About BirdDog

@cuddlebug0 wrote: I'm glad to have a couple of friendly faces to chat with from time to time.  I just posted a billing question.  It's no doubt a silly question, but one I need an answer to.  I have to watch for a reply now.  Chat later.   cuddlebug0 Nah, not silly at all.  When I first upgraded to Gen4 and paid my first bill (manual payments), my invoice total was still showing.  I called, as I was worried that the payment didn't go through, even though it showed in the account history that it did.  It turned out that it was actually just showing the balance of THAT particular invoice, not the balance currently on my account, which was zero.  The system has been changed a little since then, so it's less confusing (with that issue, anyway), but that one really threw me for a loop.    I had and issue with billing back in the late 2000s or early 2010s in which a double payment was deducted from my bank account when I paid an invoice, so when I saw what I thought was a still existing balance it made me very nervous.     And your current issue is a little perplexing, so I hope you get an answer soon.  I'm sure I would ask, too.     ... View more

Thank you for your quick reply my friend.  I have written to Amanda, so hope to get a reply soon. ... View more

@GabeU wrote: CenturyLink.   Wouldn't be shocked at that either. ... View more

@GabeU wrote:   I don't think I'd blame and cuss out Sunoco or Chevy if I ran out of gas while driving around all day.    Excellent analogy. ... View more

"Please remember to update your brand new refrigerator's firewall..."   In the near future, your domestic replicants will be programmed to do this for you.  Edit: Or maybe Alexa can do it already?  (I don't know, I keep my home as dumb as possible). ... View more

I agree with Mark, but as far as the error has it been registered before? http://www.echotalk.org/index.php?topic=3890.0 ... View more

@GabeU, glad it worked. Can cross you off my Christmas list now.    And yep, Google is collecting a lot but I'm getting too old to worry about it much. Can't imagine the info they'll have on the younger generations if it keeps up. Big Brother is no longer science fiction. Just private companies are as guilty, maybe more, than the government. ... View more

I got a kick out of that, too.  Like the "don't eat this" warnings on things that no one would ever eat.  😛   That control just feels cheap, and because of the way the water heater is designed there is no way to light it manually.  It can ONLY be lit by that piezo lighter on the control.  😞    I can see the control going bad long before the water heater itself does.  😞      I'm used to the old, small water heater gas valve with the big black dial on it that has the temps.  You reach in with a long match or one of those flexible, extended grill lighters to light the pilot while holding the button down, then put the access panel cover back on the inside, then the outside.  Easy and long lasting.  Heck, my water heater is approaching 18 years and it's still going strong.  And it sits on a concrete slab on a dirt floor basement, so it's not exactly a dry environment.  But, it's still fine.  My furnace is about the same age, and other than replacing the hot surface ignitor a few times, it's still going strong, as well.  They forgot to move the draft prover switch when they installed it in a horizontal position, so it was below the exhaust blower housing and would get water in it.  It took a bit to figure that one out, as I'm not used to gas furnaces, but I knew what draft prover switches were and how they worked, and I could tell it was full of water from the condensation building up in the exhaust blower housing and running down the rubber tube to it.  Just shook it out, let it sit for a few hours, and put it in the right position.   ... View more

I know, right? I love those tests, when Testmy goes a little nutty.    I usually don't run upload tests because they're always between 2 and 3 Mbps (unless the connection is clogged, in which case it may be less). Testmy never gives me speed of light uploads; they just do it with downloads.    @GabeU wrote: And REALLY nicely on Nov 14th.  😛     It's too bad you don't run any upload tests.  If you ran a few, you'd be in the "Member Rank" for HughesNet speed tests on TMN, and with test results like that you'd probably be #1.  😛     ... View more

@Reggie   You're very welcome.  🙂    The Genie app is pretty much just an app to be able to see router info and make adjustments if you need to.  It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it, and that shouldn't take very long, as it's not all that complicated.  Things like QOS take longer to learn and fiddle with, but I haven't even bothered with that as I normally only have, at the most, two things running at the same time, and that isn't very often, and usually only when I'm updating my laptop or notebook.  You'll find that most of the settings are fairly self explanatory, but it's definitely a good idea to read a little about the things you aren't familiar with.  Netgear also has their own Community with a lot of good info, and they're pretty helpful if you have a question that you can't find an answer to.     I hope you like the R6700.  If I needed a new router and I had the money I would most likely get something like that, as I don't really need all of the bells and whistles of the more expensive ones.  As long as it's easy to use, has speed comparable to the LAN connection, and has decent range, I'm as happy as a clam at high tide, and I'm pretty sure the R6700 would fulfill all three of those requirements.     ... View more

I'm going to embrace the title. LOL   @BirdDog wrote: Thanks, was going to say something but will let you be called the nitpicker instead.    ... View more

Well darn, seems like just getting to know you here and then you're gone! You certainly have helped many people during that short time. Best of luck in  your new chapter of life! ... View more

I get exactly 19 OTA channels at the moment.  Right now I'm not getting PBS or Fox or any of the sub channels for those two.  The broadcast antennas are in a different direction from all of the others, and the Fox one is further away.  They sometimes comes in, and I can go out and turn the pole that the antenna is attached to in order to get them, but then I start losing some of the other channels.  Plus, in even in the lightest of rain I start losing Fox, so it's not even worth it.  Luckily, I get all the main ones (no sub channels) on DirecTV.     Granted, some of those 20 channels are things I'd never watch and I'm not very familiar with, but I do get...   NBC, CBS, ABC, Antenna, Justice, Quest, Laff, Escape, Grit, CW, Bounce, MyTV, Stadium, Comet, GetTV, Independent (some MeTV), Heroes & Icons, MeTV and Daystar.   I have no doubt that with a better antenna I would get more channels, and better reception from the spotty ones.  I may even get a couple of channels out of Hamilton and Toronto.  I live on the side of a large hill that faces Buffalo and Toronto.   ... View more