Powerline networking - any users here?

[Whoaru99]

Have a situation where WiFi is provided but the signal level is very low and at times intermittent.

Was first thinking maybe set up a repeater but that's not really practical because there isn't a good place to put it with regard to power supply.

This would be a new setup, not some old leftovers so would be the current technology which I have read is considerably better than the earlier units.

So, was thinking about trying a powerline networking setup and was wondering if anyone is using or tried one, and the results?

[fishnowworknever]

I've heard of it, never used it and have never seen it in use. I think the newer technology offered today is much faster than the older?

Let us know if you end up trying it out and how well it works.

[aanderud]

Haven't tried anything newer than 12 years old. It was terrible then, but that's a long time to improve upon a terrible service. I would assume they're orders of magnitude more reliable and faster by now. Judging by the high reviews on amazon (like 4.5+ stars) for most of them, they look like they must work pretty well.

Another possible option - do you have coaxial cable in the room by any chance? In my house there is cable TV in almost every room, but Ethernet in basically none. So the easiest and cheapest way for me to get network connectivity to my second floor was to use these cheap DECA broadband adapter things that DirecTV used to install to convert ethernet to coax, run through your house, then back to Ethernet at the remote end to get guide data and whatnot to their receivers.

http://www.amazon.com/DIRECTV-Receiver-Ethernet-DECA1MR01-Generation/dp/B0041INCYI

You need one on each end with a coax in between, something like this.

Router <-- Ethernet --> DECA <-- COAX --> DECA <-- Ethernet --> Computer

Seriously, for 6.50 each, you can't go wrong. You need two of them of course. They're rated at 100 Mbps full duplex (so 200 Mbps total if you're maxxing out the data rate both directions). On file transfers (which are primarily one way), I get about 70 Mbps through, which is solid compared to the wireless link I get up there through the floor/ceiling. I'm guessing there's faster powerline solutions out there by now, but these just seem to work, they're cheap, and they're faster than my internet connection, and so fast enough for this application.

[MN Mike]

I've used powerline network adapters in various areas and they work well, some now carry up to 500 mbps. If they work, it's been solid and I haven't been back to visit them again, sometimes people unplug them not knowing what they are but that's another story......

I've used Netgear and Actiontec.

Mike

[Whoaru99]

Another possible option - do you have coaxial cable in the room by any chance?

Unfortunately a hardwire solution other than power line isn't an option.

[Whoaru99]

MN Mike that sounds promising. I need to go have another look to get a better idea of distances and stuff before I commit to trying it as a solution.

What I have going in my favor is this isn't a real high bandwidth situation...browsing, email, maybe an occasional Skype call, sort of thing.

[aanderud]

Powerline adapter reviews on amazon look amazingly good. The TP-link units especially. They have like 4.5 stars, an overwhelming majority 65% on 5-star reviews, and under 5% or so on 1-star reviews, which when you're averaging almost 400 reviews, is darn solid. Lots of other brands in the mix too, actiontec, linksys, etc.

I generally like to look at sites like newegg for pricing, but as for reviews I know for a fact that newegg cherry picks the reviews and removes low-egg reviews to artificially inflate the averages, so I tend to use amazon as a more true barometer of quality. I think you're going to be in good shape, judging by the reviews I'm reading.

[Whoaru99]

Update:

Have not done anything on this yet. During my last two visits, despite having relatively low signal, there was no intermittent connectivity/Internet. It seemed to be working so no changes have been effected at this point.