Continue with wireless or try powerline?

chateauneufdupape

Conor - I was thinking of connecting the 3rd floor computer directly to a Homeplug rather than via a wireless connection. The transmitter in the lounge / hall would be to improve the wireless network around that area generally. Thanks for pointing out that it might not reach the third floor.


Leopard - Thanks for the detailed proposals. I was concerned that setting up the Solwise 4-port Ethanet Router might be difficult. Reading the blurb on the ebay page it says:

You should be aware however, that this is a complex device that combines several sophisticated applications (most notably WLAN 802.11n) and setting it up and then configuring it properly is not for the faint hearted.

Whilst I am reasonably IT literate and not feint hearted, I am concerned that I will be spending the whole of the Christmas holidays talking to you and the other great people on here about how to get it set up. The 85mbps system seemed a lot simpler. However, with talk on the radio this morning of broadband speeds of up to 50mbps, the 200mbps system starts to make more sense.

The Solwise 4-port Ethanet Router has 3 aerials, would replacing just one of them with a 9dB aerial be sufficient?

chunter

What about ordering BT Vision, then cancelling it and hoping they'll let you keep the kit (They have a bit of a reputation for this).

Those two powerline plugs that come with it will you do your job.
Cost £0 if you're lucky..

Leopard

The very knowledgeable Conor is absolutely right about the vertical projection and propagation of the signal. Indeed, the first thing that struck me when I read the initial posting was that the height of the house was what would cause the greatest difficulty with the wireless. This is the problem that is encountered in hotels unless they have a repeater on each floor.

In the particular situation we are considering, it should not be forgotten that the existing Netgear DG834GT is currently providing a wireless signal that is described as reasonable for the laptop in much of the house and can even be picked up weakly (but somewhat intermittently) by a desktop computer on the third floor of the house.

If the Netgear DG834GT is permitted to continue broadcasting signal (as well as perform all the routing) the Solwise wireless router could be deployed in two different ways. It could either be used to extend the wireless signal of the Netgear DG834GT or it could be used to create a second wireless network of its own.

Personally, I would opt for one Solwise 200 Mb/sec "Piggy" downstairs, used in conjunction with the Netgear DG834GT, and add to this a Solwise PL-200AV11NRT wireless N router with built-in 200 Mb/sec powerline adaptor on one of the upper floors.

Hopefully these two Solwise units would be sufficient, in combination with the Netgear DG834GT, to distribute an adequate signal throughout the house. If it proved insufficient, a second 200 MB/sec "Piggy" could then be purchased and used with the desktop computer on the third floor.

I'd be minded to try the Solwise PL-200AV11NRT configured to create a second, faster, wireless n network of its own, on 5 GHz only, but, if that was not convenient to the desired manner of operation, here, it could be set to either b/g or b/g/n.

Clearly, however, a highly intelligent mind is being applied to the problem and it will now be resolved in the manner best suited to the particular circumstances of building construction, of internal layout, of electrical wiring and of personal requirements.

I still think a 'phone call to the Technical division of Solwise would be a good idea before money is finally committed to the projected and currently preferred configuration.

:santa2:

Leopard

CduP,

I can assure you you won't be spending your Christmas holidays talking to me on here.

(I've just read your later posting. )

The eBay seller seems a good outfit with which to deal. As for the faintness-of-heart warning, I think the seller is really trying to deter those who suffer from a triumph of initiative over intellect and does not want to spend his own Christmas on the Internet trying to trouble-shoot the problems of an army of idiots who have been indulging copiously in tinctures greatly less refined than your own preferred medicine and are threatening to send him back a lot of expensive equipment that he will then have to sell as second-hand.

You only have to look at the self-evident brainpower of some of those whom the saintly espresso :A and Browntoa :A wrestle daily and untiringly to assist to appreciate the dangers inherent in selling anything that requires the purchaser to do more than simply plug it in and switch it on. I'm surprised neither of them have ever (yet...) got to the stage of telling one of these wretched and persistent souls to fill their bath and immerse in it the item of kit that eludes their intelligence, ensuring it is connected to mains electricity. :cool:

In your own case, I'm sure you would manage to configure a Solwise PL-200AV11NRT without too much difficulty; clearly you have the necessary intelligence and sufficient grasp of the basic principles to do it. All you'd need to do is configure each of its constituent components, one by one, in a logical order. It would work as a second powerline adaptor straight out of the box and you could then set up and activate each of its additional facilities in stages, at your convenience.

Apologies if my original wording of the part about the 9 db antenna was unclear; I've now edited it. What I was trying to say was that a single antenna could be used on the 85 Mb/sec wireless device if the supplied one proved inadequate.

The PL-200AV11NRT has three aerials; one each for b, g and n wireless. I assume that you could boost the output of all or any of these separate signals individually, by installing one or more 9 db antennae. If you were only using, say, the g signal on all your devices, you would probably need only a single 9 db antenna to boost that. But this is something you could check with Solwise. In the general context of the overall cost of the kit, an extra antenna or two is not of profligate additional expense!

I should perhaps point out that I have not, myself, invested in any devices of Solwise other than its simple 200 Mb/sec powerline adaptors because all Solwise's drivers, software, firmware and support are Windows-only. And all my own kit is Apple. Although it could run Windows natively, as well, I have never invested in that option and the only Darkside Device thus at my disposal is a Dell laptop provided to my companion for use in her work (and on which she is not supposed to install any additional software).

chunter wrote: »

What about ordering BT Vision, then cancelling it and hoping they'll let you keep the kit (They have a bit of a reputation for this).

Those two powerline plugs that come with it will you do your job.
Cost £0 if you're lucky..

:rotfl: :money: :beer:

Nice one! :T

Wonder what will happen if BT is now overwhelmed with soon-to-be-cancelled orders for BT Vision... :cool:

chateauneufdupape

Very eloquent, Leopard. You made me laugh with your last post. As you suggest, I will speak to Solwise once work stops interfering with my networking discussions.

I too liked Chunter's BT Vision suggestion, but think that that is a step to far.

chateauneufdupape

I spoke to Solwise who were very helpfully. Having described my set up and requirements, they agreed that the 200mbps system proposed by Leopard would work very well, but was probably overkill for my needs. They suggested that I go with the 85mbps system and save some money.

Leopard

Well that's good news! :money:

Let's just hope that, in the light of your comments about things to come, they weren't just saying this because they want to shift their stocks of 85 Mb/sec kit and hope that you'll come back in two years time to spend more money, upgrading to 200 Mb/sec and 802.11n. :cool:



Here's a pair of Solwise 85 Mb/sec homeplugs for £38 + £7 shipping, on eBay.

And here's a Solwise homeplug/wireless combo device for £44 + £4.50 shipping.

Total: £93.50

You could buy quite a decent bottle of your favoured and eponymous electric Ribena with that saving from £110. :beer:

Make sure that what you buy includes the Ethernet patch cables and mind you don't electrocute the cat. :eek:

:rudolf:

espresso

Leopard wrote: »

You could buy quite a decent bottle of your favoured and eponymous electric Ribena with that saving from £110. :beer:

He could buy many bottles if he simply bought an Ethernet cable here and ran it between floors!

Ethernet cables are 100% reliable and don't consume electricity when used.

The powerline solution seems way over the top, especially as the PC's are static. e.g. Ethernet cable between router and study - job done!

Leopard

Indeed he could, Arch:A angel.

(Unless, I suupose, somebody drills through a water pipe installing it and the emergency services of a plumber are required, over Christmas. :eek: )

I pointed it out, Boss. Honest. It's somewhere in Post #9.

But powerline is the way he wants to go. So be it. It works well. And there may be reasons (e.g. moving soon?) we don't know. It makes no mess, takes no time and the cost is not prohibitive for many to whom time is money. Who are we to question it?

While you're here, Hallowed One, do you know of anywhere that sells cat-proof Cat5e? Anewhope's cats chew his Cat5e and he's had to resort to putting toilet-roll cores round them. So his are only 99% reliable.

We went Cat5e plus 802.11n (5 GHz "Irish" ) but kept our two "Piggies" for occasional deployment in suitable locations. They're very handy.

chateauneufdupape

Many bottles of my favourite would not be good for the health! :beer::beer::beer:

In fact having too much many years ago ended up with me giving myself this username. To be fair to Leopard, he et al did suggest Cat 5e earlier in our discussions. Whilst it would be the cheapest solution by far, it would entail a lot of work and frustration for me and they would not improve the wireless network in other parts of the house. So I am prepared to spend some money and get a solution that should be relatively straight forward. Also, have not encountered any cases of cats eating Homeplugs! :rotfl:

For future reference (just in case) what aerial would I need to combat the Homeplug being covered in toilet-roll?

I have ordered the Homeplug bits from your penultimate post. I have checked that the Homeplugs do come with patch cables.

Thanks for all your help. I will post the results once I have installed the system.