Torban Consulting · Piapot, SK
Electrical engineer in an old school in Piapot, SK. Small commercial work: farms, RM offices, hotels, shops. If I sold it, I support it. I work late — not early mornings — so I'm not in the way, and I can often have it up before you open. Repair jumps new installs. I keep it simple: usable first, security second.
What broke
It opens the matching service. No personality quiz. No funnel.
The work
Networks first. Cameras second. Electronics third, because I like it more than the calendar does. Open one.
This is the actual bread and butter. Starlink, point-to-point so the shop and the far barn are on the same network, Wi-Fi that reaches the quonset. Same stack for RM offices, small business, and hotels — printers, cards, guest Wi-Fi, the office that has to open at 8. Small commercial, not a hobby. When Starlink dies out here it doesn't 'fail to lock' in a tidy way — it just doesn't work. I support the gear I sell. Business support and repair jump new installs. That sounds noble. It also means I'm slow to book the brand-new job. I work late, not early mornings: nobody to pester, and I can often have it up before you open. I keep it simple. Usable first, security second — a setup nobody can log into at 6 a.m. isn't secure, it's down.
Livestock cameras are the work I actually like. Cheap Reolink cellular units on water bowls are a specialty: you want to know the water is there without driving. Security for shops, hotels, yards, fuel tanks is a real job too — I just get twitchy when the brief is 'watch the humans.' Gates and the parking lot at 2 a.m.: yes. I sell and install Uniview, Ubiquiti, and Reolink. I'll still tell you when a giant NVR stack is a silly way to look at a gate.
I wish boards were the main job. They're not. Repair is often not worth it — the part costs more than a new unit, or it's a three-hour hunt for a 12-cent FET. I still do it when it makes sense. Default deal: no fix, no charge. If it's a deep troubleshooting rabbit hole, we'll say so before I burn a Saturday. CAD and a pile of 3D printers live here too — mostly so I can print a cheap bracket, not so I can be your print shop.
real image soon
How it works
01
Email is fine. Photos help. 'It doesn't work' also works, but I'll ask follow-ups.
02
Sometimes that's a reply. Sometimes I drive. I work late, not early mornings — you're not being pestered, and a lot of issues are done before the next day.
03
Labour is typically $120/hr. Parts at what I pay, plus 15% — that 15% is also how I support what I sell when a part dies. I try to be a reseller so 'what I pay' isn't a store screenshot. I'll show you the line items. If you want to learn the thing, I'll teach it.
04
The office opens, the hotel has Wi-Fi, the cows are on camera, or we both know the board wasn't worth it. You keep the leftover parts and the story.
Hiring me
Often just an email
Photos, a rant, a short call. A lot of jobs die here, in a good way — you get an answer without a site visit.
$120/hr typical
Piapot and around. Small commercial: farms, RM offices, hotels, shops. I show up after hours so I'm not in the way. I'm usually not available early in the morning. I have a hoist. I also have a huge robotic arm I never have time to play with.
A good match
Honest no
On the bench
An electric fencer on the internet so you can tell if it's actually fencing. Scrappy on purpose. I hope to make it a product.
Internet-connected, meant to drive a mixed pile of heat-making devices and actually smoke meat. Also on the bench. Also hopefully a product someday.
It's here. It's cool. I do not have time. Someday it may wield a router, a laser, a concrete extruder, or a cockpit. If that changes, the cows still come first.
Questions
Parts at what they cost me, plus 15%, with the line items visible. That 15% isn't just a bump on the invoice — it means I support what I sold. Parts fail. That's inevitable. The 15% helps cover the ones that do, instead of a surprise bill later. I try to be a reseller so the base number is dealer cost, not Amazon. If I can't get reseller pricing, I'll say so.
Labour is typically $120/hr. Travel is $2/km one way, and that includes the time in the truck — I'm not stacking hourly on top of the kilometres. Weather and harvest still win arguments.
For electronics repair, yes, in general. If I can't make it work, you don't pay for the attempt. Exception: we agree up front it's a deep troubleshooting job. Then you're paying for the looking, even if the board stays dead.
Slower than you'd like, sometimes. I support what I sell, and I prioritize business support and repair over new work — RM offices, hotels, shops, the farm whose link is down. Sounds noble. It means the brand-new job sits behind that. If you're new, say so — I'll still take it, I just won't pretend I'm a two-day lead time.
I work late. I'm usually not available early in the morning. Late is the best time: you're not pestering staff or guests, and I can often turn an issue around before the next day. If the office has to open at 8, that's the point.
I keep it simple. Usable first, security second. Staff should be able to print, get on Wi-Fi, and open without a ceremony. I'll still do the boring basics — I'm not leaving the office wide open for sport — but I won't build a fortress you have to call me to log into.
Yes. Livestock and water bowls are the fun part. Yards, shops, gates, fuel tanks are a real job and I'll take them. Watching people is the bit that feels weird — I still do security, I just don't get excited about hiding cameras in a house. Uniview, Ubiquiti, Reolink.
I have a pile of printers and I like CAD. I print mounts, covers, and 'this $8 part is $80 from the dealer' pieces, mostly to keep a job cheap. I'm not a 3D-print storefront. Ask anyway.
Vehicles, some — I do have a hoist. Plumbing, begrudgingly. There's also a huge robotic arm in the shop that I never have time to play with. If you need that, you're probably more excited about it than my calendar is.
Engineer, not a ticketed electrician. Different animal. I will not LARP a house rewire. If it needs a ticket, I'll say so.
The whole @torban.ca backyard lands. contact@torban.ca is the front door.
Next
A photo and a sentence is enough. I work late. If it's down tonight I can often have it up before you open.