Mains Circuit Networking

Hoovie · Post by **Hoovie** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 2:01 pm

Ok, some of you guys will know about Powerline network adapters.

You get a pair of these, plug one in to one socket and one into another elsewhere and it uses the AC mains to carry the network data.

So my question are these (and please, no conversation about using wireless and running cat5 cables, etc, etc - that is another topic entirely)

If you have a block of flats, can you plug one of these into one flat and one into another flat and extend the network that way?
Presuming there is no mains cable connection between the two flats except at some central distribution point outside of either flat, would this mean they would not work?
Could there be different phases used by different flats (block of about 50, new build) which could cause problems?

I understand that these devices are supposedly 200Mb but never approach anywhere near that, but the purpose will be to share an internet connection, so internal network speed is pretty irrelevent with a 8Mb Max Broadband speed

scot-canuck · Post by **scot-canuck** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:04 pm

as far as I know it wont work outwith the ring it is connected to, it might work but the speeds would be terrible.

Wish I could remember the exact reason its limited to one ring.

Inky Pete · Post by **Inky Pete** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:07 pm

So you couldn't use one upstairs and one downstairs if you had seperate rings on the floors?

thescruff · Post by **thescruff** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:44 pm

I was trying to think what a guy had in London.

It was something, like, and I may be off base here.

But he had something plugged in to a socket, then he could plug a receiver or something in any room he wanted.

RichieP · Post by **RichieP** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:22 pm

They only work within one meter. How I don't know, but if the other flat has a seperate meter it shouldn't work.

Apparently there has been known to be leakage of the signal, that's why they include encrytion software CDs with them.

They do work on seperate floors in the same property, even down the garden or in an outbuilding.

Hoovie · Post by **Hoovie** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:48 pm

RichieP wrote:They only work within one meter. How I don't know, but if the other flat has a seperate meter it shouldn't work.

Apparently there has been known to be leakage of the signal, that's why they include encrytion software CDs with them.

They do work on seperate floors in the same property, even down the garden or in an outbuilding.

When I read "They only work within one meter" I was thinking "what?, that close?" then it twigged

I thought that would - or at least should be the case - may give it a go just to see and return if no good

Cheers, Richie

scot-canuck · Post by **scot-canuck** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:54 pm

thats what I meant to say...got my wires a tad crossed

Inky Pete · Post by **Inky Pete** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 3:41 pm

Hoovie wrote:
RichieP wrote:They only work within one meter. How I don't know, but if the other flat has a seperate meter it shouldn't work.

Apparently there has been known to be leakage of the signal, that's why they include encrytion software CDs with them.

They do work on seperate floors in the same property, even down the garden or in an outbuilding.
When I read "They only work within one meter" I was thinking "what?, that close?" then it twigged

I thought exactly the same thing!!

village idiot · Post by **village idiot** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 5:21 pm

Inky Pete wrote:
Hoovie wrote:
RichieP wrote:They only work within one meter. How I don't know, but if the other flat has a seperate meter it shouldn't work.

Apparently there has been known to be leakage of the signal, that's why they include encrytion software CDs with them.

They do work on seperate floors in the same property, even down the garden or in an outbuilding.
When I read "They only work within one meter" I was thinking "what?, that close?" then it twigged
I thought exactly the same thing!!

but that would be 1 metre

GOMZS · Post by **GOMZS** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 7:45 pm

Power line adapters terminate at the fuse box so it works on your ring main only. Although the system is good I'm not found of it because it causes white noise on the radio spectrum.

Leakage is possible though...

http://www.homeplug-powerline.co.uk/powerline%20FAQs

Hoovie · Post by **Hoovie** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:01 pm

At the moment I am using a BT HomeHub 1 in my home office and a Buffalo Airstation 54g Router as a Wi-Fi bridge about 8 metres away from it, as I found without the Bridge, the Wi-Fi cards in the laptops would start to lose the signal as it was too low.
And with the new BT HomeHub 2.0 actually having less range (ignore the ads!) it will only be worse, so would have liked a way to get a Wi-Fi bridge central rather them against a common wall.

Oh well .....

GOMZS · Post by **GOMZS** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:06 pm

Hoovie wrote:At the moment I am using a BT HomeHub 1 in my home office and a Buffalo Airstation 54g Router as a Wi-Fi bridge about 8 metres away from it, as I found without the Bridge, the Wi-Fi cards in the laptops would start to lose the signal as it was too low.
And with the new BT HomeHub 2.0 actually having less range (ignore the ads!) it will only be worse, so would have liked a way to get a Wi-Fi bridge central rather them against a common wall.

Oh well .....

Go big I say

http://www.cantenna.com/

They work well by the way!

Hoovie · Post by **Hoovie** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:56 am

Just thought I would update this thread .........

Ended up doing the following:

Replaced the BT HomeHub2 that was conencted to the ADSL in Flat 1 with a HomeHub1 (bought brand new off eBay for £12 inc P&P)
Bought a second HH1 and installed that in Flat 2
Changed IP address to something other then .254, and enabled the WDS (Wireless Distribution System) which is effectively making a wireless bridge.
Then installed a THIRD HH1 in the office, which I could plug the Desktop PCs into directly and then added that into the WDS setup, which I could plug the Desktop PCs into directly

So 3 HH1s, all linking to each other wirelessly, which lets me connect wirelessly to any of the three HomeHubs or wired via an ethernet cable into any of the three HH1s.

End result -
* Sharing (and paying for) single broadband line between multiple properties
* Total cost for all hardware - £35