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Post by monkumonku on Apr 26, 2024 11:20:45 GMT -5
Did you try it out yet? How is it?
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Post by Boomzilla on Apr 26, 2024 12:20:48 GMT -5
I haven’t yet installed it. Instead, I’ve been focusing on getting my NAS up and loaded with music in anticipation of getting my Roon Nucleus. In fact, I’m trying to get early delivery so that the review will be posted by the time that Roon begins shipping in earnest.
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novisnick
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CEO Secret Monoblock Society
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Post by novisnick on Apr 26, 2024 13:12:39 GMT -5
for the past month. I’ve also had a change in computers during this time if you have any questions or anything I could help with please don’t hesitate to ask.
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cawgijoe
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"We made too many of the wrong mistakes." - Yogi Berra
Posts: 4,916
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Post by cawgijoe on Apr 26, 2024 13:56:21 GMT -5
I would reiterate that, if you're trying out small or indoor antennas, you MUST try different locations and orientations. The smaller an antenna is, and the lower it is, the more it will be subject to being blocked by even tiny obstructions. For something like a WiFi antenna, at shelf height, even a few inches, or a metal bookend between the antenna and the router, can make a huge difference. And, for TV and FM antennas, both the exact location, and the exact orientation (angle), can both make a huge difference. Experiment a little bit... Sometimes even adding a few feet of wire, and putting that antenna on the top shelf, instead of the middle shelf, can make a big difference. I've never had a satellite dish... but I do remember some entertaining stories from back when I lived on Long Island. This was in the early days of DirectTV and Dish Networks. Back then most people had "a professional installation" but most "professional installers" were pretty new to satellite TV dishes. One year a lot of people signed up for satellite TV during the winter months... And then, in the spring, when all the trees "leafed out", they discovered that big leafy trees DO interfere with satellite TV signal strength. (And it's even worse when it rains and those leaves all get wet.) The obvious solution was to put up a tall pole to get the dish above the trees. But there was sometimes a problem there too. The orientation of satellite dishes is critical... at some locations they need to be aligned within a fraction of a degree. So, if you have a tall thin pole, it may flex enough, or twist enough, when a breeze blows on that dish to cause weak reception. (And, in the early days, many "professional installers" really weren't familiar with these sorts of issues.) Here in Northern Virginia snow is rarely an issue even with the dish mounted on the roof. I've had Directv since the second year they were out and except for the now yearly rate increase, it's worked very well for me. The rain fade is also rare and usually happens during the summer with a thunderstorm. Our new home will have the traditional choice of satellite or cable. Internet is through Firefly which works very well. We will give streaming and antenna a go. Yeah...very true. My first dish and dvr were made by Sony and I climbed the roof myself to install. A friend of mine would be at the TV set in the family room and we would tweak the dish by using the built in strength meter. We used Walkie Talkies. The closer to 100 we could get the better! The lock down and re-check. Fun days!
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Post by leonski on Apr 26, 2024 14:32:07 GMT -5
I've never been into Ham Radio... but, way back in the day when FM radio was a big deal, I had a big rooftop antenna... (If you actually know the models it was a Radio Shack knock-off of a Finco FM-4G ). We were out in the suburbs so most of the worthwhile stations were in NYC in the same direction... Back in those days I could actually get 40 or 50 stations... (But, sadly, most of them weren't playing the sort of stuff I like to listen to.) And, yes, more elements usually means either more gain, or more directionality, or both. Basically, you gain a few dB of gain for every additional driven element. And then you've got driven elements and passive elements. Passive elements can be either reflectors or can be used to control or focus the signal. On the "desktop" side of things... You can get an antenna that's omnidirectional - at the cost of maximum gain. (If you're in a strong signal area, hanging one of those simple "300 ohm T antennas", with the legs VERTICAL, sometimes works surprisingly well.) Or a simple dipole - which, like a dipole speaker in reverse, picks up best from the two "sides" and rejects signals from "the two ends". (That's what you have with a "300 ohm T antenna" with the legs horizontal - reception from the flat sides - and NOT from the ends.) Or something with at least one reflector element - which picks up from only ONE direction. (So, if you're between two sets of broadcast antennas, you would want a dipole and not an antenna that forces you to "pick a side".) (NOTE that we're talking about FM... and for old-style analog broadcast TV... for digital TV the proper dimensions would be different.) From what I understand the new digital TV antennas are even fussier about this sort of thing. Being digital you don't get "weak signals"... either the signal is "good enough" or it isn't and you don't get the station. And, for those into DIY, you can even try building your own antenna... www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACWdzkHSVXEAnd here's your "pro tip" for that... What MATTERS is the exact dimensions and the fact that your antenna itself is made out of metal... And those critical dimensions include the exact spacing between wires and metal parts... That's something you'll want to look up or get from a proper construction article. And you should make sure that any "supports" are non-metallic and non-conductive... So, for example, you can make a perfectly functional antenna out of aluminum foil, taped to a sheet of cardboard, using clear boxing tape... Or you can use thin gauge wire cut and shaped properly... Or, if the spacing works out right, metal nuts and washers on a piece of threaded rod (I've seen that done for impressive WiFi antennas). (But make sure that you connect it to the terminals using proper coax or twin-lead of the proper impedance.) You also need to be beware of really goofy Youtube videos about this sort of thing... For example, there is a video that claims that "you can get thousands of channels if you connect an old phone SIM chip to your TV antenna terminals". (A phone SIM chip isn't going to do anything for TV reception... other than count as a piece of metal attached to the wire.) One of the main points in 'amplified antennas' is that they amplify Noise as well as signal..... I recommend the ARRL publications series for the Real Overachiever..... www.arrl.org/arrl-antenna-bookFor for Keith? It isn't just directionality V sensitivity. It would appear that the number of elements governs this to a large extent en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Log-periodic_antennaAs the number of elements.....rises...the antenna gets physically longer (the 'boom') and directionality increases as does sensitivity. If you are aiming at ONE 'antenna farm' of transmitters, and are in the far fringe? You'll need a major antenna.....But at the expense of needing a rotor if you wish to get stations from another direction..... I just bult a 2meter Ground Plane antenna. Radiates equally in a full circle. But for my poor 5 watts? If I get it up 10 feet or more, I'm good. Given how ham radio works, all I really need to do is get into a local (maybe up to 10 miles) repeater which broadcast what I send IN out with more power, expanding my coverage..... Right you are about dimensions. One antenna type is known as Quarter Wave. Basically, 1/4 the wavelength of the frequency in question. For my 2 meter (about 146mhz) antenna, the length starts at about 20 inches per element and goes down as you 'tune' the antenna. I used a cheap SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) meter for this part of the operation..... SWR refers to the amount of power OUT of an antenna vs the input. What happens is 'reflected' waves which do not propogate getting back to the transmitter which does NOT like that. Too much reflected power means non is getting out and you can damage your transmitter. Similar principles of wavelenght and frequency are involved in the design and tuning of TV antennas, designed only for reception... The NAVY has a transmitter for somewhere between 3hz and 300hz which has wavelenghts in the thousands of KM......And antennas taking up square miles......Used to communicate with submarines, the target vessel periodically trails a huge / longwire antenna for reception. Impedance match is also important. Coaxial cable is used for this purpose....in 50ohm / 75ohm and old-school 'twin lead' of 300ohm.....the last useful for making DIY dipoles.... The number of different connectors makes modern stereo seem easy.....
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Post by Boomzilla on Apr 26, 2024 18:13:58 GMT -5
I'm just about fed up with Synology. I've been trying all afternoon to access the NAS RAID without success. The "Quick Installation Guide" that came with the Synology box gave good instructions on assembling the hardware. Getting that done without incident, I began trying to actually ACCESS the volume on the NAS. My (Mac) "Finder" can see the volume name under "Network," but when I double-click it to see the contents and size, I get the message "Not Connected." There's a button to the side that says "connect as." Using that option, I can enter my user name and password, but I still can't access the volume.
I've downloaded a bunch of Synology software including "Synology Surveillance Station Client," "Synology Drive Client," and "Synology Assistant 7.04," but none of them have gotten me access to the volume.
I've also spent literally hours on Google and the Synology website. It seems that 90% plus of their "help" is designed for Windows users. I may have to call their customer support tomorrow. If I don't have this NAS working by noon tomorrow, I'm boxing up the Synology and shipping it right back to Amazon. WTF, Synology???
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Post by leonski on Apr 26, 2024 21:21:34 GMT -5
Does OWC make anything in your category? ALL is 100% Mac Compatible....... I just installed (couple months now) 32gb of memory in my iMac.....instead of the 4 or 8 (in 2 sticks) in came with...... Seamless and now no matter how large the photo file I am working on, ZERO swap file activity.....saving my hard drive.... eshop.macsales.com/search/?q=NASSeagate HD is REALLY a robust item.....16tb, and other long-life specs......But over 300$ 2 of those in a RAID 0 or 1? the 1700$ raid bundle is maybe for you. Supports all common RAID modes and more OWC FLEX
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Post by marcl on Apr 27, 2024 6:50:57 GMT -5
I'm just about fed up with Synology. I've been trying all afternoon to access the NAS RAID without success. The "Quick Installation Guide" that came with the Synology box gave good instructions on assembling the hardware. Getting that done without incident, I began trying to actually ACCESS the volume on the NAS. My (Mac) "Finder" can see the volume name under "Network," but when I double-click it to see the contents and size, I get the message "Not Connected." There's a button to the side that says "connect as." Using that option, I can enter my user name and password, but I still can't access the volume. I've downloaded a bunch of Synology software including "Synology Surveillance Station Client," "Synology Drive Client," and "Synology Assistant 7.04," but none of them have gotten me access to the volume. I've also spent literally hours on Google and the Synology website. It seems that 90% plus of their "help" is designed for Windows users. I may have to call their customer support tomorrow. If I don't have this NAS working by noon tomorrow, I'm boxing up the Synology and shipping it right back to Amazon. WTF, Synology??? Really sorry to hear this. You'd think connecting to a network would be the easiest part. Sorry I have no Mac experience (at least not in this century). Hopefully calling support fixes it. I had very good response from support when I had my failure back in January.
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Post by Boomzilla on Apr 27, 2024 9:43:53 GMT -5
Frustration causes hyperbole... Between my computer amigos and Synology help, I'll force the damned thing to work. I think a lot of confusion is created by the Synology setup process. It doesn't matter that you told the online setup guide that your box is for home use, you still get pages and pages of questions about things that would be only of help to businesses - Do you want encryption? Do you want only the administrator to access this volume? Do you want to setup automatic backup now? For multiple computers? With access for whom? Etc. Even if you take the defaults, you get a NAS-RAID that has 10x more security than you want and different usernames and passwords for all the different functions.
The Synology setup should START by asking the user what the RAID volume is to be used for. Then, only the setup questions that apply for that use should be placed in the setup files.
But of course, this is pie in the sky - What manufacturer wants to bother with the programming needed for user-friendly setup? Just throw it all at the wall and see what sticks!
Bah Humbug - Boom
Postscriptum: I plan to run a second "stereo only" amplification train in parallel with my Arcem AVR just for the fun of it. My source will be the new Roon Nucleus One device. It has two USB outputs. I intend to run one of those to the Arcam AVR, the other to a Schiit Modi DAC. From the Schiit Modi's analog out, I plan to insert a MCM remote volume control #50-8394. I think this is a passive volume control, so the output impedance will vary with volume. The output of the volume control will feed a FX Audio Tube-01 preamp (used as a tube buffer). I don't need the volume control, so it'll be turned about 75% up to minimize inter channel variation. The output of the tube preamp will feed a pair of Emotiva PA-1 mono-block amplifiers (and, via Y-jumpers, the system subwoofer). The speaker outputs of both the AVR and the Emotiva amps will feed a Fosi LC-30 remote amp/speaker switch (with meters).
Then, from the listening seat, I can exactly match volumes between the (solid state) AVR and the (tube) stereo-only system. Once volumes are equalized, I can remotely swap back and forth between the two amplification chains from the listening position. Not the most elegant solution, but it should be fun!
PS2 - I strong-armed the Synology RAID box NAS into letting me copy files to it. From what I read, the default configuration for my Synology box already IS RAID-1. So as I copy files to the Synology, each file should be written to two physical drives simultaneously. But of course, the box shows up in my file finder as a single logical volume. May take all day for the files to transfer...
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klinemj
Emo VIPs
Honorary Emofest Scribe
Posts: 14,764
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Post by klinemj on Apr 27, 2024 13:50:07 GMT -5
I think a lot of confusion is created by the Synology setup process... But of course, this is pie in the sky - What manufacturer wants to bother with the programming needed for user-friendly setup? Just throw it all at the wall and see what sticks! Bah Humbug - Boom I've noticed that a lot of tech instructions to setup computer-related things are written by those knowledgable in how to do it FOR those knowledgable in how to do it. So, they throw in useful lingo like, "next, gnarfle the garthok and proceed to the next step" At which point, I say "huh?" PS - ever heard the old saying "nothing is hard to do if you know how to do it"? It applies to situations like you are facing. Once you know...you'll know! Mark
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Post by leonski on Apr 27, 2024 14:41:52 GMT -5
Than you have outfits like ECOBEE who do NOT publish any detailed written instructions. While most of it IS fairly Obvious, any helps needed result in going to the FAQ or writing in.
This is a home thermostat. Which works well, but who knows what I missed or what else it can do?
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Post by fbczar on Apr 27, 2024 18:25:02 GMT -5
I'm just about fed up with Synology. I've been trying all afternoon to access the NAS RAID without success. The "Quick Installation Guide" that came with the Synology box gave good instructions on assembling the hardware. Getting that done without incident, I began trying to actually ACCESS the volume on the NAS. My (Mac) "Finder" can see the volume name under "Network," but when I double-click it to see the contents and size, I get the message "Not Connected." There's a button to the side that says "connect as." Using that option, I can enter my user name and password, but I still can't access the volume. I've downloaded a bunch of Synology software including "Synology Surveillance Station Client," "Synology Drive Client," and "Synology Assistant 7.04," but none of them have gotten me access to the volume. I've also spent literally hours on Google and the Synology website. It seems that 90% plus of their "help" is designed for Windows users. I may have to call their customer support tomorrow. If I don't have this NAS working by noon tomorrow, I'm boxing up the Synology and shipping it right back to Amazon. WTF, Synology??? Boom, The Synology Assistant software resides on you Mac and is THE best way to connect your Mac to the NAS on a daily basis. However, when you want to do more than simply look at the contents of the NAS via your Mac Synology has software that resides on the Synology website. Once you have established an IP address for your NAS put that IP address in your web browser and it return. When it opens you will see Package Center, Control Panel and File Station. You will also see a help function called DSM Help. The three main packages are EXTREMELY powerful and will allow you to do what you need to do. It is too complex to discuss here, but that is the way to do what you want to do.
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Post by Boomzilla on Apr 27, 2024 18:31:32 GMT -5
Thanks fbczarI’ll acquaint myself.
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klinemj
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Posts: 14,764
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Post by klinemj on Apr 28, 2024 15:17:44 GMT -5
BoomzillaWhile you are playing around with the Roku, check out the various apps within the Roku environment. From the home screen, select "streaming store" and search for the following: 1) Roku Channel 2) Live TV on the Roku Channel 3) freevee 4) Comedy Classics ...and if you are into "This Old House", there's an app for that also. You can add them to your home page, and using the "*" button on the remote - move the app where you want it to be on your Roku homescreen. We have ours showing Hulu (+ Live), Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon first as we use those most often, There's a LOT of free stuff out there. I've watched old Perry Mason, I Dream of Genie, Beverly Hillbillies, Dick Van Dyke Show, Leave it to Beaver, you name it. Whatever you want is out there. The hard part is often finding it. But, from the Roku home page, if you select "search" and type a show name - it tells you where it is (and if it's free or adds a cost). My mother-in-law continues to search from within a specific app and can't find what she wants - and gets frustrated she can't find something. If you search from the Roku home page, it finds all the options you could use. Also, some SmartTV's show their own pop-up menu of streaming apps at startup. This confused my wife as she tried to select those. Nope...do not! Let the Roku start and do it's thing. On my LG TV, I can tell it to ignore the LG apps - that's in the LG settings. When I do, it starts directly at the Roku home page. When using the Roku device, that's the best way to go. Enjoy! Mark
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Post by leonski on Apr 28, 2024 17:29:31 GMT -5
klin? Will the SOFABATON remote address those Roku buttons or do you have to 'add' them thru a learning routine?
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Post by Boomzilla on Apr 28, 2024 20:00:49 GMT -5
HEP! I've (finally) got my audio files transferred from my former external drive and onto the Synology RAID NAS device.
Now I'm trying to tell Roon where to look for the NAS RAID. No matter what I enter as a path, I just get error messages. I have the right username and password to log onto the drive; I can see the drive in my Finder sidebar and under the "Network" tab, but every time I try to get Roon to see the NAS, I get error messages.
I've turned on Home Sharing on my Mac mini, but despite trying the URL for the drive, the drive name, the smb share name, etc. NOTHING is working. What am I missing?
PS: I GOT IT TO WORK!! The format it wanted was: \\192.168.1.14\Godzilla
Then I had to enter my username & password.
But all's well that ends well - Now Roon is cataloging the NAS.
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Post by leonski on Apr 28, 2024 20:27:40 GMT -5
Boom, I consulted my crystal ball. I see a book in your future.
Working Title? 'Idiots Guid to Roon, NAS RAID and Mac'
Negotiate for rights to 'idiots Guide' for ONE book only.
Self publish at about 10,000 copies. Unless THEY want to
buy it!
I sense a BIG book......
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Post by Boomzilla on Apr 29, 2024 7:56:58 GMT -5
My third book is going to press this month or next, and I have a list of potential writing projects coming up:
* Layers of Protection Analysis - Worked Examples with Explanations * Co-write a textbook on Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals for the Masters Degree program at Southeastern Louisiana University * Resume some (few) audio reviews for the Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity website * Write an undergraduate textbook - Chemical Process Safety for Engineers * Other projects are flitting around like a cloud of gnats - I'll need to pick and choose carefully.
Glenn
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Post by monkumonku on Apr 29, 2024 9:24:57 GMT -5
My third book is going to press this month or next, and I have a list of potential writing projects coming up: * Layers of Protection Analysis - Worked Examples with Explanations * Co-write a textbook on Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals for the Masters Degree program at Southeastern Louisiana University * Resume some (few) audio reviews for the Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity website * Write an undergraduate textbook - Chemical Process Safety for Engineers * Other projects are flitting around like a cloud of gnats - I'll need to pick and choose carefully. Glenn Well if you choose resuming audio reviews, liven up your life by reviewing some Tekton speakers. After retaining a good lawyer, of course.
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Post by Boomzilla on Apr 29, 2024 9:47:40 GMT -5
Been there; done that; got the T-shirt. I didn’t get sued because (having no test equipment at that time), I published no measurements.
Upcoming reviews I plan to do:
RCA unamplified on-air television antenna vs. amplified antenna Roon Nucleus One MCM remote-controlled, passive volume controller #50-8394 FX Audio Tube-01 preamp Fosi LC-30 remote amp/speaker switch Compact sealed subwoofer (brand TBD by the Secrets website) (discontinued) Arcam AVR300 receiver
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