"Andy Castledine" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed).. .
> Has anyone used the devices that plug into a 13A mains socket and provide
> an
> ethernet connection. i.e.plug one into a lounge socket connected to a
> computer and one in a socket ajacent to the broadband router connected
> into
> a spare ethernet port.
>
>
> Do they work ?
> Can you easily move them around ?
> Can you switch them off when not in use and know they're going to work
> when turned back on?
>
> url:http://myreader.co.uk/gp/1021-1.aspx
Yes to all those.
I've installed Solwise 14 Mbps homeplug devices in an old house which had
walls that were too think for wireless to send the signal from the router to
one of the PCs. The house had very old wiring, with three separate fuse
boxes, though presumably all on the same side of the meter, as it is the
meter which blocks the Ethernet signal from escaping from the house.
These worked at about 7 Mbps, which was plenty fast enough for the customer
who only wanted it for accessing broadband, not for PC-PC comms. Ironically
since then he's realised why I recommended the faster (85?) devices that he
decided not to get, when I saw the benefits of PC-PC file and printer
sharing.
The setup worked perfectly well for a couple of years until recently when
something changed and the homeplug started working only in some sockets -
and not the ones in the room where it was needed. This was solved by moving
the router to a socket closer to the PC (luckily there was another phone
socket there) and getting an additional homeplug to supply the signal to a
second PC which had previously been within wireless range.
Maybe the best combination is homeplug to cover the larger distances to
outlying rooms and then a wireless access point to distribute the network
locally to allow a laptop to be used anywhere within several of those
outlying rooms.