There was also an amusing story in New Scientist about one of the trials for this where the frequency they used was just the right one to turn lamp-posts into transmitters. Can't remember exactly how it worked but there was an awful lot of crud on the airwaves and the data was being transmitted for all and sundry.
On Tue, 2002-12-03 at 12:30, C Falconer wrote: > Yes - The theory is that the data is encoded onto the power line at a > frequency well above the 50 Hz of AC power, somewhat like the way DSL is > above the frequency of normal telephone conversations. > > However afaik the problem is that no electrical equipment has been > designed with data-over-power in mind, so it could only be used reliably > between the house and the end of the road power transformer. > > X10 control uses the same technique inside a house, but even then its > not guaranteed to work. > > -- Zane Gilmore, Analyst / Programmer Information Services Section, Information Technology Dept, University of Canterbury - Te Whare Waananga o Waitaha Private Bag 4800, Christchurch New Zealand Phone +64-3-364 2987 extn 7895
