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Post by papaof2 on Jun 10, 2021 22:02:28 GMT -6
Something funky on the internet tonight. Some sites seemed unusually slow so I went to www.dslreports.com/speedtest/moreto check my current upload and download speeds and I got one test that had 69kbs download (just 20% faster than dialup). A later test improved that but the upload speed was 1/3 of normal. We had some frog-strangler rain today with one hour showing 0.65 inch - but most of that in 20 minutes or less. Wet cables? Possibly, but that wouldn't be likely to change by a factor of 100 in a matter of minutes - wet cable usually happens slowly (other than digging damage) and dries out even more slowly. Maybe I'll find something on it tomorrow. At least the cell phones are via a different carrier than the internet so we still have communications backup. The other "gotcha" is that the dslreports test page displays what it sees in speed to multiple locations before selecting a path for testing. Green is good, yellow-green is slow, red is bad. In one test, a third of the network servers they use for testing (from all over the US) were in the red so I don't think that's a wet cable problem here. Level 3 Communications provides Tier 1 (backbone) internet services for a lot of users and they had an hour-long glitch on 8 June. Is this a problem related to them or are the hackers playing games? With the slow routes being all over the US, hackers or a backbone network problem are certainly reasonable suggestions.
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Post by papaof2 on Jun 11, 2021 14:56:24 GMT -6
Checking the speeds today and download is less than 10% of normal. Upload is about 30% of normal. The dslreports page still shows some locations in red.
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Post by papaof2 on Jun 11, 2021 22:37:29 GMT -6
I've also noticed that not all locations are affected. amazon.com seems fine but some other sites I was on today got the site name in the tab and then ... then ... then the header graphic then ... then ... then the rest of the page s-l-o-w-l-y.
Looking for LiFePO4 batteries on alibaba.com (longer-lived replacement for the AGM battery in the 4 discontinued UPS units: $50 + shipping from the manufactyrer, $27 + shipping from the least expensive aftermarket battery dealer). The US battery sites were slow but alibaba.com (China) was not - maybe that's a hint? I need to contact the seller in China to find out the shipping costs for 16 of their 5AH cells so I can make 4 battery packs. The battery packs and the BMS (battery monitor) will fit in the existing battery compartment, possibly cost no more than the aftermarket battery and should have a service life that's much longer than the advertised "3-5 years" of the exact replacement battery - they'll also provide more power and longer than the original battery.
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Post by papaof2 on Jun 12, 2021 20:39:30 GMT -6
Got email from batteryhookup.com today and they had slightly lower capacity LiFePO4 cells for $3.05 each (including tax and shipping) so I ordered 16 cells: 4 * 3.2 volts = 12.8 volt battery for each of the small UPS units. The BMS units (one for each battery pack) were $4.60 each (incl. tax and shipping). That makes each (almost forever) battery 4 * $3.05 = $12.20 + $4.60 = $16.80 plus some of my time to put the pieces together. I think the $10 (plus shipping) difference from the least expensive aftermarket battery means I'm making $50-$60/hour for my time putting these together - double that if you compare it to the manufacturer's price for one battery.
From another project, I have a battery spot welder and the nickel strip used for connecting batteries. That cost has already been amortized in the previous project (lithium ion battery pack replacement for a no-longer-available NiMH battery pack for a hand vacuum) so I'm just using the leftovers ;-)
The original UPS battery was an AGM rated at 12 volts, 4.2AH and with a service life of 3-5 years (manufacturer's numbers). The new battery pack will be 12 volts, 3.2AH but the LiFePO4 cells can repeatedly deliver 80% of capacity (up to 2000 cycles) while the AGM will die in 100-300 cycles at that level of discharge - and AGMs age just sitting doing nothing: AGM batteries last longer if they receive occasional discharge of 10% or so and then a quick recharge to "stir" the electrolyte (from a manufacturer) instead of staying at float voltage for months on end as is usual for standby power. That probably means that you should unplug the UPS on your computer for a few minutes once a month so the UPS gets to work for a little while ;-)
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