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Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

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Re: Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

#311

Post by VBprogrammer »

yuye wrote: post #230
audunw wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're both missing one of the more likely explanation.. that nobody gave much thought about how long the device would last. "It's solid state electronics, it'll probably outlast the warranty anyway".. I can imagine an aircon company puts a lot of effort into analyzing the air-conditioning unit itself to make sure it lasts at least as long as the warranty, with good margin. But I can totally see them winging it on an…

Advantage Air doesn't produce ACs. They produce smart home solutions, including AC controllers. They're not winging it on an external control device, they're cheaping out on their main product. Also, their claim is that they're not outsourcing. If you check their website, it claims everything is designed and manufactured in Australia. Nevertheless, I'd have given them the benefit of the doubt if it were not for: 1. T…

Locking in the model numbers for me is particularly icky. They are leveraging the Android and therefore Linux and open source communities efforts to make this custom display which would have cost them an arm and a leg to have custom built with half the features - then turning around and sticking two fingers up at those communities.

Re: Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

#312

Post by upofadown »

binary_slinger wrote: post #299
FLT8 wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is from my earlier notes, hope it helps some. Pin 1: RS422 +/B Pin 2: RS422 -/A Pin 3: ? - appears to be unused; connected to unpopulated pad on PCB Pin 4: GND Pin 5: ~14.2v DC unloaded Pin 6: GND Pin 7: ? Pin 8: ? Shield: GND Note: the RS422 protocol has a basic bus arbitration built-in to allow both ends to communicate. The control unit sends Ping messages, after which it opens a slot for the Tablet to communi…

Wouldn't RS422 need 2 TX and 2 RX?

Normally, yes. Perhaps this could be more properly termed RS-485 operating in 2 wire (half duplex) mode:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-485

Re: Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

#314

Post by downut »

SOLAR_FIELDS wrote: post #28
cbanek wrote: post #17

This is when smart gets stupid. I'm a bit worried about this with my nest and other smart devices, but even with normal air conditioners there are a few stupid simple problems that will cost you hundreds of dollars! A couple of weeks ago my AC blower fan stopped working, the compressor would run. I went up and found out that the capacitor was bad, and took a picture of it, buying a replacement. Took about 15 minutes…

I highly recommend people who live in hot environments to keep a spare capacitor on hand. Even if you know how to fix it, if the AC dies when your local HVAC supply store is closed (eg not between 7am-7pm Monday through Saturday usually) you’re either stuck paying out the nose to a contractor who has one on hand during emergency hours or you’re sweating it out waiting for the store to open. While they are readily ava…

I want to emphasize for others how important this comment is. I live in suburban Atlanta and last month the AC failed. Can you guess what day and time it failed? Yep, 8AM on 96F/70% humidity SUNDAY. And we moved into this f*cking old house a year earlier after moving across the country so no local knowledge of contractors. After about 15 minutes in google maps I call up my best guess based entirely on internet vibes. After some hemming and hawing which is best described as a verbal biopsy of my wallet ("it's going to be $200 for showing up") the dude shows up. We get to talking as one does (I DIY everything) and he says I'll show you how to fix it, it's very likely the capacitor is the problem.

So he unscrews the panel, pulls off the leads, puts in the new capacitor and voila. Then the guy says basically exactly what the above para starting with "A capacitor issue...", including hosing down the coils.

So in 10 minutes I learned another mandatory skill on a Sunday morning, and it only cost $675. (Yes I know better than to place my tongue across the capacitor connectors)

Last year I fixed the condensate drain line clog myself, by uh, well, I was in a hurry, blowing into the pretty grotty drain line. I did purchase the exact model pump for a spare.

I still need to buy a spare capacitor though!

Re: Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

#315

Post by anoother »

gwd wrote: post #285
prmoustache wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the risk here?

Consider the following scenario: 1. Someone owns one of these systems which is functioning perfectly well. 2. They stumble across a link allowing them to download the controller app, and so they install it on their normal tablet, expecting to be able to control the system from their tablet 3a. It doesn't work, so they contact technical support. Technical support wastes a bunch of time before figuring out why the app…

This is pretty simple to solve for. Eg. Have the app provide an ID the customer can quote to the CS rep; Have the app also log this ID, along with the system it's being run on, to the cloud/an interface that pops up an "unsupported system" message to the CS agent on entering the ID.

Re: Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

#316

Post by prmoustache »

gwd wrote: post #285
prmoustache wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the risk here?

Consider the following scenario: 1. Someone owns one of these systems which is functioning perfectly well. 2. They stumble across a link allowing them to download the controller app, and so they install it on their normal tablet, expecting to be able to control the system from their tablet 3a. It doesn't work, so they contact technical support. Technical support wastes a bunch of time before figuring out why the app…

But you could have a warning at the start of the app without rendering it unusable that would pretty much solve old points.

Re: Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

#317

Post by gambiting »

nyanpasu64 wrote: post #19

> The original ezone tablet had been running Android 6.0, this Samsung was still on 5.0 but I didnt think that would cause any issues so I got started on doing what was clearly missing: The required apps. All ezone apps are available both on the Advantage Air website and the apkpure site. I only learned of the apkpure site from a post claiming he had been directed to it by a AA tech support person. Redirecting your c…

I was just reading an official Volvo technical bulletin for an issue that can occur in a latest XC90....the manual literally says "download this patch, load it into the patching software, you will get a warning about the patch not being signed and invalid for this car, click ignore and then click proceed anyway".

Why even build those warnings in, if you're going to make your own mechanics ignore them.

Re: Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

#318

Post by smolder »

liminalsunset wrote: post #226
cyberax wrote: post #98

Ugh. The whole "smart aircon" industry needs a good-sized asteroid wiping them out of the existence. There is a very real need for modern variable-speed units, and vendors just keep fucking it up by using proprietary protocols locked into their ecosystem. TRANE in the US is similar. And this is really annoying because variable-speed pumps solve all the problems with short cycling and oversized systems.

The problem with having standards for this kind of thing is that different units have different needs for communication and different levels of being smart. For example, some units want 2 temperature sensors and some want 3. The method used to control the system can be relatively complex - some systems are using physical models of the characteristics and positioning of sensors to do fancy control, and there are proba…

The idea of anything with permanence involving Bluetooth gives me a brain cramp.

Re: Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

#319

Post by pavel_lishin »

hunter2_ wrote: post #78
SOLAR_FIELDS wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reminds me how, in USA, it’s the only civilized nation I’ve been to where you must have a prescription to purchase contacts and glasses. Everywhere else I’ve been will just sell you whatever magnification you need at the pharmacy. Obviously there is some acceptable line here, but I think the States handles this decently well enough. In Austin where I live you can get what is called a “homeowners permit” in a lot of c…

There's an easy hack for the contact lens (and maybe glasses?) situation. There is a consumer protection law meant to ensure eye doctors can't stop you from using any retailer you want (otherwise they'd essentially make themselves your retailer), and it works like this: You place an order with the retailer (online retailers typically allow you to simply type in your prescription values when adding lenses to your onli…

I purchase my glasses from Zenni, and I don't believe I've ever had to give them the name of my doctor.

On the other hand, maybe I typed that in when I was first signing up two decades ago, and the optometrist I gave them has long since gone out of business?

Re: Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

#320

Post by marcus0x62 »

thrtythreeforty wrote: post #82
gstar wrote: post #70

OMFG; I am in Perth, I have the same system, the very same problem and solved it almost the same way and was in the process of writing it up. The system uses RS422, with a base64 encoded AES key in the aaservice binary, and I was contemplating building an esp32 based open source implementation of the controller. That's a crazy weird coincidence.

What the hell, why does a control system need an AES-secured control channel at all? The only possible intention is to make interop more difficult. If they wanted security then they wouldn't use a hard coded AES key.

Anti circumvention laws don’t require good locks to provide the manufacturers a legal cudgel to use against anyone with the temerity to think they have the right to use and fix things they have paid for. The law (DMCA in the US, it looks like something called the Digital Agenda Act in Australia) is the real lock, not that AES key.
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