Building a Small RV Park - Year 2

[Jim]

There is a place by the pond where we have a couple of porch swings. (see picture below) It's a nice place to sit and relax and just unwind a bit. But at night, it's really dark, especially if there is no moon. So I've been looking for a small hydro-generator to generate enough power to run a couple of lights.

I found this on eBay and while we all have gotten pretty used to seeing Chinglish, this add was particularly interesting., if not downright ridiculous. (see second picture.)

Don't they have anyone over there that can proof this stuff?

 

["EZ"]

Signing paperwork tonight to bring dedicated fiber to the park. The cost is frightening, but the problems that it solves are beneficial enough to justify the expense. A few of the big ones are:

• Smart phones will operate normally as if there was a cell tower in the park.
• Video conferencing, streaming movies, etc., etc., will all be possible.
• Not everyone has a satellite on their RV, but almost everyone has a TV. The upgraded bandwidth will insure nobody misses a football game ever again. And that's huge, right?

So yeah, we're about to become one of the few RV parks in the area to offer Internet service with these capabilities.

Jim! Now I can come during College football season!! Go Dawgs!!

 

[Jim]

Jim! Now I can come during College football season!! Go Dawgs!!

No, not unless something changes. Frontier sent a tech out and she quoted several hundred thousand dollars over what we had signed agreements for. Their agreement says that if after they do a site analysis, and if there is a change in pricing, that I can cancel the agreement, but there is nothing to hold them to doing the job at the agreed upon price. (See previous post.)

A few minutes ago, I called and spoke with the sales person and asked him how a mistake of this magnitude could happen. He said that his software hasn't been updated to reflect that the Core Network was already full. He also said that they are looking and adding more strands (?) to it so that it will accommodate my needs. And for that, they will of course have a price, but he said they will try to use a sharp pencil.

So again, I'm left in limbo, and maybe I will have Internet and maybe I won't. This company is not the posterchild for efficiency and operational competence.

 

[ARD]

@Jim I can't even imagine how frustrated you must be feeling. I'm thinking an even better deal is going to come your way.

 

[Jim]

@Jim I can't even imagine how frustrated you must be feeling. I'm thinking an even better deal is going to come your way.

Well you're right, of course. It won't be the first time something has gone completely wrong just to have something else come along that wouldn't have been possible if the first option had worked.

I've been talking with Balsam West over the last couple of months, and their bid was quite a bit higher than my original bid from Frontier, but still under $100K. And I was ready to pull the trigger with them when Frontier went south. But they can't get to it for at least 180 days, which is when the park closes for Winter. Ironic, yes? I'd have Internet in a park that is closed for the next 7 months.

But at least it's a plan B for next summer. And maybe something better will come along during that time.

 

[Fish]

No, not unless something changes. Frontier sent a tech out and she quoted several hundred thousand dollars over what we had signed agreements for. Their agreement says that if after they do a site analysis, and if there is a change in pricing, that I can cancel the agreement, but there is nothing to hold them to doing the job at the agreed upon price. (See previous post.)

A few minutes ago, I called and spoke with the sales person and asked him how a mistake of this magnitude could happen. He said that his software hasn't been updated to reflect that the Core Network was already full. He also said that they are looking and adding more strands (?) to it so that it will accommodate my needs. And for that, they will of course have a price, but he said they will try to use a sharp pencil.

So again, I'm left in limbo, and maybe I will have Internet and maybe I won't. This company is not the posterchild for efficiency and operational competence.

Frontier is the worst company of any companies I've ever dealt with.
They bought out GTE/Verizon landlines and internet here and everything went immediately to hell.
After a month of no internet and no phone I cancelled them and they kept sending me bills for months. I'd use 2 cans and a string before I ever considered them again.

 

[Jim]

Frontier is the worst company of any companies I've ever dealt with.

I can tell you from first hand experience, they're working hard to maintain that image.

 

["EZ"]

Typical behavior for a utility company. They are the only game in town and they act like it. Good luck!

 

[Jim]

Got tired of fighting the Internet battle so I built an stone creek bed to stop the washing that we get every time it rains. Adds some front yard bling as well.

 

[J&JD]

Got tired of fighting the Internet battle so I built an stone creek bed to stop the washing that we get every time it rains. Adds some front yard bling as well.

View attachment 12163
View attachment 12170

Love your toys!

 

[Deer Springs RV Park]

Love your toys!

lol, yeah, you don't own 50 acres and not have the tools necessary to maintain it.

 

[Jim]

Had a short but productive conversation with Senator Corbin yesterday morning, and then another brief meeting with one of his staff workers later in the afternoon. Will talk with them again on Monday morning about accessing some of the federal grant funds earmarked for the expansion of Internet services in rural areas. Hopefully some of these funds can be used to persuade one of the cell providers to install equipment on the cell tower (1-mile from the park) that’s been sitting unused for the last 10 years.

There is a large demand for these funds, and I never considered my chances to be very good, so I haven’t really pursued this direction. But after the recent Frontier fiasco, this looks to be the only shot we have left.

I'm thinking about sacrificing a chicken later in the day, so hopefully we’ll find favor with the Internet gods.

 

[Jim]

Decided to snub the Internet gods and make pizza instead! I bought a 16" pizza stone last week and we tossed it on the grill, cranked it up to 550* and let it heat up for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, I made up 5 small "mini pizzas". Tossed them on for 10 minutes, and then handed them out to Trish and my mother-in-law.

They came out great! I don't think I'll do the mini pizza thing again, unless someone wants a special pizza that has different (or less) toppings on it than the others.

 

[J&JD]

Looks scrumptious! Probably could have cranked it up a bit more even (650?). You are right as it’s as easy to make a large pizza as it is a small.
What a great setup you have there @Jim.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

Pizza looks great - but where is the pineapple?

 

["EZ"]

Pizza looks great but I have a question about your TV. Does it not get wet when it rains? I know there's a roof but at MY HOUSE when it rains the wind blows and the TV would get soaked! How do you deal with that?

 

[Jim]

Pizza looks great but I have a question about your TV. Does it not get wet when it rains? I know there's a roof but at MY HOUSE when it rains the wind blows and the TV would get soaked! How do you deal with that?

It hasn't been a problem as of yet, EZ. But it's an old TV and if it gets trashed, not big deal. I'll cover it if necessary or maybe even buy an outdoors TV.

 

[Jim]

I noticed today that RVParky.com finally got around to adding Deer Springs RV Park to their listings. I've got some pictures uploaded, but there are no reviews yet. So maybe, if you've ever been here, could I impose upon you to make a quick (positive) reference?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jim]

So as of today, the death of my Internet plans is final. Just received the following email from our Frontier salesperson.

"Hello Jim, I received the results of the BDT/Fiber build costs from Frontier Engineering and they were $385,650. My guess is that is an expense that you can not justify. I wish things had not turned out this way and as I mentioned below-our tool that determines Frontier fiber availability had not been updated to reflect that the existing fiber cable had no available fiber strands.

You may want to try Elon Musk’s new satellite based Internet Starlink- Starlink . I know of some businesses in western, NC that have the service and seem to be happy with it. If you want to discuss any of this further-please feel free to call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX"

 

[Jabber Jaw]

So as of today, the death of my Internet plans is final. Just received the following email from our Frontier salesperson.

"Hello Jim, I received the results of the BDT/Fiber build costs from Frontier Engineering and they were $385,650. My guess is that is an expense that you can not justify. I wish things had not turned out this way and as I mentioned below-our tool that determines Frontier fiber availability had not been updated to reflect that the existing fiber cable had no available fiber strands.

You may want to try Elon Musk’s new satellite based Internet Starlink- Starlink . I know of some businesses in western, NC that have the service and seem to be happy with it. If you want to discuss any of this further-please feel free to call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX"

WOW! That would be the most expensive "Internet" connection in North Carolina!
Jim, I must say that you basically exhausted every resource!
Maybe "Starlink" could be a potential resource!
Good Luck!