Short post, my file server is back online.

Last night I ran some errands.  I had a return to make, which unfortunately the nearest UPS store is almost an hour away.  On my way back, I stopped at Mattress Firm.  They didn't have much in the sub-$2k range (but they had a $6500 dollar mattress on the floor...), but there were a few that were decent.  This one was quite nice.

I also finished setting up the moca adapter to network my laptop to the third room.  It was pretty much plug and play.  My file server is now back online.

I did a movie transfer to see how fast the connection was.  It wasn't as fast as I hoped (nor as stable), but it was adequate.  The reviews show people getting near gigabit speeds.  Mine didn't come close (it averaged about half that, maybe a little less), and is all brand new coax.  It would also occasionally dip into the 150-200Mbps range, which is unfortunate.  It might be worth picking up a couple of new coax cables to try too.  The ones I had in my entertainment center are ancient and are the slide on type, not the screw on type.  They were fine back in the days of VCRs, but for this might not be ideal.  I do intend to do a proper speed test probably tonight, using laptops to make sure the spinning disk isn't the bottleneck even though I seriously doubt that the disk is too slow since it copied onto the Synology nearly saturating gigabit.

One of the improvements you may recall was to switch everything over to LED, which is now complete except for the exterior light on the back door which I can't get to.  I am not 100% sure what the overhead lights are (the slow two stage turn on suggests CFL), so I might eventually replace those too, but that is low on the list.

A couple other notes.  I got my fiber install scheduled for the 16th, so I will soon have gigabit internet.  I was also talking with the HVAC guy, and since I expressed an interest in efficiency, he recommended going with a dual mini-split (one unit on each end of the house) instead of the traditional heat pump like what my parents have.  Most of your efficiency losses are in the ducting, which mini-splits don't have.  The dual unit would insure I have enough winter capacity, and would minimize the refrigerant line runs (meaning I wouldn't be running the refrigerant lines 40+ feet from one end of the house to the other).  I will see what he comes back with for a quote.