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I'm looking for some cameras to wire in, since (for the time being, at least) I still have easy access to the area behind and above the walls/ceiling of most of my second floor. They're not for security... they're to reassure me that my cats are OK whenever I have to go away for a couple of...

If you missed my post from a few weeks ago, it might be worth heading over to Home Depot. They had 16/4 in-wall rated speaker wire clearance-priced at 8-11c/foot. Just make sure you check the "cut wire" section on the thing that's kind of like a big ferris wheel, because that's where it's most...

I think that's one reason why the group responsible for domain registrations changed their policy a few years ago so that when a domain expires, it gets deactivated a month (more?) before becoming available for sale to someone else. They reasoned that the longer the registration period and the...

Slightly off-topic, but for anyone who has a portable generator that burns unleaded gasoline, it's possible to convert them to run from natural gas, propane, or all three. I don't remember the URL offhand, but there's at least one company that sells DIY kits to do the conversion yourself. I've...

Actually, I finished the project a few days ago, and I think I did a very nice job with it. The whole thing (except for one segment behind a wall I didn't have access to from behind) was done with 1/2" ENT, terminated at Raco old-work gangable metal boxes. The one segment I mentioned was run...

Well, in this case the code is largely irrelevant. It's an existing house, and as far as the 25 year old blueprints on file at City Hall show, there's only a single non-wired smoke detector (in 1982, the code apparently required at least one smoke detector, but didn't require that it actually be...

I'm pulling my last wires before getting ready to hang the new drywall, and making my final "wish list" for future projects. I only HAVE to have a single smoke detector, but I wouldn't mind adding a few more if it wouldn't end up being enormously more expensive. I know that it's trivially easy...

There's really no way a traditional PIR motion detector can be made "cat immune" by itself, and as far as I know, no "off the shelf" solutions to the problem. As someone with two cats, I've given the matter plenty of thought (and, in fact, have two PIR motion sensors that my Elk is programmed to...

PI Manufacturing has some interesting-looking passive and active baluns: the NVA-904AT active cat5 extender/balun (not yet released) has 8 RCA ports on one side, two sets of local outputs on top (one to feed the local TV, one to chain to additional baluns), and BOTH RJ-45 *and* screw...

How on god's green earth are they passively ramming 5 discrete signals down 4 pairs of wires? The only thing I can think of is that they're not balancing one or more of the video signals (ie, they're leaving the "ground" signal as "ground" for Pr, Pb, and/or Y, and not trying to balance it into...

Oh, of course not (makes note to flip breaker off before leaving for work tomorrow...) :)

Maybe... but from what I've heard, most inspectors aren't exactly thrilled about empty, unused conduit being run everywhere, either, because they KNOW you aren't going to go out and get another building permit before pulling any new wires through it. :) In any case, it'll be a frosty July day...

The shielded Cat5 is for video (s-video + analog stereo now, component + spdif soon, and HDCP someday (if somebody ever makes a solution that costs less than the TV it's connected to). I briefly considered RapidRun, but I'm pretty sure it's too thick to pull even a single cable through 1/2"...

I'm not talking about orange LV Riser Guard... I'm talking about red and yellow ENT, like this: I'm not actually sure whether the blue ENT the guy is holding is the same blue sold at Home Depot & Lowes, or is a darker & more "blue" blue, because almost ALL of the online prices I found for...

How do you mount arbitrary items, like a gigabit switch or 110 block? I bought an OnQ 14" panel yesterday at Lowe's and mounted it, but now I'm scratching my head trying to figure out what to do with the round and square punch-outs on it. Having spent the better part of the day and a nontrivial...

Well, so far, one cruel lesson I've learned about electrical supplies is that at least 10-20% of any manufacturer's official catalog is pure fantasy/bull$hit (take your pick), and doesn't actually exist for purchase anywhere... not even online. Just *try* finding a double-gang old-work box with...

Is it ever legal under NEC to run power wires through BLUE (not orange) ENT conduit ("smurf tube") that's dedicated to that use (ie, NOT shared with low-voltage wires)? I spent a really frustrating hour at Home Depot this afternoon trying to buy conduit to use for power wiring. Frustrating...

Glad to hear you were able to get it, too :-) One thing I've learned over the past year... if something's clearance-priced at ONE Home Depot, it's almost always clearance-priced at the others, and they just haven't updated the prices on the items themselves. On the other hand, the prices at...

No, it was fresh off the spool. I'm guessing they decided to discontinue it, and the roll on the rack was their last one. To be honest, I've never fully understood the absolute urgency stores like Home Depot seem to have for *instantly* purging their stores of a discontinued item, even if (in...

I'm not sure whether it's a regional or nationwide thing, but if you think you might have even the *slightest* use for 16/4 in-wall plenum-rated speaker wire, check out the "cut wire" section at your local Home Depot stores. I just bought ~170 feet (all they had), and got change back from a...