POC Radios for Kids, Off-Site Backups, Remote Gaming and Frigate 0.18 with Mike Wieger – HGG689

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Do kids need a full smartphone just to stay in touch? Mike Wieger joins me for HGG689 with a different answer: push-to-talk-over-cellular radios built around simple family communication. We also dig into practical off-site backups with Unraid, TrueNAS, ZFS and Tailscale, Apollo and Moonlight for using one gaming PC from almost anywhere, and Frigate 0.18 for a much easier local-camera and NVR setup.

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Chapters / Timestamps

  • [0:08] — Cell Phones for Kids, But Better
  • [0:54] — Community Backups Revisited
  • [8:20] — Tailscale Changes Everything
  • [12:06] — Push-to-Talk Radios for Families
  • [21:49] — POC Radio Pricing and Features
  • [35:06] — Remote Gaming Anywhere
  • [45:51] — Apollo and Moonlight Explained
  • [47:19] — Mobile Gaming Setup
  • [50:23] — One Gaming PC, Many Screens
  • [54:25] — Frigate Gets Easier
  • [57:31] — Smarter Local Camera Storage
  • [1:01:02] — Fine-Tuning Camera Detection
  • [1:06:11] — Frigate and Home Automation
  • [1:09:43] — Doorbells and Neighborhood Footage
  • [1:14:01] — Robot Mowers and New Gadgets
  • [1:20:30] — Foldables and AI Finance

Guest Context

Mike Wieger returns to Home Gadget Geeks with three practical technology topics aimed at parents, gamers and homelab enthusiasts. Mike has been a longtime HGG guest and brings a hands-on perspective from running Unraid, TrueNAS, Tailscale, local security cameras, gaming PCs and home networking.

This Week on Home Gadget Geeks

  • Off-site backup design using Unraid, TrueNAS, ZFS snapshots and replication
  • Tailscale as a simple private network for remote systems and backup targets
  • POC radios as a limited-purpose communication option for kids
  • Apollo and Moonlight for high-quality remote gaming and desktop access
  • Reusing existing PCs, phones, Apple TVs and Xbox hardware instead of buying more systems
  • Frigate 0.18 as a local, Docker-based NVR with a much easier web interface
  • Local object detection, face recognition and optional AI for security cameras
  • Home Assistant integration with Frigate
  • Robot lawn mowers, foldable phones and current hardware pricing
  • AI-assisted podcast production and the HGG689 cold-open experiment

Full Show Notes

Building an Off-Site Backup System That Is Actually Recoverable

We started this week with a conversation that grew out of the Home Gadget Geeks community. The original question was simple: if your backup drive is sitting in a normal fire safe inside the same house as your primary data, is that really an off-site backup? Probably not.

The bigger point is that backup is not just about having another copy. It is about failure domains. If the same fire, flood, theft, power event or other disaster can take out both copies, the backup plan is still vulnerable.

Mike described his own version of a 3-2-1 strategy. His main workhorse is an Unraid server. He also has a separate TrueNAS system in the same rack, and then another TrueNAS box at his in-laws’ farm. He sends important data from Unraid to TrueNAS and then uses ZFS snapshots and replication to move the data to the remote TrueNAS system.

One of the most important points Mike made was that he does not try to back up everything. Easily replaceable media and downloads do not get the same treatment as irreplaceable family data and other files that would be painful or impossible to recreate.

He also adds a recovery test to his backup philosophy. The point is not just to make copies. At some interval, you need to prove you can restore them. A backup that has never been tested is still a question mark.

Tailscale Makes Remote Backup Targets Much Easier

Tailscale came up several times during the episode because it solves a very practical homelab problem: connecting machines in different locations without turning remote networking into a giant project.

Mike uses Tailscale across his home systems, cloud VPS instances and the TrueNAS machine at his in-laws’ farm. The remote machine can move to another Internet connection and, as long as Tailscale comes back online, the system still has a consistent private identity and can reconnect.

We also talked about the security side of this. Mike has learned to use Tailscale permissions so that different systems do not automatically get access to everything else. A remote or cloud machine can be given only the access it needs.

For me, Tailscale has also become useful for Home Assistant access and for connecting pieces of the AI infrastructure I have been building. The big appeal is that you stop thinking as much about which local subnet or public IP a machine is on. You connect to the machine through the Tailscale network instead.

POC Radios: A Cell Phone Without Becoming a Cell Phone

Mike’s first main topic was POC radio, which stands for push-to-talk over cellular.

At first glance, the devices look like small walkie-talkies. The difference is that they do not depend on a local radio frequency to cover distance. They use cellular connectivity and send voice through the Internet. If both radios have cellular coverage, they can be miles apart — or even in different countries — and still behave like push-to-talk radios.

That also means these are not a replacement for ham radio, GMRS or other traditional radios in every situation. If the cellular network is unavailable, a POC radio loses its biggest advantage. Mike’s point was not that they replace real radios. His point was that they are very good at a specific job.

That specific job turned out to be communicating with his kids.

Mike and Hannah are trying to delay giving their boys full smartphones. The boys are old enough to go to sports, movies, friends’ houses and other activities without a parent standing next to them every minute, but they still want a simple way to communicate.

The POC radios fill that gap.

The boys can carry a radio in a backpack. Mike and Hannah each have one too. The family radios are grouped together, so one push-to-talk message can reach the family without giving the kids a web browser, social apps, games, notifications and the rest of the smartphone distraction stack.

Mike specifically called out POC Link as the brand he settled on after looking at several options. He bought radios during a sale that included lifetime cellular service. He used Rapid Radios as an example of why buyers should read the plan details carefully, noting that “no monthly fee” does not necessarily mean there is no annual service cost.

The SIM inside the POC Link radios can use multiple cellular networks. That is a useful advantage over a normal phone tied to a single carrier. If one carrier has weak service in an area and another has coverage, the radio may still be able to connect.

A Private Group Instead of a Public Radio Channel

Traditional FRS or GMRS walkie-talkies are easy and inexpensive, but anyone tuned to the same frequency can hear the conversation. Mike pointed out that people using those radios often forget just how public those channels can be.

His POC setup is different. The family group is private to the approved radios and app users. The radios can also support one-to-one communication when needed.

That opens up more possibilities than just family use.

During the live show, the chat suggested schools and church preschool teams. We talked about the benefit of having staff communicate without broadcasting names or other potentially sensitive information over an open radio channel.

We also discussed a parent-pager use case. A radio could be muted but still light up when called, giving a nursery or child-care team a way to signal a parent without requiring a phone call or a separate paging system.

Mike’s mother suggested another idea: a pendant-style device, similar to a Life Alert button, that could let an older family member push to talk directly to a small family group. Mike is already thinking about whether he could repurpose the electronics from one of the radios into a 3D-printed enclosure.

GPS and Wi-Fi Options

The model Mike owns is the basic cellular version. He mentioned that POC Link also offers a GPS model, and after one of his boys temporarily lost a radio at a football game, Mike said he wished he had bought the GPS version.

There is also a version with Wi-Fi. That becomes interesting for campers and RV users who may have Starlink but no cellular coverage. The tradeoff is that the radio still needs to remain within Wi-Fi range.

This is a good example of choosing the model based on the actual use case. The basic cellular model is simple. GPS is useful when the device itself may be lost or when location awareness matters. Wi-Fi can help when Internet service exists without cellular coverage.

Apollo and Moonlight Turn One Gaming PC Into Many Gaming Locations

Mike’s second main topic was remote gaming.

Remote desktop has existed for years, but normal remote-desktop products were never designed around low latency, high frame rates and controller input. Gaming changes the requirements.

Mike is using Apollo on the gaming PC and Moonlight on the client devices.

Apollo acts like the server. It runs on the gaming PC and exposes the desktop or games for streaming. Moonlight is the client and is available on a surprisingly wide range of devices, including phones, Apple TV, Android devices and Xbox.

That lets Mike leave the expensive gaming hardware in one place while playing somewhere else. I also mentioned that my own RTX 3060 is still a very capable card for this kind of setup, which reinforces the larger theme of getting more life from hardware we already own.

Instead of moving the PC or buying another gaming machine for every room, he can pair an Xbox controller with an Apple TV, launch Moonlight and stream a game from the main gaming PC. He can do the same thing on a phone using a GameSir USB-C controller, which he prefers over Bluetooth for lower input latency.

One Gaming Library, One Set of Saves

The convenience is bigger than just screen location.

Because the game is actually running on the same gaming PC every time, the local save files and game environment stay in one place. Mike does not have to wonder whether he was playing the Xbox copy, the PC copy or another platform’s version.

He is increasingly buying games on Steam because the gaming PC becomes the central platform, while Moonlight makes the experience available on different screens.

That can also reduce hardware spending. An older Android phone or an existing Apple TV does not have to render the game. It only needs to decode the video stream and pass controller input back to the PC.

For a lot of enthusiasts, that is a better use of equipment they already own.

Tailscale Extends Moonlight Outside the House

The other piece is Tailscale.

Mike has Tailscale on the gaming PC, which means the Moonlight client can connect even when he is traveling. When the hotel or remote network has enough bandwidth and low enough latency, he can stream games from the PC at home.

The remote connection is usually the limiting factor, especially hotel Wi-Fi. Mike said around 10 to 15 Mbps can be enough depending on the resolution and frame-rate target. Higher quality obviously requires more bandwidth.

The same setup is useful for more than games. We talked about remote video editing, 3D modeling and general desktop access. Anything that benefits from a powerful GPU could potentially use the same model: keep the compute in one place and interact with it remotely.

Mike originally went looking for this solution because his gaming PC was also tied to his golf simulator. He did not want to buy a second high-end gaming rig just so he could sit somewhere else and play. Apollo and Moonlight solved that problem.

Frigate 0.18 Makes Local NVR Much Easier

Mike’s third main topic was Frigate.

Frigate is a local NVR platform that can run in Docker and record video from IP cameras. Mike has tried a long list of camera and NVR systems over the years, including Blue Iris and Sighthound, but Frigate has become his preferred solution.

The historical problem with Frigate was configuration. A lot of the setup lived in YAML, and that could be intimidating for someone who just wanted to add cameras and start recording.

Mike’s reason for bringing Frigate back to the show now is version 0.18, which introduced full UI-based configuration management and moved much more day-to-day setup into the web interface.

Adding cameras, changing retention settings and managing the system can now be handled through the UI. YAML configuration is still available, which Mike likes because he can keep a portable copy of his setup, but it is no longer the barrier to entry it once was.

Smarter Recording Without Storing Everything in 4K

Mike is also using Frigate to be more selective about storage.

His system can keep lower-resolution continuous footage while saving higher-resolution video when Frigate confirms meaningful motion or detects an object such as a person or vehicle.

That reduces storage pressure without throwing away all historical context.

Mike said his setup includes roughly ten 4K cameras and only a few terabytes dedicated to Frigate, yet he can keep around three months of useful footage depending on settings.

Local AI, Object Detection and Face Recognition

Frigate also has optional AI features.

The important part for Mike is that they can run locally. He can use local hardware and local models rather than sending every frame from inside and around his house to an outside cloud service.

Frigate can identify objects and make footage searchable. Mike gave examples such as searching for a person wearing a red shirt or finding the last time a particular family member appeared on camera.

Face recognition is optional, but Mike has trained the system on family members so he can search footage by person.

Frigate can also connect to external AI services if someone wants that, but the AI component is not required for the NVR to be useful.

Frigate+ and Custom Models

The core Frigate software is free.

Frigate also offers a paid option, Frigate+, that gives access to additional and customized object-detection models. Mike pays for it partly because he wants to support the project and partly because he likes the custom-model workflow. He also repurposed an older NVIDIA GTX 1060 in the TrueNAS box running Frigate to help with local processing.

He described a case where the system repeatedly confused his dog with a cat. Frigate+ lets the user review detections, label the correct and incorrect ones, and then generate a model tuned to the user’s own environment.

That is the kind of AI I find interesting in the smart-home space: not AI for the sake of saying AI, but a model solving a real detection problem in a specific house.

Home Assistant Integration

Frigate also integrates with Home Assistant.

That creates opportunities for automations based on camera detections. Mike gave the example of recognizing a family member at the front door and tying that event into other smart-home logic.

The exact automation should obviously be designed carefully, especially when locks and security are involved, but the larger point is that a local camera system can become another source of structured events inside Home Assistant.

A Practical Way to Try Frigate

Mike’s suggestion for someone curious about Frigate was not to replace an entire camera system on day one.

Buy one inexpensive ONVIF-compatible IP camera, put Frigate in a Docker container on hardware you already own and try it.

He mentioned Amcrest as a camera brand he has used. The camera does not need a huge amount of intelligence on board because the Frigate host is doing the processing.

That makes it possible to experiment before committing to a full migration away from Ring, UniFi or another existing platform.

The Doorbell-Camera Caveat

Doorbell cameras are one place where Mike still sees a problem.

Many doorbells are not designed to stream video continuously, twenty-four hours a day. Constant streaming can create heat and reliability issues, especially in a small enclosure exposed to weather.

Mike has an Amcrest doorbell but no longer treats it exactly like the always-on Frigate cameras. He still wants to find the ideal locally controlled doorbell that works with the existing chime, avoids unnecessary cloud dependence and tolerates constant video access.

That remains an open problem.

Robot Lawn Mowers, Foldables and Using What You Already Own

Near the end of the show, we moved into the usual “what are you watching next?” conversation.

Mike said robot lawn mowers continue to get his attention. The technology has improved enough that the old objections around navigation and difficult yards are getting weaker.

I have resisted them for years because of the slope in my yard and because I am stubborn enough to keep mowing myself. After a summer of mowing in ridiculous heat, I may be running out of excuses.

We also talked about high hardware prices. GPUs, RAM, SSDs and hard drives have all been expensive enough that the best move for many enthusiasts is simply to use the hardware already in the house.

That idea connects back to Apollo and Moonlight. Instead of buying another gaming system, reuse the GPU you already own and stream it to another screen.

AI, Personal Finance and Where the Trust Line Moves

The episode ended with an unexpected conversation about AI and personal finance.

Mike brought up the idea of connecting financial accounts to AI so it can build a complete financial picture. The concept is powerful: recurring charges, household cash flow, budgeting, planning and other financial questions become easier when the system can see the actual data.

The immediate reaction from both of us was also obvious: that is a lot of trust.

There is a big difference between uploading a statement for a specific analysis and giving a service continuous access to every account.

We also talked about wealth management. Mike’s point was that investment selection has become increasingly commoditized. The human value of a good adviser is often in financial planning, tax planning, goal setting and helping someone make decisions across a complicated financial life.

AI will clearly move into that territory, but the trust, privacy and judgment questions are still very real.

AI-Assisted Production and the HGG689 Cold Open

One of the funny parts of the episode is that the production workflow itself became part of the conversation.

HGG689 is our first real long-form test of a new cold-open process.

The idea is to identify strong moments from the live show, turn those into Shorts, use early audience response as another signal, and then use the best candidate as the cold open before the normal HGG intro.

For HGG689, the POC-radio conversation produced the selected opening segment. The line about not wanting to give the kids cell phones is exactly the kind of self-contained moment that can work both as a Short and as a hook for the full episode.

The goal is not to let AI make the show. Mike and I still have the conversation. The goal is to use AI and automation to make the production work around that conversation faster and more measurable.

Key Takeaways

A backup strategy should include a real off-site copy and a tested restore process.

Tailscale is useful for connecting remote backup systems, homelab servers and personal devices without complicated network exposure.

POC radios can give kids or teams push-to-talk communication without handing them a full smartphone.

POC radios still depend on cellular or Internet connectivity, so they are not substitutes for traditional radio in every scenario.

Apollo and Moonlight can turn one gaming PC into a shared compute source for TVs, phones, Xbox consoles and other clients.

An older phone or streaming box can become a capable gaming client because the gaming PC is doing the heavy processing.

Tailscale can extend Moonlight outside the home when the remote connection is fast enough.

Frigate 0.18 is much easier to configure through the web interface than earlier versions.

Frigate can keep camera processing and video storage local while still providing object detection, search and optional AI.

Home Assistant integration makes Frigate useful for more than recording; camera events can become automation triggers.

Doorbell cameras remain a special case because many are not designed for constant video streaming.

The cheapest hardware upgrade may be learning how to use the hardware already sitting in the house.

FAQ

What does POC radio mean?

POC stands for push-to-talk over cellular. The device behaves like a walkie-talkie, but the voice traffic travels through cellular data and the Internet instead of directly over a local radio frequency.

Do POC radios work without cellular service?

The cellular models require a working cellular data connection. Some models may also support Wi-Fi, but a POC radio is not a replacement for ham, GMRS or another direct radio system when communications infrastructure is unavailable.

Why is Mike using POC radios with his kids?

He wants the kids to be able to communicate when they are at school activities, sports, friends’ houses or other places without giving them a full smartphone and all of its distractions.

Are POC radio conversations private?

The family-group system Mike described uses an account-controlled group rather than a public FRS or GMRS frequency. The exact security and encryption depend on the service and vendor, so buyers should review those details before choosing a platform.

What is Apollo?

Apollo is the server-side application Mike runs on the gaming PC. It makes the PC available to Moonlight clients for high-quality remote gaming and desktop access.

What is Moonlight?

Moonlight is the client application. It can run on phones, Apple TV, Android devices, Xbox and other platforms, letting the user interact with the remote PC.

Can Moonlight work outside the house?

Yes. Mike combines Moonlight with Tailscale so the client can securely reach the gaming PC from another network. Performance depends heavily on the upload connection at home and the quality of the remote connection.

What makes a backup actually off-site?

An off-site backup is stored in a separate physical location so the same fire, flood, theft or other local disaster is less likely to take out both the primary data and the backup. Mike’s setup sends important data from Unraid to TrueNAS and then replicates it to another TrueNAS system at his in-laws’ farm.

What is Frigate?

Frigate is a local NVR and camera-analysis platform that can run in Docker. It records IP-camera footage and can perform object detection, search and other analysis.

What changed in Frigate 0.18?

Mike’s biggest reason for revisiting Frigate is that much more configuration can now be done in the web interface instead of requiring manual YAML edits.

Does Frigate require cloud AI?

No. Frigate can be useful as an NVR without cloud AI, and local inference can be used for many object-detection and analysis features.

Can Frigate work with Home Assistant?

Yes. Frigate integrates with Home Assistant, allowing camera detections and other events to participate in smart-home automations.

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