2019 Issue-3
My cable system needs frequent resets. That means turn the power off to the cable box (router) and to my own WiFi router, wait 30 seconds, and turn the power back on. This is really aggravating when I am in the bedroom or the garage shop trying to watch streaming video on my TVs there and the routers are at the other end of the house.
I want to build a WiFi based system so I can activate a control to cycle the AC or DC power from anywhere in the house either via one of my computers or my cell phone. Now, my phone is a smart phone, but not a name brand like Apple. It’s a Nokia and uses the Windows operating system, so the available apps are somewhat limited.
So, I’ll need an app that will work there and one that will work on my desktop computer running Windows 10. I would like some ideas on how to proceed. I would think that I could base this on an Ardunio or other single board computer which could easily handle a 30 second time-out.
I can figure out the interface to the power relay, some local PB controls, and a display. But how do I handle the controls through the WiFi? I need advise on a WiFi interface and the apps that are needed to activate it.
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The problem with your premise is that if the router and cable modem are not working (hence no internet or WiFi) how will you use WiFi to trigger the reboot?
The first thing I’d do is get to the bottom of why you need to do such frequent reboots. Is it the cable modem or the router that’s causing the issue? Personally, I’ve found cable modems from the ISP to be problematic. You’re probably paying $10+ tax a month to rent it when you can buy your own for under $100 - that’s a 10 month or less payback!
How old is your router? Best to use a router with gigabit ports if your streaming HD videos. As we started doing more streaming I also found that using gigabit switches improved performance dramatically particularly with ten IP security cameras running. I do use my router’s auto reboot feature nightly as we travel a lot but, unless the cable company has had an outage, I never have to reboot the modem.
This may not be what you're looking for, but I've installed a metric boatload of these units for remote control of WiFi systems at banks and hotels. https://www.amazon.com/POWER-SWITCH-WLCD-SCREEN-OUTLETS/dp/B00EZWD146?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_2
What you can do to make it even easier is set it up downstream of the router and modem, and have it ping something like, say, Google's DNS servers every 30 seconds. If it doesn't get a response, wait for up to 5 failures, then power cycle both outlets. You can also web browse to the interface, and hand cycle both; this supposes that the WiFi isn't built into the router (which if your main access point IS built into the router, you won't be able to turn it back on via WiFi anyway!) This is not the only way to do it; but it's one that works and is solid and reliable.
