Here is a very small but important update to the continuing saga of keeping the camper cool and also monitored remotely. These are both important for piece of mind while everyone is away and pets are still inside. You want to have confidence that everything is working as it should.
I’m going to assume you read the first two articles in this series. If not, you may want to go back and read those first. I’d also like to mention everything is still working like a charm…except for 1 small detail.
I’m using a Verizon Hot Spot to give me internet service. I have found Verizon has a pretty good coverage areas however it’s not everywhere. I try to note bad coverage when I encounter it along the way. Anyway, the device they gave me, as it turns out, doesn’t like to be plugged in full time. It has some sort of “feature” where if it is left plugged in too long, it just shuts off. I can’t make this stuff up. How can you depend on this device remotely if it randomly shuts off?
This happened to me up in Okoboji while we were out on a side trip. How the heck do I make this dependable? As freaky luck would have it, I just happened to have with me a Kasa Mini Plug. It was inside the camper because I use it at home to validate the camper power is turned on. I have a batch job that toggles it remotely to verify connectivity.
Anyway, I was able to connect my Kasa device to the hot spot on the WIFI and plugged my Hot Spot into the Kasa device power. Then I programmed the Kasa plug to toggle on and off every hour. Now my Hot Spot won’t complain that it has been plugged in too long. It was a perfect combination.
I can venture a guess, if you leave the Hot Spot plugged in too long, the battery might explode. That’s my theory. So someone devised this plan to just shut the thing off to prevent that. Anyway, all is calm on the AC front and the camper is keeping cool in a very hot and humid environment. I’m still very happy with the changes.