2. misc-audio
  3. 163156-20253

My system is ... well, not ready

Hi Everyone,

A lot of you have been asking me to look at my system, and it’s been an absolute mess in this apartment. However!! I am moving, and I have posted the new living/listening room up in the Systems part of Audiogon. I’m 3 weeks from occupying that space, so please be patient as it will take a while to clutter it up with electronics. :)

Right now the plan is to put the TV in the bay window. It only looks at the neighbors, so I don’t mind giving it up, flanked by GIK acoustics soffit traps and standalone panels, as well as adding curtains in all the windows and doors and ceiling mounted panels.

The room is about 13' by 17' and I'll be taking lots of measurements as I go along. :)

Best,

E
erik_squires
erik_squires OP
16,050 posts
 
Before buying this house I got really excited that most of the rooms had 2 Ethernet jacks. Fabulous! No more dropped streaming signals! No more competing with Wifi with the neighbors! I was ready for 1 GigE to all my Roku streaming devices!

Well, not so fast...

Turns out the data panel in the closet is a straight pass through with no jacks.  That is, it's a set of eight punch down terminals, all wired to each other.  That means I can't use more than 2 devices at a time in the whole house. 

OK, replaced the data panel with an 8 gang punch down to female RJ45. 

Now I can use an Ethernet switch and light them all up with independent data paths, but wait!  The wiring at the wall is all wrong, so I get to punch those down again.  Sigh.
erik_squires OP
16,050 posts
 
3 1/2 hours later and I have 3 ports in the house enabled.  Only took a punch down tool and Ethernet test kit.
erik_squires OP
16,050 posts
 
A week after moving in, I have installed a whole-house surge suppressor.

Siemens has a hard to find unit called "BoldShield" which are in panel protectors. $150 at HD or Lowe's currently.


I learned two things:


  1. Surge suppressors are required as of NEC 2020, including remodeling work.
  2. You can use multiple BoltShields, to give protection across ground AND neutral and increase the current protection before it's completely disabled. This seems like expensive excess to me.
noble100's avatar
noble100
2,419 posts
 
"  This seems like expensive excess to me."

Hello Erik,

     Isn't 'expensive excess' the standard operating procedure in this hobby?  

Enjoy,
 Tim
erik_squires OP
16,050 posts
 
Tim,

My family fortune going into acoustic panels and air bearing chairs so the reverberation of my buttocks does not interfere with the palladium cable lifters is NOT EXCESSIVE!!

Erik
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