Powerline Network

[NDFan4Life]

I'm thinking about setting up a powerline network in my house. We've tried using wireless, but have had nothing but problems. Does anyone here currently have a powerline network, or used one in the past? We have 4 desktops and 2 Xboxes that we're going to use. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

 

[ThePiombino]

I'm thinking about setting up a powerline network in my house. We've tried using wireless, but have had nothing but problems. Does anyone here currently have a powerline network, or used one in the past? We have 4 desktops and 2 Xboxes that we're going to use. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Don't use one (I ran Cat5e), but I might be able to help with some questions if you have any.

 

[NDFan4Life]

Don't use one (I ran Cat5e), but I might be able to help with some questions if you have any.

Thanks. Hopefully, I don't sound too ignorant about this kind of network. I've done a little bit of research, but I get quite a lot of conflicting information.

I know I'll need to buy at least a starter kit. Would it be better to buy 2 starter kits, since they both would have 2 adapters?

I've read that all of the outlets should be on the same circuit for optimum performance. IMO, that would defeat the whole purpose of having a powerline network. I doubt that any house built today has all of their outlets on 1 circuit.

I'll probably have more questions, but that's all I can think of right now. I appreciate the help.

 

[tadman95]

I have one to reach my son's room. He's into all of the XBOX stuff and seems to work great. My sister had one in her house (big house!!) worked great there too.

Seems to be a good way to go when wireless is a stretch and re-wiring isn't practical. As long as your network runs through the same breaker box you should be okay I think. No house has just one circuit that's younger than a hundred years old.

My system is a Netgear brand.

Footnote: I don't know if you need two starter kits unless it's just cheaper?

 

[NDFan4Life]

I have one to reach my son's room. He's into all of the XBOX stuff and seems to work great. My sister had one in her house (big house!!) worked great there too.

Seems to be a good way to go when wireless is a stretch and re-wiring isn't practical. As long as your network runs through the same breaker box you should be okay I think. No house has just one circuit that's younger than a hundred years old.

My system is a Netgear brand.

Footnote: I don't know if you need two starter kits unless it's just cheaper?

Thanks for the info. As I said in my first post, wireless has been a nightmare for us. We used 3 different providers, and all of them had the same problem (signal strength fluctuated wildly, numerous drop-outs).

I read about the same circuit thing on one site, but couldn't find it on others. We only have one breaker box, so that won't be a problem.

Which Netgear kit did you get? I know it's going to be around $200 to get everything I need. The reason I mentioned 2 starter kits is because I believe that would be cheaper than buying a starter kit and 2 additional adapters.

Again, thanks for the info.

 

[tadman95]

Our Netgear system is 4-5 years old so I'm sure it's been out of date for a while. ( I looked for a model number but couldn't see one w/o unplugging the unit which would surely send the Halo universe into a IE like meltdown event. LOL) I guess 4-5 years with no issues is a testament to that system anyway.

Wireless can be tricky and I'm no expert by any means. I would suggest sticking with a wireless router and putting the powerline system into it. You have a modem and will have to have a router to split the system up. Might as well use a wireless router since you can typically plug four hardwires into that.

A wireless router gives you the best of both worlds. Some of your devices will pick up the wireless signal okay when they are being used in the area of the router. House layout and construction affects the signal and every house is different.

You can use the powerline network for the devices that are farther away (other end of the house as an example).

What kind of internet do you have? The provider and the wireless router are usually independent. Consumer wireless routers for the most part are pretty similar in strength output as long as you are buying the latest versions. The strength of the wireless signal is independent of the internet provider. You can have a good signal but a bad connection from the provider.

On the other side, you could have a weak signal coming into the house. An example would be being at the end of a service line. The provider may need to boost the signal which is easy to test for and correct.

 

[NDFan4Life]

We used a few different routers (Linksys, Netgear), and still had the same problems with signal strength. We tried boosters and repeaters also. Still no luck.

Our first try with wireless was Sprint, some other one that I can't remember, and then we went the cable route (which we're using now). I ran ethernet cables a few years ago, but we get mice under the house and they bite through the cables pretty often. I figure going the powerline route would probably be our best solution.

 

[ThePiombino]

If you're gonna go Powerline Ethernet, tadman's suggestion is pretty much spot on. Netgear is a very good brand. You'll probably only need a starter kit and one adapter per room. You could always connect to a cheap 4-port splitter in a given room if you need more than 1-2 ports.

 

[Redbar]

I use one strictly for my xbox it works great, I am not home now but I believe it is a Zytel and they make 2 speeds definitely get the faster one I think it is 200bps. If you decide to use I will get specifics, it has been working flawlessly for over 2 years when wireless would not even after swapping routers.

 

[ThePiombino]

I use one strictly for my xbox it works great, I am not home now but I believe it is a Zytel and they make 2 speeds definitely get the faster one I think it is 200bps. If you decide to use I will get specifics, it has been working flawlessly for over 2 years when wireless would not even after swapping routers.

Zyxel perhaps?

 

[NDFan4Life]

Thanks for all of the help and information, guys.

 

[ThePiombino]

Thanks for all of the help and information, guys.

Good luck!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[phork]

I got finished with gimmicks and gadgetry. Got 1000' of cat6 and wired the entire house, every room has one or 2 drops. IP phone here I come!

 

[NDFan4Life]

Ordered this today:

Newegg.com - ZyXEL PLA401v3KIT HomePlug AV Powerline Wall-plug Adapter (Starter Kit - 2 units) Up to 200Mbps

 

[tadman95]

Looks like a good deal. Good luck, let us know how it goes.

 

[NDFan4Life]

Looks like a good deal. Good luck, let us know how it goes.

Will do. The wife only wanted to get one kit for now. Just to see how it works.

 

[NDFan4Life]

Got the step-son's computer set up. No problems at all. Really quick to set up. Just plug and go.