Are Homeplugs worth the cost?

LindaMary

jamesb1239 wrote: »

OFCOM are not actually forcing people to remove their offending homeplugs, they basically explain the effect that it is having on others and are referring the owners to the manufacturer of the homeplugs. They cannot force you to remove the equipment as somehow it managed to become certified (and i have no idea of how big of a backhander that took).

No, they cannot force you to remove them at the moment and it comes down to goodwill. However, how would people feel if they could not use their computers because a radio enthusiast was transmitting nearby. I am sure they would soon get pretty fed up. Its all down to understanding situations on both sides and a little bit of thought for potential problems for your neighbours and not a " i'm alright Jack" attitude.

kwikbreaks

HomePlugs which comply with the certified specification do not use the amateur bands but they can interfere with other services operating on HF frequencies (such as short wave broadcast stations).

Some if not all HomePlug adaptors supplied by BT allegedly do not adhere to the specs and do not avoid use of amateur bands.

I am a licensed amateur and although hardly ever active I do have HF kit still. I also have some HomePlugs and the ones I have create no interference on amateur bands.

There have been two petitions on this topic on the number 10 website and both were fobbed off by Ofcom. I imagine that the RSGB will not let the matter rest though as any amateur within a few hundred yards of a house using the non compliant kit may as well give up because the interference will swamp the typically very weak amateur signals.

JasX

Agree on the non-interference points but some of the other 'use of spectrum' laws Ofcom are supposed to enforce seem a bit out dated and pointless.

Apparently its illegal in the UK for me to set my wireless N router to use a pair of 5Ghz channels in 'wide' channel mode to boost its thruput but if i have a set of wireless N routers I can use as many different single channels as I like to achieve the same end???!?

DonnyDave

computershack wrote: »

Its actually all of them with a Comtrend chipset but BT ones are the ones installed the most in the UK.

But surely the likely chance of causing interference depends on the frequency they use. So whilst others may not be causing interference to radio hams, they are belching out radio waves on other frequencies.

The problem surely comes down to the fact that mains cables are not screened, and therefore should not be used for carrying high frequency signals.

Unless those who wish to use homeplugs cover their houses in metal (tin foil) or install screened mains cable, and a filter on their incoming supply, then surely they all should be banned.

And does this include video sender plugs as well, and possibly those for extending a phone line?

Inactive

DonnyDave wrote: »

Unless those who wish to use homeplugs cover their houses in metal (tin foil) or install screened mains cable, and a filter on their incoming supply, then surely they all should be banned.

Just in case there may be a Radio Ham in the vicinity?

A bit harsh.

kwikbreaks

DonnyDave wrote: »

But surely the likely chance of causing interference depends on the frequency they use. So whilst others may not be causing interference to radio hams, they are belching out radio waves on other frequencies.

Yes they use all of the HF spectrum and then some. The reason it is mostly radio amateurs and short wave listeners complaining is because they are the ones who deliberately seek out low power signals. Higher powered short range signals are less likely to suffer interference simply because they are so much more powerful.

DonnyDave wrote: »

The problem surely comes down to the fact that mains cables are not screened, and therefore should not be used for carrying high frequency signals.

Not entirely true - mains wiring is not that bad a transmission line at these frequencies otherwise it couldn't be used for the job. Amateurs themselves use open wire feeders and they are very efficient (ie most of the power put it one end comes out of the other rather than being radiated away). The electricitity companies already use their overhead distribution cables for data transmissions too and eventually all meters will be read by data over the grid rather than feet over the pavement and eyes.

DonnyDave wrote: »

Unless those who wish to use homeplugs cover their houses in metal (tin foil) or install screened mains cable, and a filter on their incoming supply, then surely they all should be banned.

Only if they cause interference to protected services. For the most part they don't but some do. There are so many of these devices in circulation now that banning them wouldn't really be possible. The EU are looking into common regulations though so there could be issues later.

DonnyDave wrote: »

And does this include video sender plugs as well, and possibly those for extending a phone line?

Yes if they operate over the mains wiring.

DonnyDave

Inactive wrote: »

Just in case there may be a Radio Ham in the vicinity?

A bit harsh.

Er no. I say it as a matter of principle, so you are not creating electromagnetic interference (radio waves); polution over a large band of frequencies as it were.

chateauneufdupape

Home plugs have worked brilliantly for me. I wish that I had found out about them years ago.

DonnyDave

computershack wrote: »

The interference to me wasn't a low power signal. On the signal meter it was +9dB which, for the uninitiated is 3/4 of the way across the signal meter and only bettered by local stations in the same town. It was strong enough that I could basically only hear someone once they were transmitting within a couple of miles of me.

But didn't the power of the interference you were picking up depend on how well tuned your neighbour's wiring was to the frequency of the signal? It's therefore a matter of chance how well (to what degree) someone's wiring radiates a homeplug signal.

Inactive

DonnyDave wrote: »

Er no. I say it as a matter of principle, so you are not creating electromagnetic interference (radio waves); polution over a large band of frequencies as it were.

Well I purchased my Home Plugs without any knowledge of this perceived problem, and there is no way that I am going to be parting with them because some Radio Ham thinks there may be a problem.

Sorry.