Part 6 Up's and down's

Another problem to be solved.

So after a long wait for miners and antennas we have arranged a day to install Anita and Bob’s miner and arrange another day to do the antenna. The miner is set up within an hour and all seems good. The money earned without an antenna upgrade is not enough to cover the monthly host fees, so we hope to get an antenna up as soon as possible. Technically the antenna that comes as standard with the miner should work but it is not quite as easy as 1, 2, and 3 like it says on the box! We also have no other miners to connect to in our area apart from our own so getting them installed and working as a ‘team’ as soon as possible will help us earn something back as soon as possible too.

 After a short time we have the antenna set up on the roof and just need to plug in the miner. No of course it would not be that easy, we do like a challenge! We had not thought to check the WIFI signal in the area where the miner was so it was not picking up a signal. OK plan B, plug it back in where it was and get a new router which should help with a broader coverage, we pre program it with all the same settings to try and keep any disruption to a minimum but still it does not work.

 We ask if it is ok to run Ethernet cable instead and are given the go ahead so we arrange another day to install that. It really feels like we are taking 2 steps forward and 3 steps back and we are constantly busy and feel shattered, we wonder if we have made a mistake with this venture and start doubting ourselves. We carry on though and get the Ethernet cable installed the following week, trying at all times to do a good job as though every person’s home was our own. With trepidation we plug in the miner, yes it is working. Finally we have 2 in the same village so we have to wait and see how they perform.

Lilly and Ken’s installation

Lilly and Ken had the same internet service provider as George and Carole so we knew from the start we would have to change over, luckily that was done in no time and we had a new router ready to go so when the miner was plugged in it was quick and simple.  That was great as we have still been here, there and everywhere and still very busy but we felt good as we were beginning to see progress now. We arranged a day to do the antenna.

It was a beautiful day when we arrived to do the antenna and everything was going really well, I say we but really I am just the ‘passer upper’ I do my best to try to help where I can. It was a very relaxed and enjoyable day though.

Stuart and Eve

So in between everything else we have managed to find another couple of friends who are willing to host, so we take the miner over and configure it. It looks to be a lovely spot on a balcony with a clear view so we hope it will work well. We hope to put an antenna there at a later date but we are still waiting on the next batch of antennas to arrive. After a few days the miner has stopped working and we have no idea why so we go over and check all the settings, it is all as it should be but still not working so we take it home to see if we can work out what the problem is. It seems to be fine so we take it back, we move the miner as we think it could be the WIFI and use an upgraded indoor antenna too, so we will see how that works.

Feeling Down

This is all a learning curve for us, with some trial and error thrown in too. At the moment it feels like a constant battle. There have been different issues with each location and so far and we only have 7 out of 17 in at the moment. We are still constantly researching and trying to learn whenever we have some spare time. We are juggling and trying to keep all the balls in the air. The earnings so far are not great but we don’t know what else to do. We pay the monthly internet for all of our hosts and at the moment our earnings don’t cover that. We feel that we are in so deep that we just have to keep going and hope for the best. As we had changed ISP for some of our hosts we go in to pay, hoping they may give us a discount on future installations as it is new clients for them. They know we are putting something in people’s homes as we have to call them every now and then to activate the new routers.

On the journey to the city we have a discussion on whether we should continue with this project or just try and sell the new miners that are due to arrive, we are so unsure as we are spending money constantly, The import tax alone is hundreds. We think we should just cut our losses stick with what we have and hope it improves. Some of the issues are out of our control, the helium network is still relatively new and has its own issues, where it can be down for a day or two so we can do nothing about that.

One of our host's has suggested someone to us thay may be interested in what we are doing. We arrange a meeting for the following week and have to wait and see what that brings.