After a recent internet outage at his home in the US, Michael Heiss is exploring the benefits of network backup as reliability remains high on the end user’s priority list.
You’ve likely heard the phrase ‘be prepared’ in many uses. It originated almost 120 years ago as the motto of the scouting movement, made famous by founder General Robert Badden-Powell.
And outside of scouting, that principle is sound advice for us all: in today’s crazy world it can apply to anything, but many associate it particularly with natural or manmade disasters. Here in California we were reminded of that again earlier this year when we were struck with massive wildfires, which I thankfully avoided.
The typical drill is as follows: have a ‘go bag’ with your papers, laptop, medicines, a battery or solar powered radio, battery banks for phones, devices and some cash. Have food and water stored. Don’t forget cloud backup for vital files you might not be able to take. If warranted, maybe even have solar power and some battery backup for home installations.
Nothing new there, but in our tech-centric world there are some other things to be prepared for that you might not have considered – things which could impact your work, installations and homes.
This was brought literally home to me early on a Sunday morning in June when I went to check my emails before brunch for Father’s Day. Hmmm. No email. ‘No Connection’. OK, I’m a pro, so let’s just reset the cable modem, network switch and Wi-Fi. Those systems sometimes need that, a modern-day equivalent to hitting the old CRT TV on the side.
But… No dice. OK, it’s not my system. Maybe the next step is to call the cable company and see if there was a system outage? It occasionally happens when a car slams into a line pole and brings down the service temporarily in a small neighbourhood radius.
The findings? Outage, you bet. Small neighbourhood? How about the better part of two major Southern California counties with a population of over ten million.
Here is where the notion of being prepared for the unexpected comes in: as noted above, you’ve hopefully stored away food and water along with battery packs, but have you considered broadband internet service?
The likes of copper have become so valuable in LA that we’re plagued with thieves who cut power lines and steal fire hydrants for the base metals. And as it happens, some of them just aren’t that smart. A dozen or so main service trunk lines were cut down here by some geniuses thinking they would drive off with a truck full of copper cable. Clearly, they didn’t take any CEDIA training, or they would have realised these were mainline fibre optic cables. The thieves are still at large, having plunged millions into chaos without broadband and cable TV service for 18 hours.
This specific scenario may not happen to you, granted, but it might happen sooner or later. Thus, in the words of General Badden-Powell, be prepared. Or, in today’s world, have a Plan B and maybe even a Plan C.
Which do you need first? Access to TV for news? Internet connection? AV or IP phone system? Connectivity for smart home products and streaming services? Links to security monitoring, gate control, medical devices and the like?
Determine your requirements first and then see what your installations require, including your own home. For the purposes of this article, let’s presume power is operational while the internet is down.
Thieves cut fibre they couldn’t resell, leaving people in two large counties without connectivity for up to a day. Image courtesy of Spectrum.
Antenna
The first one is the easiest and perhaps most obvious Plan B to restore video programming services: antenna. It may be forgotten in today’s streaming world, but its brilliance can’t be overstated. When placed and positioned correctly, it can be indoors to bring in some station, perhaps with an amp.
Preferably, a higher gain outdoor antenna might also be placed in the attic or under the eaves. These days it doesn’t have to look like a relic from the 1950s to do its job well. Using my own allowed me to find out the cables had been cut and causing widespread outage. That got me the answer I was looking for quicker than waiting on hold for the cable company.
"Antenna may be forgotten in today's streaming world, but its brilliance can't be overstated."
Critical services
Next, these days off-air content is not enough. But how do you access streaming services? Perhaps more importantly, what about critical services in the home such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phones and security monitoring?
For that, there is a Plan B. Let's split it up into B-1, B-2 and B-3.
Plan B-1 is the easiest, but does require a bit of client education on your part. It’s what I did: hotspot from a cell phone to a few of the most desired devices. But you have to do some work in advance. First, make certain that at least one of the phones in the home enables hotspotting. Next, set it up with an SSID and Password that everyone in the home knows. Then, do a test run on the target device so the information is pre-stored and simple to change over. Test, and then do the obvious: write down the steps for the homeowner to replicate.
Plan B-2 is Fixed Wireless Access (FWA). Basically, it’s the same as using your phone as a hotspot but using a specialised piece of kit from your wireless carrier: a 5G device that is not a phone, but rather the cell equivalent of a cable modem. Put it, or run an antenna, where there is sufficient cell coverage, before plugging it in and setting up the Wi-Fi. When needed, simply have the homeowner switch to the FWA device… all is good.
And the best part – FWA is designed to feed a large number of devices, so it can power everything in the home with the caveat that the SSD and password need to be switched. Alternatively, it can be connected by wire to the system’s switches so that wired-only devices may be kept active.
Plan B-3 is for critical systems requiring backup access. Why not consider satellite internet? There is one well service for that which covers most places where you will be reading this. However, region-by-region satellite service providers will soon be online in Europe, the UK and North America.
Security cameras
So now we’ve now got some broadband and Wi-Fi for everyone to communicate, what about those devices in the system too numerous to change on a moment’s notice? One of those is security cameras. Even if they can’t talk to the rest of a system during a broadband outage, at least you can have them provide some detection recording for future review.
Yes, there are professional systems that do that, but I also suggest reaching into the higher end of the DIY kit bag for that. The solution is a battery operated, solar powered wide angle or AI-driven PTZ-style camera with onboard storage. Some of the popular DIY brands have solar powered cameras but many lack rotating lenses and, more importantly, on-board storage. This won’t help if there is no connectivity to store images.
No matter how sophisticated the system, you should consider adding one consumer camera or two to the property. Among the brands fitting the bill are Eufy, Foscam and ReoLink. They served me well in June, capturing footage for me to review on the SD card once broadband connection came back. In a worst-case scenario, you can always get a ladder out and pull the SD card from the unit for review on a laptop or PC.
For more critical and sophisticated jobs, it might also be worth leaving the client with one or two of the solar-powered, 4G/LTE connected PTZ cameras you likely use during the construction phase. These are a suitable solution when permanent AC mains power and broadband are not yet available.
A solar-powered, AI-driven and PTZ security camera such as this model from Eufy is essential to maintain property surveillance when both internet and power are down. Image courtesy of Eufy.
While you are in this mode, think about other ‘smart’ devices that communicate with the cloud to relay commands and give feedback to the user. HVAC controls, irrigation, lighting and access come to mind here. Can all of these operate from a direct wired control without broadband? Does the homeowner know where they are, let alone how to operate and control them?
This is particularly true of garage doors and gates. At the very least, make certain the documentation you leave with a client has instructions for manual operation. While it was a power outage rather than broadband, imagine how embarrassed I was years ago when the power went out and I didn’t know how to open the garage door. It’s funny now but it wasn’t then. Your clients won’t think it funny either.
"No matter how sophisticated the system, you should consider adding a consumer camera or two to the property."
Battery power
While the main topic today is keeping things running during a broadband outage, it is always worth keeping in mind which devices, other than the solar powered ones just mentioned, need power. Unless there is a whole-house battery backup, which devices need battery power? Is there a stash of the proper AA, AAA or coin cell batteries with instructions on device use?
Equally important, include instructions to replace the battery with any small standard, Philips or Torx screwdriver required to pen the device or battery compartment. Many devices these days are also powered by built-in or device-specific batteries charged through a USB port. Make certain you provision enough 30W power banks charged for that purpose. Remember there are also still legacy USB-micro devices kicking about, as everything is not yet using USB-C.
Support systems
Yes, you always present the client with a full systems operations manual at the close of the job, but what if something happens when they aren’t home and the house guests or staff face an outage? To solve this, I’m reminded of two things. One is the ‘in case of emergency’ pull boxes we’ve all seen in public places. A similar and perhaps more appropriate idea here is along the lines of the ‘red envelopes’ on the walls of each control room in the radio station I worked at while in grad school.
No, they weren’t nuclear codes for the president, but they offered instructions on what to do if and when…well, you don’t want to think about what would trigger having to open them. (We did look inside once and, given this was back in the late 1960s, the contents scared the you-know-what out of us. We quickly put them back before the engineer in charge found out).
That said, take a page from that book and think about making up laminated cards you can have the homeowner place near appropriate access points with 24/7 contact info. After all, that is what they hired you for and why they (hopefully) pay you a monthly on-call service fee. Also think about a digestible set of instructions for everything discussed here to place next to the home’s main first aid and emergency medical supply bag.
To show your concern about the safety of your clients, perhaps you should even consider a first-aid/supply bag as thank you gift on job completion. A much better giveaway than a coffee mug to keep your company’s name in front of the client and their guests.
So yes, this reverie all started on what was supposed to be a quiet Father’s Day weekend which turned out to be a tech-frenzy – not only for myself but for some friends I was roped in to help. It taught me some things, namely the need to be prepared for something as unexpected as a day-long broadband outage. Are YOU prepared? Have you made site-specific plans and instructions for your clients?
If you’ve taken the time to read this and are saying “Come on, Mike, I knew that and do it already.” My hat is off to you. If not, please consider the information essential on every job.
Final note: It’s THAT time of year again! As I have almost every CEDIA Expo since the first one many years ago in Florida, I’ll be back in Denver this year presenting four key courses expanding on the type of topics you’ve been reading about here in Hidden Wires. If we haven’t met, no problem. Look for the guy in the test pattern jacket, that’s me! Looking forward to seeing you in Denver.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some of the brands and products mentioned may not be available yet or will be sold in your country or region. Always please check with the manufacturers for availability before specifying.
Main image credit: Andrew E Gardner/Shutterstock.com