diy Top @Kew Drive

[Ks Toh 74]

Hi KS

Firstly, a big Thank You to you for writing about the issue of structured network cabling. We are now in the midst of renovation. I have been keeping tabs on your blog and whenever there is a new entry, it will be reflected in my email. Had I not read about this, my TV will not be connected to the internet and like you said, why buy a smart TV when I cannot make use of it. By the way, may I know how much did the contractor charge you for each data point?

Hi

Nice to know that I saved your Smart TV. I was charged $230 per Cat 6 point. I believe this price is definitely on the high side but I had not much choice due to many reasons:

- He was recommended by my then ID. I did not want to use another contractor and end up not able to work with the ID

- He was willing to run wires according to my requests (well, mostly but not all)

- All wires concealed i.e. dig MRT tunnel on wall, put wire, cover up

- Some of the wires had to run quite long distances over several floors

If you do not have the limitations I had, you should check around for the prices. I am sure it should be cheaper.

[FamilyGuy72 1]

Hi

Nice to know that I saved your Smart TV. I was charged $230 per Cat 6 point. I believe this price is definitely on the high side but I had not much choice due to many reasons:

- He was recommended by my then ID. I did not want to use another contractor and end up not able to work with the ID

- He was willing to run wires according to my requests (well, mostly but not all)

- All wires concealed i.e. dig MRT tunnel on wall, put wire, cover up

- Some of the wires had to run quite long distances over several floors

If you do not have the limitations I had, you should check around for the prices. I am sure it should be cheaper.

Hi KS,

I'm contemplating of converting my telephone RJ11 socket to LAN RJ45 socket (faceplate) using the existing Cat 5/6 cable since I don't plan to subscribe land lines with everyone having cell-phones. Is it possible ?

[Ks Toh 74]

Hi KS,

I'm contemplating of converting my telephone RJ11 socket to LAN RJ45 socket (faceplate) using the existing Cat 5/6 cable since I don't plan to subscribe land lines with everyone having cell-phones. Is it possible ?

Hi

It definitely can be done, and I know of people who have done it. But I don't have personal knowledge, so need to verify:

1) The cable must indeed be Cat 5 or 6. Then you can get at least 100 Mbps. Just need to change the end plug from RJ-11 to RJ-45 and the face plate.

2) The cable route must coincide with your intended network cable route. I do not know how telephone cables are laid. If they are laid daisy chain i.e. Distribution Point to Room 1, and from Room 1 to Room 2, and from Room 2 to Room 3, then there may be a problem, since network cables generally require all the cables to start from the same distribution point.

If all the cables start from the same distribution point, then you already have your network. If the distribution point happens to be at a different place (e.g. utility room) when your intended network distribution point (and TP / ONT / RG) is located at the hall, then the solution is to have one cable running from the utility room to the hall, and a switch in the utility room.

[Ks Toh 74]

Today, I went back to Pioneer Landscape to buy more plants, in particular a pair of Citrus Lime Trees. I lugged them back in my car, so saved some time and money.

Have a Happy Lunar New Year 2014 !!

[back to Table of Contents]

Edited May 24, 2014 by kstoh

[mrbytez 6]

Awesome home, awesome man. Very detailed blog and very intricately thought out.. after reading all the posts, felt like just being enriched.. almost wanted to say enlightened.. lol.. signed up just to post this.. Many thanks

[Ks Toh 74]

[back to Table of Contents]

Back to my plants ...

These are nice websites on Frangipani and Citrus Lime Trees:

All Things Frangipani

Buying Citrus Lime Trees for Chinese New Year

Edited May 24, 2014 by kstoh

[Ks Toh 74]

Awesome home, awesome man. Very detailed blog and very intricately thought out.. after reading all the posts, felt like just being enriched.. almost wanted to say enlightened.. lol.. signed up just to post this.. Many thanks

Thanks!

[Ks Toh 74]

My current refrigerator is more than 10 years old. It is a side by side model made by RCA from USA. Over the years, it has broken down several times but after repairs, it is still working fine, except for the lights in the freezer compartment not working. Anyway, I went to Best Denki, surveyed all the new big side by side models and shortlisted a few Japanese and Korean models.

Until I discovered that after tiling, it seems that the space for my refrigerator has somehow become smaller! Now, the space is only 174 cm high and 101 cm wide. The width is not a problem but the height rules out ALL of the side by side Japanese and Korean models. There was not a single model that is within 174 cm height! No choice but to use back my old refrigerator and hope it lasts more years.

I found out recently that I have to buy American refrigerators which are shorter in height. I saw a 640L Whirlpool side by side fridge at Courts Orchard Road, measuring 852 cm width x 1696 cm height x 858 cm depth. But price of these american models seem much higher than Japanese or Korean models.

Edited January 21, 2014 by kstoh

[Asking4Help 1]

Nice to see new info that you've posted.

Regards to the fridge, do you think European model like BOSCH is as durable as Japanese/Korean model? or quality is better...?

[tessina 9]

Asian kitchens/food, Japanese fridges the way to go

[FamilyGuy72 1]

Hi

It definitely can be done, and I know of people who have done it. But I don't have personal knowledge, so need to verify:

1) The cable must indeed be Cat 5 or 6. Then you can get at least 100 Mbps. Just need to change the end plug from RJ-11 to RJ-45 and the face plate.

2) The cable route must coincide with your intended network cable route. I do not know how telephone cables are laid. If they are laid daisy chain i.e. Distribution Point to Room 1, and from Room 1 to Room 2, and from Room 2 to Room 3, then there may be a problem, since network cables generally require all the cables to start from the same distribution point.

If all the cables start from the same distribution point, then you already have your network. If the distribution point happens to be at a different place (e.g. utility room) when your intended network distribution point (and TP / ONT / RG) is located at the hall, then the solution is to have one cable running from the utility room to the hall, and a switch in the utility room.

Thanks for your advice, KS.

[creative_vitamin 3]

Asian kitchens/food, Japanese fridges the way to go

any rationale?

[Ks Toh 74]

Nice to see new info that you've posted.

Regards to the fridge, do you think European model like BOSCH is as durable as Japanese/Korean model? or quality is better...?

I got Bosch power drill and grass cutter, and I know Bosch makes power equipment and car parts. But I did not know they make refrigerators!

I took a look at their refrigerators on their website. Looks nice but I have no idea how they perform. Since I have no knowledge, I would stick to the tried and tested Japanese and Korean makes. It is a risk when I depart from tried and tested models. Sometimes, it is a wonderful surprise. Other times, it is a piece of disaster that I have to face every day.

I think if you are interested in Bosch refrigerators, you must do research. Check up on reviews etc. When i was looking for wine chillers, I recall seeing a Bosch set that was selling cheap. It was Made in China and upon closer examination not very well made.

This is what one Best Denki salesman once told me. Could be true but I don't know:

Korean makes are now better buys because they are made in Korea, except for some really cheap Korean models. Japanese models are no longer as good because they are all made in China, except for those expensive high end models.

As for me, I am stuck with USA refrigerators simply because of my 174 cm height restriction. Even Bosch is 175 cm and higher, I think.

[Harriette 42]

Hi kstoh,

I'm looking for a wall light for my yard. My yard has a double-volume ceiling. I see that you have fixed ceiling light on the walls (akin to a wall light) in your tall living room. Are these lights sufficient to light up the loft?

Thanks.

We had a headache trying to light up our hall. The hall is rather high. Originally, there was a huge light in the centre hanging from the high ceiling but we had changed that to a fan. We could not have a fan light as that meant having to have a remote control for the fan, which was not advisable for reasons which I had explained earlier.

We could not have down lights or cove lights as there was no false ceiling. The only option was to have wall lights. But most wall lights are not meant to light up the area. They are meant primary for ambience lighting. Those that were really bright were those 300W to 500W halogen lights, and we needed 4 of them. Even then, they were shining upwards, and not bright enough for the whole place.

In the end, at the suggestion of the light shop salesman, we chose 4 LED ceiling lights but fixed them as wall lights. The result was pretty good. Our backup plan was to have some standing lamps if the place was not bright enough but this proved unnecessary.

Each of these LED lights was 12W and we were told they were equivalent to 70-80W halogen. We had 4 of them. Total 48W. I cannot imagine if we had to fix 4 of those 500W halogen bulbs. The heat generated and the energy consumption would have killed me!

[Ks Toh 74]

Hi Harriette

My hall is double volume and the four lights are bright enough. For your reference, I took the following pictures at 6.40 am this morning, with and without lights.