GEAR

Equipment Suggestions That Enhance
Your Internet Experience.

You can purchase direct yourself or request the gear when you place an order we'll bring it out and install.

UPS to power the KPUD wall wart

When the power flickers, your internet connection will go down for at least 30 seconds as the outdoor KPUD unit restarts.  This recommended small Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is the most attractive, cost effective, compact solution to the problem of living along a roadway where branches fall on the power lines regularly. A second advantage of the UPS is that it protects your equipment from power line disturbances, thus extending the lifetime and reliability of your equipment. The UPS battery is replaceable. Plan to the replace battery or unit every 4 years. Replacing the battery really isn't difficult as long as you know how to use a screwdriver. I place a sticker on each unit to remind myself of the battery expiration date. I also make an appointment on my calendar with a repeat every 4 years. If you don't maintain your battery, your UPS becomes an "Unreliable Power Supply". (Steve Geek Humor Alert)

These units have enough power to run the KPUD adapter for over 30 minutes. Don't plug your computer/laptop/game box or monitor into these units; you will diminish the run time (less than a minute), or overload the unit.

Remember, you may need two units. One for the wall wart powering the KPUD box and a second inside your home to power your router/wireless gateway. If you use internet phone or conduct your work from home via Skype or some other conferencing software, a solution like this is mandatory so you can have operational phones when the power blips or goes out. You may want to choose the larger unit, which will run longer in a power outage.

The larger unit (600VA) includes a USB charger port. 

All small power adapters used to power routers/gateways/wifi access points are required to use power factor correction technology. As a result their power factor is almost perfect unity (0.99+). When looking at a UPS for this application, VA (Volts * Amps) is equivalent to W (Watts).  A VA rating can be considered Watt rating unless you are dealing with electric motors.

A very nice feature of these UPS units is that you can silence the "I am on battery" alert.  You already know that the power is out; the beeps do not add to your experience!  If you choose to select your own unit, please make sure there is a way to silence the UPS alarm. Trust me, getting woken up at 3 AM to a cacophony of UPS alarms beeping gets old very fast.

Roku Ultra Table Top Streamer

The Roku Ultra works with many online sources, but especially RealChoice TV. RealChoice and Net253 have partnered to deliver video content for the Seattle/Tacoma digital marketing area (DMA). From your RealChoice TV login page, add the RealChoice App to the Roku Streamer. With the RealChoice App on the Roku device, your local channels and any monthly content you signed up for is available! The menu system for RealChoice TV is a simple classic Channel Browser with "live schedule". This solution provides a classic interface we have all grown up with and are used to.  

The remote control is simple to use, with limited buttons, and has a headphone jack. You can watch a program without disturbing other folks in the home!

You will need a HDMI cable to connect this device to your television.  The link to the right is a basic cable which will work for any TV that is less than 8 years old. If your TV is older than 8 years and you are investing in Fiber Optic Broadband, go buy a new TV. You can get one with Roku built in and you don't need the table top streamer!

Roku Streaming Stick

The Roku Streaming stick is a super compact device which plugs into the side of your television and connects to your broadband via your in home wireless network signal.  There are many options of Roku streamer sticks. Please do not get the Express option, it doesn't work with RealChoice TV, it doesn't work with 4K TV, it doesn't let you control the on/off and volume of the TV, in general, it doesn't work. The remote control that comes with the Roku streamer sticks do not include a headphone jack.  A separate enhanced remote control is available.

For the voice operated remote control, you must press the button for the remote to activate.

If your TV is wall mounted, or in a cabinet, then there is a very good chance the Streaming Stick will not plug in without bumping into a wall or cabinet feature.  This cable is only 1 foot long and will allow you to plug into the back of the TV and get the stick positioned somewhere useful, saving yourself from a lot of frustration, and possibly breaking the stick while demonstrating the principle of a lever arm sticking out the side of your TV. This cable is fine for 4K TV.

Decent Broadband Router with Wifi

With the new Fiber Optic Broadband you are likely going to need a refresh of the equipment in your home.  If you were renting your DSL modem or on cable internet previously then you definitely need new gear.  This router provides you with dual band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) WIFI to connect to your wireless devices at high speeds. The wired ports are capable of gigabit networking.  With any customer supplied router, Net253 will upgrade it to the latest firmware as part of installation to keep Russian and Chinese hackers out of your equipment. That's part of our community service to you.

Footnote: The Buy on Amazon buttons here will take you to the Amazon product page and allow you to add the items to your cart. Net253 receives no compensation for these links, we’re just helping you out here.