On Fri, Dec 26, 2014 at 4:28 PM, <[email protected]> wrote:
> Does anyone on the list have much experience using any powerline
> networking devices? I'm contemplating getting some for my parents place
> to use as a way to add an access point and a few other devices to the
> network that isn't close to the router they have.
I don't have a lot of experience with them that'll be very useful to
you, but I can tell you some random facts about them.
They're governed by IEEE standard 1901, and the development of devices
is supported by the HomePlug PowerLine Alliance (these are related
similarly to IEEE 802.11 and the WiFi Alliance). The hardware
modulates the data signal on the 60Hz carrier of the power line;
signals are driven via a line driver like that used for ADSL modems.
Upper protocol layers borrow heavily from 802.11, as power lines are
also an unpredictably noisy medium.
The HomePlug networking devices are heavily developed--and see much
higher adoption rates--in European nations, owing to different
construction styles than in the US that tend to heavily attenuate WiFi
signals through ceilings and walls, making WiFi a poor home networking
solution.
The SAE J1772 standard for charging electric vehicles mandates the
IEEE 1901 protocol to initiate charging procedures, so the onboard
charge controller and the charging station can communicate via TCP/IP.
Anyway, HomePlug stuff is specifically designed to coexist with WiFi,
at least in its more recent incarnations, so what you propose should
be feasible. Your success may depend in part on how the home's
circuits are wired, but I haven't actually played with them connected
through more than just a shared power strip.
--Levi
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