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Status update on the embedded research lab.
I've got 4 modems and 3 power wires. I have space and power for up to 16 modems.
To the far left there's a fuse panel connected to a relay block. I'm using the normally-closed terminal so I power a relay to turn a modem OFF, which makes sense because it's meant for a hard reboot.
I severely underestimated the amount of wire I would need, so I only ran 3 lines off of the relay block - I'll clean up those wires when I have all 16 run.
White twist-ties are also temporary until I get another batch of zip ties.
The fuse block has only a single 14 AWG positive going in, but has 18 3 amp fuses. A 14 gauge wire can only carry (max) 20 amps, not 54. I'm not going to pull 3 amps per line, but 2 amps is realistic and that's 36 amps, which is also the max output of the power supply. My main positive and negative lines are 3x 14 gauge wire each, so no problem there, but the fuse block is the Achilles Heel.
The modems are slid into a dish rack, it just happens to be exactly the width of a typical modem...
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@cjd >The modems are slid into a dish rack, it just happens to be exactly the width of a typical modem...
amazing
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Here's a closer look at what's going on with the modems, there's a 7 port USB hub stuck to the ceiling with sticky-pads, and each modem has a USB-serial cable connected to it's internal UART. When I get a new device, I take it apart and add the USB serial, then I tie a knot in the usb-serial cable so it can't get out, cut a small hole in the case for the cord to run through, and re-assemble the modem. The USB-serial stays with the modem basically forever. This is my tmux shell on Master Of Modems (mommy.cjdns.fr). It can connect to and power cycle any modem.