesale power agreement, the maximum allowable capacity for a Solar PV system is limited based on the facility’s historical consumption. The maximum AC kW rating shall not exceed the value calculated by either of the following methods:

• Annual Basis: Total annual energy consumption (kWh) divided by 1,800.
• Monthly Basis: Average monthly energy consumption (kWh) divided by 150.

The Federal Government in 2026

upated: Mon Sep 21 18:14:30 EDT 2026

See all political posts. See 2025 posts.

From the Wall Street Journal

"After 2024, Republicans blew a great opportunity to set the country back onto the right track."

“But I am sorry to have to report that I have now self-diagnosed with a virulent form of TDS. Not one malady but three: as my condition has steadily progressed over the last year from Trump disappointment syndrome through Trump disillusionment syndrome to a full-blown case of Trump dismay syndrome.”

Excerpts From “Opinion | Help—I Feel a Bad Case of TDS Coming On”, Gerard Baker
The Wall Street Journal
WSJ in Apple News
WSJ Paywall
This material may be protected by copyright.

Caligula Reincarnated

Interesting Essay.

An Important Quote from the Hitler Years

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out -because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out -because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me -and there was no one left to speak for me.

-Martin Niemöller

Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) was a prominent Protestant pastor who emerged as an outspoken public foe of Adolf Hitler and spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps, despite his ardent nationalism.

An Important Book in 2026

Regime Change, Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.

National Review

Says "The Trump Administration Thinks We’re Imbeciles"

The National Review is calling out Trump. Here is a good article about Trump's Iran operation. This is a followup article to Trump’s Iran Deal: Billions Up Front for Leading State Sponsor of Terrorism.

Trump's Retreat (from Iran)

A good video from Lawrence O'Donnell about Trump's Iran operation.

Bread and Circuses

Read about bread and circuses. Its a concept that describes the Trump administration approach to everything.

By-the-way, the concept came to light from Hunter Biden, yes, that Hunter Biden. Listen to him talk to Gavin Newsome. Yes give it a chance, listen to them as human beings, not what Fox News calls them.

Top 10 List from Representative Jamie Raskin

The Top 10 Reasons Donald Trump’s $1.776 Billion “Weaponization” Slush Fund and Super-Pardon for His Family and Businesses Are Unconstitutional, Illegal and a Fraud on the Court

Executive Order to Collect Social Media Information

Trump will be collecting 5-10 years of social media information from all foreigners visiting the United States. I can't even tell you what my online usenames have been for the last 5 years. Why would anyone want to visit the US now?

A partial list of the topics to be collected is found on this Agency Information Collection for ESTA document.

An example is c. IP addresses and metadata from electronically submitted photos

FCC Bans Residential Routers

How about this! In March 2026 Trump's FCC declared they will not approve any new residential Internet routers not manufactured in the USA. Not a well thought out plan. Not a brilliantly defined process to make routers more secure. Not anything reasonable, just a knee jerk destruction of norms as is so commmon with this administration.

See the FCC FAQ. This FAQ includes links to all the original proclamations and definitions.

The King of England

The King of England is a staunch supporter of America and American Democracy, not a supporter of President Trump. See this excellent Apple News article about the speech the King made at a joint session of congress 2026-04-28. Watch the videos and note how the Republicans applauded and stood in agreement with particularly the comments on balance of power and Ukraine. Also via this iPaper direct link. View the video clips here.

JD Vance gives Pope Advice about Theology

JD Vance says the Pope should be careful when talking about theology and be sure it is "anchored in the truth". Does Vance know what theology is and who the Pope is?

The President of the United States threatened genocide

2026-04-07 Never forget. Reference: The iPaper, UK.
The President of the United States threatened genocide. There are no caveats to that sentence. There are no legitimate counter-arguments, no definitional uncertainties. He did so with six words, which we must commit to never forgetting. “A whole civilisation will die tonight.”

How Trump Took the U.S. to War With Iran

The New York Times, April 7, 2026
"In a series of Situation Room meetings, President Trump weighed his instincts against the deep concerns of his vice president and a pessimistic intelligence assessment. Here’s the inside story of how he made the fateful decision."

The Republican Legacy

The Republican legacy of this administration will be the Iran War fiasco. All Republicans will have to own it. Billions of dollars spent killing people and disrupting the world economy and world stability. Imagine how much better the world would be if that money had been spent on solar energy, wind energy, electric vehicles, roads, bridges and humanitarian aid. Oh, that was Joe Biden’s legacy, the Iran War is the Republican Legacy.

Donald Trump's Iran War

Please watch the this MS NOW’s Lawrence O’Donnell report in its entirety. You don't have to like O'Donnell to watch. It is not about O'Donnell, it is about Donald Trump's insane approach to war. War that has killed and wounded American soldiers and kill many innocent civilians including school girls. War that has spent billions of taxpayer money. The White House has been producing meme videos that trivialize the horror of war. Here is another. I am shocked that the White House is putting their name on these videos. It takes a lot for Trump to shock me these days but this is truly shocking. Gold Star families are not amused.

Can't we all just get along

Lady Gaga sings Mr Roger's Neighborhood

Carney Address at Davos, 2026-01-21

If only President Trump was 10% as smart and articulate as the Prime Minister of Canada the world would be a much better place today. Take the time to read the Canada Prime Minister Carney Address at Davos

The President of the United States said This!, 2026-01-19

He is so offended that he did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize that he "no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace". How can any of this be real?

Reference Reuters and all the other media outlets.

Text message from Prime Minister Stoere to President Trump, January 18 at 3:48 p.m. Oslo time (1448 GMT):
"Dear Mr President, dear Donald - on the contact across the Atlantic - on Greenland, Gaza, Ukraine - and your tariff announcement yesterday. You know our position on these issues. But we believe we all should work to take this down and de-escalate - so much is happening around us where we need to stand together. We are proposing a call with you later today - with both of us or separately - give us a hint of what you prefer! Best - Alex and Jonas"

Text message from President Trump to Prime Minister Stoere, January 18 at 4:15 p.m. Oslo time (1515 GMT):
"Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a "right of ownership" anyway? There are no written documents, it's only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT"

Trump goes to Detroit, 2026-01-13

Trump lost his cool at a heckler in Detroit while visiting the Dearborn Truck Plant. The UAW responded to the situation. Like unions or not, they at least understand the constitutional right for free speech.

Public Hearing of DHS/ICE/Border Patrol Victims

Not a single Republican member of Congress showed up to the public forum held by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representative Robert Garcia on the violence inflicted by federal immigration agents, featuring testimony from the brothers of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis last month.

Every American should watch the victim's stories from this hearing that was held on or about February 3 2026.

Lawrence O'Donnell shows a couple heart wrenching clips in this video. These victims prove that our government under Trump is out of control. We must vote against every Republican on the ballot in November.

A Path Forward 2026-01-24

Reference: 2026 01 24 08 41 37 Heather Delaney Reese, A Path Forward YouTube Video

• Win back Congress in the midterms as the foundation.
• Impeach and remove JD Vance from the Vice Presidency first.
• Leave the VP seat empty and do not confirm a replacement.
• Impeach and remove Trump to trigger the line of succession.
• Democratic Speaker becomes President and nominates a new Vice President
• Pursue real accountability through criminal trials and justice.

Computer Memory in 1959

Mon Feb 9 07:21:36 EST 2026

Computer Memory in 1959

Here is an excellent snapshot of computer memory technology in 1959. I used punch cards, paper tape, core memory and magentic tape in my lifetime. I never heard of many of the denser methods shown in this video.

Memory Devices [Bell System 1959, 4K]

UniFi WiFi 7 Beware

Updated: Mon Feb 9 07:21:36 EST 2026

This rant will develop. The first generation UniFi WiFi 7 access points (such as U7-Pro) do not perform well. There have been over 100 updates including beta versions and the forums are still full of complaints. The perfect 2.5mbps PoE switch to power those WiFi 7 devices is now considered "vintage". It is a PoE+ switch and it is not adequate to power the "new" WiFi 7 access points which require PoE++. Did they figure out that PoE+ could not provide enough power for a WiFi 7 device that works?

Here is an intersting video outlining the many WiFi 7 features that are not present in access points today.

Wi-Fi 7 Marketing Is Lying About Its Biggest Feature

more details will follow

Tesla Wall Connector EVSE codes

revised: Sun Oct 26 10:30:24 EDT 2025

Trying to find the interpretation of the Tesla Wall Connector API EVSE codes. The tables below include what has been figured out so far. Please leave a comment if you have more information.

vitals data: evse_state

0	booting
1	not_connected
2	connected
3
4	ready
5
6	negotiating
7	error
8	charging finished
9	waiting car
10	charging reduced
11	charging
12
13	soon after unplugging

vitals data: evse_not_ready_reasons

This is presented as a list. For example [ 1 ], [4,8] or [4,8,10].

1	probably means ready, no not_ready reason
4	prior to plugin, usually with 8
8	usually with 4
10	off by schedule

References

• Home Assistant Telsa Wall Connector Integration
• http://twc_address/api/1/vitals

Concrete Driveway Expansion Joint Sealant

Thu Aug 21 16:18:06 EDT 2025

Here are the tools and sealant to caulk concrete driveway expansion joints to prevent erosion of the soil under the driveway. This is recommended for any concrete driveway that has a slope. Self leveling is ok even for some reasonable slope. If the slope is too steep the same product can be used in a non-leveling sku.

Light grinding of the expansion joint will clean out the dirt and bits of concrete. Cracks should be opened with a grinder also. Probably a narrower grinder blade would be appropriate.

• Sikaflex Self-Leveling Polyurethane Sealant
• Grinder
• Crack Chaser Grinding Blade

Under Eave Exhaust Vent Hoods

update: Wed Mar 5 08:24:43 EST 2025

Use these products to replace builders flush exhaust grilles under eaves. Backflow damper will prevent insect and bird entry.

• Primex Larger 4" duct (preferred Model Number: SV4-01)
• Lambro Small 4" duct

2025 Federal Government Activities

Revised: Mon Mar 24 07:24:05 EST 2026

See all political posts. See 2026 posts.

Marjorie Taylor Greene CNN Interview ~2025-12-17

• Very interesting interview.
• Interview on CNN YouTube

Senator Kelly of Arizona 2025-12-01

• News conference about Trump's threats to have him killed
• Watch on PBS YouTube

Other Thoughts

Possibly Good Things

Stopping illegal border crossings. If it has really been stopped

Deporting the few criminal illegals that have actually been captured and deported. If any.

Possibly including GLP-1 drugs in the covered Medicare drug plans.

Definitely not Good Things

Seizing Venezuelan oil tankers because of some perceived notion that Venezuelan oil belongs to the USA.

Deporting US citizens because they "look" illegal.

Detaining law abiding citizens that have lived peacefully and contributed to the country for decades instead of facilitating their paperwork to become legal.

Stopping all Afgan citizenship processes because one Afgan that Trump approved shot National Guard that Trump illegaly put on the streets of DC.

Spending millions of dollars terrorizing cities under the guise of deporting criminals when that money would be better spent facilitating citizenship for immigrants with imcomplete citizenship peperwork .

Threatening free speech every day with things like threatending execution of members of congress that spoke out about illegal military operations.

Improper handling of classified documents at Mar Lago.

Generally being a despicable human being.

Destroying drug boats while pardoning convicted drug traffickers (Hernandez).

Giving pedophile enablers (Maxwell) cushy prison conditions.

Extraditing foreigners for prosecution in the USA and at the same time proceeding to deport them.

Granting pardons to 1500 rioters that stormed the capital and injured police.

Granting pardons willy nilly.

Imposing crazy tarrifs on everything which is a Federal sales tax. Increasing costs for everyone.

Destroying the White House and buildng a ball room without reguard for historical value or renovation procedural processes.

Abusing the executive orders process.

Using the Department of Justice for his personal revenge.

Enabling Elon Musk to fire 300,000 thousands of Federal Employees.

Enabling RFK to destroy Americas respected health system.

Destroying America's reputation across the world. Totally destroying it.

Reducing Taxes on billionaires

Pardoning drug criminals while using the military for law enforcement operations on Venezuelan drug boats.

Senseless Imperialism

So many more

Using Shelly BLU Devices with Home Assistant

updated: Sat Mar 8 08:29:04 EST 2025

Using Shelly BLU Motion and Shelly BLU Door/Window Switches with Home Assistant

Shelly BLU Motion Sensor

• Home Assistant
• Added BLU Motion directly to Home Assistant via BTHome Integration
• Device name showed up in Home Assistant BTHome as "BTHome sensor XXXX" with new firmware
• Some device names showed up as as SBMO-003Z XXXX in Home Assistant, deleted and re-added
• useful stanza from an automation
  - wait_for_trigger:
entity_id: binary_sensor.bthome_sensor_49a1_motion
from: "on"
to: "off"
trigger: state
  
• Don't know for sure what settings to use in HA, Active or Passive.
• Don't know for sure which settings to use in the Shelly web Settings, Enable Bluetooth (for sure needed), Enable RPC and/or Enable Bluetooth gateway (version 1.5.x does not have gateway option).
• Firmware
• Update firmware on BLU Motion by adding to Shelly iOS app
• Initial firmware was probably 1.0.9, updated to 1.0.21
• opened device and used small black button when asked to push button
• Home Assistant show version as Firmware: BTHome BLE v2
• Could not find a way to update firmware from Home Assistant, had to add to Shelly iOS app.
• Two BLU Motion devices do not show a Firmware Version in Home Assistant Device Info, maybe different hardware?
• Operation in Home Assistant
• No binary_sensor state change occurs after the initial change from clear to motion until motion clears.
• Per Shelly BLU Motion Sensor Modes of Operation there are two modes of operation.
• Settings in the Shelly iOS App
• Regular mode - the Device broadcasts the motion detection status, illuminance, and battery status each time the motion-detection status changes (motion is detected or no motion is detected during the blind time).
• Beacon mode - the Device broadcasts the motion detection status, illuminance, and battery status every 30 seconds. This is noted to significantly reduce battery life.
• Blind Time - Default is 60 seconds to clear after motion ceases.
• Motion sensitivity - Low, Med, High. Default is Medium.
• LED - enable or disable
• See "How Shelly BLU Motion Works" in DreadVenomous post in this thread (its not a very technically accurate description but its what Shelly offers through support tickets)
• Issues
• big Reddit thread about how luminance does not report valid values
• big Home Assistant thread about Door/Window not reporting
• Did not want to have to add all devices to iOS app but maybe will have to do that to keep firmware updated
• Deleting device from Home Assistant BTHome and adding back changes the entity names but not the device name, odd.
• Mounting
• Printable Mount (also see related prints at bottom of page)

Shelly BLU Door/Window Switches

• Home Assistant
• Added BLU Door/Window directly to Home Assistant via BTHome Integration
• Shows in Home Assistant at BTHome sensor XXXX
• Some show in Home Assitant as Shelly BLU Door/Window XXXX
• Firmware
• Need to update firmware
• updated from version 1.0.6 to 1.0.21
• Use the square button on the face of the device when asked to push button
• Some show as "Shelly B XXXX"
• Settings in Shelly iOS App
• Regular mode - the Device broadcasts the current open/closed state, illuminance, and battery status each time the open/closed state changes (door/window opened or closed). If a door or window, which tilts and turns is opened, the Device immediately broadcasts information about the event, the illumination, and the battery status at the time of the opening detection. Two seconds later, it broadcasts inclination angle, the illumination, and the battery status at the moment. Then every 8 seconds the Device checks the inclination angle. If a change is detected, the Device broadcasts the new angle value.
• Beacon mode - the Device broadcasts the current open/closed state, illuminance, and battery status every 30 seconds. This is noted to significantly reduce battery life.
• Issues
• Deleting device from Home Assistant BTHome and adding back changes the entity names but not the device name, odd.
• Door and Window sensors do not show version in Home Assistant Device Info

DAC and SFP+ RJ-45 and UniFi USW-Enterprise-8-PoE Switch

Thu 30 Jan 14:12:53 EST 2025

DAC Cables That Work

• Cable Matters 10Gbps DAC Twinax
• QSFPTEK QT-SFP+-CA-P0.5M 10G SFP+ DAC

DAC cables that do not work

• 10Gtek CAB-10GSFP-P0.5M SFP+ DAC Twinax Cable, 10G SFP+ (note same part number as HiFiber)
• HiFiber CAB-10GSFP-P0.5M SFP+ Cable, 10G SFP+ DAC (note same part number as 10Gtek)

SFP+ Copper RJ-45 Transceivers that work

• Unifi UACC-CM-RJ45-MG RJ-45 Copper SFP+
• Ipolex RJ-45 Copper SFP+

SFP+ Copper RJ-45 Transceivers that do not work

• XZSNET 1000BASE-T SFP Transceiver, SFP to RJ45

The DAC cables that do not work cause the USW-Enterprise-8-PoE Switch to constantly reboot.

UniFi G4 Pro PoE Doorbell Light Sensor Fault

Fri Jan 10 09:54:10 EST 2025

Discussion

The UniFi G4 Pro PoE Doorbell light sensor faults when the sun shines diretly into the camera. In my case this is close to sundown in the winter. A small piece of translucent tape over the sensor prevents the fault and does not greatly impact the camera IR/Night switching. A restart of the doorbell resolves the issue until the next sunset.

• The button LED ring flashes white when the doorbell is in this fault condition.
• The display and path/package light do not operate in the fault condition.
• 'HW: light sensor issue' is logged in the camera hw/rma.log file when the fault occurs.
• The hw/rma.log file does not exist until the system detects the fault. There is no timestamp in the file but the last file modification timestamp shows the time of the fault.
• The camera detects the fault in the /bin/check_hw_issues.sh script.
• The check_hw_issues.sh script triggers the /usr/local/bin/testLed.sh script.
• The testLed.sh script strobes the white LED ring around the button.
• Accessing the camera with ssh and looking for the testLed.sh script with the ps command is a method to identify the fault without physically looking at the camera.
• It would be nice if UniFi revised their software to report this issue in the controller system alarms so the operator could be notified. Currently no system alarms are generated by this fault so the controller does not know there is a problem and no notification is generated.
• It would be nice if UniFi revised their software to restart the light sensor driver or restart the camera some time after a light sensor issue to cure the problem.

Speculation

• The light sensor uses the i2c driver
• The PIR motion sensor is probably an i2c device and therefore out of service when the light sensor faults. This would prevent the display and path light from operating.

References:

• Reddit Discussion
• One of Many Unifi Community Discussions

Guide for Home Assistant Automation Triggered via UniFi Protect Webhook Alarm

Thu Jan 2 08:15:07 EST 2025

Excellent guide to configuring UniFi Protect alarms to trigger Home Assitant automations via Webhook. Follow the guide to configure Home Assistant and the UniFi Alarm Manager to trigger automations.

Home Assistant Automation Triggered via UniFi Protect Webhook Alarm

Slim Ethernet Cable

Revised: Tue Aug 12 13:13:34 EDT 2025
Original: Sun Dec 22 07:03:52 EST 2024

Slim Ethernet cables are legitimate if they comply with the ANSI/TIA-568.2-D standard. The standard includes 28 AWG patch cables. Amazon has a lot of 30 AWG and 32 AWG patch cables that don't comply with the standard. They may still work on short runs but they won't be in compliance. These Amazon cables are 28 AWG which complies with the standards. The ones that have been purchased seem to be good quaility and work.

Cabling Install and Maintenance has a good article about the standard. which states that "The ANSI/TIA-568.2-D standard requires de-rating of the 100-meter channel length when 28-AWG patch cords are used."

FS.com has a good discussion of the standard along with a table of de-rating impacts. Per the FS.com article; "According to the IEEE standard, the DC link resistance of a pair of channels should be 25 ohms (Ω) or less. The new TIA 568.2-D standard recommends a 28 AWG patch cable in the channel keep the length within 15 meters to lower DC resistance within 25 Ω."

Intellinet Network Solutions has a good article about Ethernet cables in general including the 28 AWG slim patch cables.

Purchase Experience

Note cables below are mostly 30 AWG. I did not realize they were not complient with ANSI/TIA-568.2-D standard when they were purchased. Use this information with caution.

Many of the Amazon cables are probably adequate for home use but it is recommended to use name-brand, reliable cables for commercial use.

• Sokqovt 28AWG recommended
• Flexibility: Adequately flexible
• Specs: Cat 6a 28AWG
• Standard: ANSI/TIA 568.2-D
• Comment:
• Length: 2 foot
• Color: Red
• Snagless: Yes
• Price: $1.05/3 foot
• Purchase Link

• UniFi no marking
• Flexibility: Super flexible definitely the best
• Specs: Unknown specs no cable markings
• Comment:
• Features: Probably came with router
• Length: 1 foot
• Color: White
• Snagless: No
• Price: $4.00/10 foot
• Purchase Link

• Monoprice Reinforced Slimrun
• Flexibility: Very good flexibility
• Specs: Cat 6 30 AWG
• Comment: Tricky to unlatch - tip away from latch
• Features: Yellow connector head spring reinforce
• Length: 10 5 1 foot
• Color: Black
• Snagless: Yes
• Price: $4.09/10 foot
• Purchase Link

• YFC Monoprice Slimrun
• Flexibility: pretty good flexibility.
• Specs: Cat 6A 30 AWG
• Comment:
• Features:
• Length: 3 foot
• Color: Blue
• Snagless: Yes
• Price: $3.00/10 foot
• Purchase Link

• Monoprice Slimrun
• Flexibility: Ok flexibility
• Specs: Cat 6A 30 AWG
• Comment: Better than Raplink but larger than best
• Features:
• Length: 2 foot
• Color: Multi colors
• Snagless: Yes
• Price: $3.00/10 foot
• Purchase Link

• Monoprice Slimrun
• Flexibility: Pretty good but larger than YFC cable
• Specs: Cat 6A 30 AWG
• Comment:
• Features: Maybe came from Home Telecom
• Length: 3 foot
• Color: black
• Snagless: Yes
• Price: Unknown
• Purchase Link

• Rapilink Slim
• Flexibility: not very flexible
• Specs: Cat 6A 30 AWG
• Comment:
• Features: Ordered 24
• Length: 1 foot
• Color: blue
• Snagless: Yes
• Price: $2.40/10 foot
• Purchase Link

iPhone 16 Pro Max and UniFi U7 Pro WiFi Roaming

Thu Dec 12 16:44:52 EST 2024

iPhone 16 Pro Max was not roaming though the house between UniFi access points. Turns out the VPN configurations needed to be deleted from the phone and re-installed. Perhaps the issue arose when the previous phone was replaced with the iPhone 16 and the configurations were transferred. Whatever the reason, deleting the configurations cured the roaming problem.

Uquiquiti Media Converter works only with Obsolete Passive PoE

Tue Nov 12 08:19:10 EST 2024

The Ubiquiti F-POE-G2 Optical Data Transport media converter only works with obsolete passive PoE. It cannot be powered by any standards based 802.3 PoE. It is a good price but don't expect it work work with modern PoE.

This Media Converter from Amazon does work with modern PoE. It has only been in service a couple days but so far so good. It is a nice small package. It does get quiet warm. It was mounted to a vertical service with a 3/4" PVC conduit strap. Probably a good idea to put a small spacer under it to maximize airflow on all sides.

UniFi Protect Reduces Resolution of Snapshots

Revised: Fri Jan 10 09:49:49 EST 2025
Original: Mon Sep 23 17:03:26 EDT 2024

• UniFi Protect snapshot resolution was reduced recently by Ubiquiti "to free up resources for new features".
• http://camera_IP/snap.jpeg used to return a full resolution image but now its dramatically reduced resolution.
• From a full size browser, in playback mode, a snapshot of a live view saves a low resolution image. A snapshot from 10 seconds before live is saved in full resolution.
• From the iOS app, in playback mode, a snapshot of a live view saves a full resolution image to the photos app. Why does a full browser save low resolution?

Workaround

• Here is a high resolution snapshot workaround but it can be slow retrieving the image.

• ffmpeg_path =  # file path to the ffmpeg binary
  cam_link = # rtsp camera URL from Protect advanced settings
  output_image_file = # file path to receive still image
          
  $ffmpeg_path -y \
      -loglevel error \
      -rtsp_transport tcp -i ${cam_link} -frames:v 1 \
      -update 1 ${output_image_file}

References

• Feature-Request-Export
• G5 Snapshot Resolution
• Many more thread references in the above listed links.

Tesla Model Y Bolt Rolling Under Floor

After a Tesla service for a computer failure and driver mirror trim issue, we noticed what sounded like an object rolling around under the floor when the car accelerated, decelerated or turned. After months of that aggrevation we finally decided to try to solve it. With the help of a cheap WiFi borescope, we saw a bolt in the air duct under the driver's seat. It was about 18" into the duct. We retrieved the bolt with a magnet taped to the end of a wire and finally, no more rolling sounds.

We were glad to resolve the issue because Telsa said they would have to charge hours of work to remove the front seat and floor covering to search for the sound. We have since ordered grilles to cover those air ducts to hopefully prevent any future items from sliding down the duct.

BASENOR 2024 Tesla Model Y Backseat Air Vent Cover Air Flow Vent Grille Protection Set

CoCoRaHS Rainfall

Original: Wed Jul 10 08:15:44 EDT 2024

• Summerville SC CoCoRaHS area rainfall.