opinions on mains networking?

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Hi everyone,

I've got a little issue thats nagging at me a bit and I think the answer is mains networking but I would like to approach you guys/girls for your experience/views on this tech.

At the front of the house I have a wireless router linksys summint ur an udder with 4x network ports. it serves pretty much the whole house reliably with traffic, the only very occasional issue I get is in my office where for some reason the signal drops and a extended aerial movey/shifty type action gets it back up and running again

However my main pc in my office is also hosts my VM and I also have a few other pc/macs in there to tinker about with. Ideally I would like to have my router connected up to a switch in my office for instant network access as some of the pc's I play with are not really wifi capable (especially those mates rates jobs that you though would only take 5 minutes). I would like to make a more reliable connection plus as I say a bit of scope to make networking a little more straight forward in there.

Due to our house being 200 years old and me being hopeless at DIY drilling and running lan cables across the house isnt happening.

So with that in mind how reliable is the solution that I've preposed is it the only solution or can someone think of something else which might be better.

 

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As long as the mains wiring is reasonable then 'HomePlug' is probably the best way to go.

It is incredibly easy to install.

Harry.

 

I got my 'HomePlug' with BT Vision and I must say I was surprised by that toy.
It's dead easy to setup - just plug in, connect ethernet and go.
one of the devices becomes AP and the other one a client

speedwise it's slightly faster than WiFi.

 

I work for BT vision. Worth pointing out a few problems that ive encountered with the power adapters. They dont always work when plugged into surge protection power strips. Some people have problems when the electric is on different rings eg one plugged on upstairs ring and the other plugged on the downstairs ring. Ive also seen problems where they have been plugged into an extension on the house such as a conservatory because there has been a spur added to the circuit. And like Harry mentioned above old electrical wiring can cause problems aswell.

Also worth pointing out that the comtrend adapters are 200mbps, so they are much faster than wireless.

 

OK. You guys are speaking another language again. What the heck is "mains" networking? Is that hi-voltage networking where you're using the power circuits in the house and adapters?

 

Hm - I didn't think that 'mains' was a UK thing - so OK - it means the standard electrical supply to the home. In the UK this is at 230/240 V and 50Hz.

Do a google search on 'Homeplug' - such items have a greater history in the the USA compared to the UK - mostly because it is a bigger market. (Somewhat like X10).

Harry.

 

It appears that BT have opted for a different standard than 'Homeplug'. I have no experience of that standard, but in a UK magazine test of different units they came out far worse than Homeplug when conditions were 'difficult'.

Harry.

 

I can well believe that. I know there have been loads of problems with the comtrend adapters and BT are working on a version 3 of these adapters to try and address the problems they are having.

 

OK. That's an alternate naming convention for BPL (broadband by power line). BPL is used very, very little over here, at least where I live. You don't see anything in the computer stores, there is nobody advertising the service, etc.... That's true for the entire state as far as I know. It's just not mentioned. Wireless and satellite are far more common, and they're still a very niche market.

The most I've heard about BPL here in the US is that it just isn't being adopted. Most articles I've read refer to it as "the unfulfilled promise" of BPL. I've never seen it referred to as mains before in any of the articles I've read about it.

 

Freddy
I don't think they are talking about BPL in this instance, but using your own power wiring at home for LAN extensions and such, as far as I recall that IS used quite extensively over there, although no where near the same level as wireless on its own
its a good way to get a network cable into a remote room if all you want in there is an access point, as they don't run anywhere near 200mb yet anyway

 

Wow this is turning into a bit of a hot topic. to clear things up I wasnt talking about BPL (in fact I didnt know that existed). but what I really wanted to have a cabled lan situation in my office which at the moment is served by wireless. As before the house if old and my diy skills are lacking so no cables were going to be drilled from front to back of the house. This homeplug/mains networking thingy appeared to answer what I've been mulling over for some time.

 

OK. I've finally figured out what you're talking about here. If I search Google for "mains networking" I get a few responses, but they are pretty widely varied as to subject matter. However, if I go to Newegg and look under "More Networking" I see "powerline networking" listed. There are a few products listed there which you can plug into your power outlets and network your computers. If I do a Google search for "powerline networking" I get a lot of hits, and all about the same subject.

I had heard of powerline networking and bpl. I hadn't ever seen it referred to as "mains" networking. If we in the US were to use the term "mains" it would be commonly used here with respect to multiple automobile traffic arterials of one type or another(although we would normally just call it a freeway), multiple high voltage (6000+ volts) power distribution lines(main power distribution lines), multiple large plumbing pipes used for city-wide purposes(sewer mains), etc.... It would be extremely rare usage here in the US to apply it to the branch electrical circuits in your home which feed individual rooms as they simply aren't "main" anything. They are simply small branch circuits. They are the smallest electrical circuits in the power distribution system.

I've been around technical people all my life, mechanics, electricians, plumbers, etc... and I've never heard the term used before with respect to household wiring.

 

Ah I see well thats just an example of another difference in our language, mostly though of course they are pronunciation differences (which is rather annoying when watching a training video having a router being referred to as a rowter). Also the americans seem to have a blatant dislike of the letter "U".

 

We call electricity from the grid 'mains' power mate
its probably more slang than anything, as im sure it has a more correct term
much like we have 'mains' water etc

 

Ummm.... Just how do you pronounce "thou"?

Edit to add a few more example:

How do you pronounce "tree bough"? How do you pronounce "cloud"? If you don't pronounce the ou as ow then we are even further apart in phonetics then I thought. Also, if you go to the Merriam-Webster site you will see that the "rau" pronunciation for router is valid.

It's like you guys and your littootnets. We had a student teacher when I was in high school that was from British Guiana, and he started on about "lit too nets", and "al you minium", none of us could figure out what he was talking about. He finally stopped talking because of the blank looks on our faces. When we finally understood that he meant "lieu ten ents" and "a lum i num" we all had a good laugh. He was the first guy I'd ever heard speak Limey, and he was just as confused by our American as we were by his Limey.

 

It's a UK thing then. That's a terminology that would never be used here. If I referred to the power coming out of an outlet as "mains" no one would know what I was talking about.