Powerline adaptors

[pugwash4x4]

What works and what doesn't? how much do i need to spend to make it work reliably?

All my sockets are on the same ring main and i want to connect the upstairs study with the downstairs router and connect the TV and PS3 in to boot.

Thanks

james

[illmonkey]

Anything will do. And they don't need to be on the same ring main (but you'll lose speed)

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150039

200Mbps: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/160665

Edited by illmonkey on Tuesday 17th August 12:49

[pugwash4x4]

really? usually find some networking products work better than others! Need this network to be pretty stable so both the other half and i can work from home at the same time.

[illmonkey]

pugwash4x4 said:

really? usually find some networking products work better than others! Need this network to be pretty stable so both the other half and i can work from home at the same time.

I've not tried them myself. I'm purly saying that they work and on different ring mains.

A 'Bush' TV will display a picture, much as a Samsung will, but a Samsung will be alot better quality. It's upto you to decide if brand is something to go for. A colleague recommends the Netgear range.

[PetrolTed]

I bought some Netgear 200 thingies recently for this purpose. Very happy with them - real plug and play.

[TonyRPH]

If the distance is not too great, why not simply use wireless?

Unless of course your application demands more bandwidth than wireless can provide.

[NDA]

I've just bought a pair of Asus 200Mps ...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-Powerline-200Mbps-Hom...

They arrive tomorrow...

My daughter uses Skype to contact her friends and unfortunately the wireless link we're running is pretty slow, so I'm hoping powerline adapters will speed up things for her.

[TonyRPH]

Has anyone here ever stress tested these adaptors?

It would be interesting to know how many people get more than 50 mbps...

A friend tried them a while back, and he gave up and ran cat5 cable instead.

[CaptainSlow]

I bought these on ebay:

2 X Solwise 85mbps Homeplug Powerline Ethernet Adaptors

I use them to view iplayer on my freesat box. It runs the high quality streams no problem and my internet speed is quite slow.

[jhfozzy]

Be careful when fitting these as some PLT equipment have been found to interfere with radio communications, which under EMC legislation is illegal.

The RSGB is in talks with ofcom and currently trying to get them adapted (which BT is working on) or banned completely.

Just be aware that if they interfere with someones radio equipment, you will be forced to stop using them. There have been "214 cases of interference reported to Ofcom, all from shortwave listeners. 186 have been referred to BT to investigate, 10 are awaiting resolution."

ofcom said:

What are the EMC legal requirements?

In common with other electronic products sold in the UK, PLT apparatus is required to comply with the Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulations 2006 (the “EMC Regulations”) which are based on a European Directive.

These regulations aim to ensure that the electromagnetic disturbance generated by electronic equipment does not exceed a level above which other equipment (including radio and telecoms equipment) cannot operate as intended (and that the equipment itself has an adequate level of immunity to electromagnetic disturbance).

These requirements are described in the legislation, and are referred to as the ‘essential requirements’.

[collateral]

I run a couple of Belkin F5D4074. They've been flawless but I just googled them and apparently they are the worst! ymmv

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/powerline-networkin...

We only have 4Mbit DSL here so the LAN connection isn't a bottleneck - max actual download speed is circa 450k/s over G wireless or cat5

[bogie]

TonyRPH said:

Has anyone here ever stress tested these adaptors?

It would be interesting to know how many people get more than 50 mbps...

A friend tried them a while back, and he gave up and ran cat5 cable instead.

few people outside of a lab get 50Mbps

the average real world throughput in 90% of homes deployed, according to the figures from the chip manufacturer is 40Mbps ...thats just how the technology works

the protocol is only 50% effecient, so real throughput is 90Mbps in the lab, then 1/2 that again for interference on the home ring, compared to clean lab envrionment


500Mbps chips are due in a few months, lab testing at 250Mbps means a real world 100-150Mbps in the average home

[marctwo]

I've got these and they work fine for internet and audio / video streaming.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/160665

[collateral]

Apparently some models allow you to still use the socket to plug things into, which would be useful. Also I should add that some are quite wide so it can be hard to use the adjacent socket

[furtive]

Steer clear of Netgear ones if you want to mix and match brands at a later date

Gigabit ones are now available:

http://www.solwise.co.uk/net-powerline-gig-index.h...

Edited by furtive on Tuesday 17th August 16:00

[bogie]

furtive said:

Steer clear of Netgear ones if you want to mix and match brands at a later date

Gigabit ones are now available:

http://www.solwise.co.uk/net-powerline-gig-index.h...

Edited by furtive on Tuesday 17th August 16:00

I would say, steer clear of belkin/solwise gigle based stuff and stick to the industry standard

they are not "gigabit" its just theyve put a gig ethernet port on them ....its marketing, nothing more....they are using non standard modded chips and will be nothing more than an oddity when the new standard comes out

real standards based 500Mbps powerline , thats due in a few months, on Intellon/Atheros based chips

[furtive]

I sit corrected

[Fletch79]

http://www.ebuyer.com/search?sort=rating&store...
There's a few options, read the reviews people getting reasonable connect speeds

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/160665
35 reviews - all good!
Pretty cheap for a twin pack aswell

[NDA]

The Asus things I bought from Amazon work great - plugged them in and they worked immediately.

The lap top is now downloading at 6,300Kbps via the adapter, which is plenty fast enough.

[Road2Ruin]

I use the devolo Av 200mbs and have 3 of them at home. 1 for the router one for the tv and one for the NAS. It's quite an old house but the wiring is ok and I would say I get between 20-35mbs transfer, which is plenty fast enough for most applications. Bear in mind that the devolo application is reporting I am getting 85-90mbs which is obviously cobblers. The best bit about powerline is it is rock solid, unlike wireless. Had them for over 3 years now and no problems.

Pete