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I wonder if someone can help me with this. Having Wifi problems due to thick walls and am considering some kind of Homeplug. Have you good experience with this; are there potential pitfalls; can you recommend a brand/model?

Many thanks

Patrick

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I have recently installed some Netgear - XAVB5001-100PES very very easy to set up and work superbly well, even out to our barn. Lieterally plug them in and it works immediately. If you are 3 phase you can buy a little adapter from Conrad to enable you to use each device on a different phase.

http://www.conrad.fr/coupleur_de_phases_pour_produits_powerline_p_48674_49300_857062_857063_FAS

With these homeplugs you can also create and manage more complex networks. I have now installed a 2nd pair to create 2 completely separate networks. One subnet for my freebox server to player and another for everything else. There is a great little setup tool from http://www.leacom.fr which lets you easily set up and configure complex networks using homeplugs.

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I bought the devolo dlan 200 AV wireless N starter kit. Despite the reviews about the product which say it is easy to set up, it was a nightmare. The wireless is very effective but it has taken me hours to get the laptop to accept the code from the product. I have given up with my phone. The on-line handbook is 57 pages of gobblygook (to me).

Mark

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[quote user="Markradland"]I bought the devolo dlan 200 AV wireless N starter kit. Despite the reviews about the product which say it is easy to set up, it was a nightmare. The wireless is very effective but it has taken me hours to get the laptop to accept the code from the product. I have given up with my phone. The on-line handbook is 57 pages of gobblygook (to me).

Mark

[/quote]

I am surprised... With the 200 series  there is a cockpit cd or download from website... Install the cd, plug in the device in a wall, the other in the computer with the installed software.  All worked for me. Plug and play.

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Sorry Osie, but doesn't the expression "plug and play" mean that you don't have to install any software yourself, it just works when you plug it in?  I could be wrong though as I am generally pretty computer illiterate!

Whatever, the piece of kit mentioned above in my post works well through 8inches of concrete floor and a foot thick stone wall with no input from me apart from paying £20 and then plugging it into a USB port.  My kind of gadget.

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I bought a second hand Devolo system on Ebay, its the one with a wireless network at the recieving end as well as an ethernet cable, I could not make head or tail of the instructions so gave it to a child to set up for me, actually he is 45 but you get the gist he said it was no problem and it worked OK in his house, I took it to the UK plugged it into my pad and the tenants Sky internet box and it worked straight off, plug and play via a 3rd party!

One thing I can add, most tell you that they wont work across an electricity meter, the Develo instructions sort of imply this but are vague, in truth I dont think they want to admit that someone could access your internet from 3 houses down the road, because I have a seperate sub electric meter for my place and the Devolo network happily works across it.

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To prevent unauthorised access across meters between neighbours etc, you should enable the encryption on the home plug . Again a fault one exists by just pressing a button when the device is plugged in, but if you require more complex arrangement use the configuration tool.
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Many thanks for those replies. Looks like I'll opt for some kind of Homeplug. I had thought of Netgear, having been very satisfied with their modem/router, but read a bad review somewhere of their Homeplug system. Anyone had any experience with them?

Patrick

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[quote user="bixy"]Many thanks for those replies. Looks like I'll opt for some kind of Homeplug. I had thought of Netgear, having been very satisfied with their modem/router, but read a bad review somewhere of their Homeplug system. Anyone had any experience with them?

Patrick
[/quote]

I've recently upgraded (speed) to these http://www.pixmania.com/fr/fr/search/netgear-pack-de-2-mini-adaptateurs-cpl-200-mbps-xavb1301

In fact I bought 2 packs (4). No software installation required and they worked first time. Without installing a LAN cable this is the only workable solution for our house and gite. No problems whatsoever.

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I should add a further comment that someone else mentioned in an earlier thread on this subject (there have been at least 2 others, and a search should find previous replies), and that it that the device requires a plug socket (obvious eh?) but if you're short of sockets an extension lead is not recommended, so you would be wise to look at other versions which have a pass-through socket built-in. [geek]
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They seem cheaper in France, in this case I needed them to fit UK plug sockets though!

I am linked to the forum via the homeplug Dlan network and its wifi repeater at this moment, my tenant is now powering the transmitter via a 4 way trailing lead, its spaghetti city there! and it doesnt seem to have made any difference to the connection.

Of course each plug/socket joint does have the capacity to diminish the high frequency signal but if they are clean and tight I dont think there is any reason to worry, most hardwired cable joints these days use a sprung wago connector.

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" I had thought of Netgear, having been very satisfied with their modem/router, but read a bad review somewhere of their Homeplug system. Anyone had any experience with them?"

As I posted above, found the netgear ones very effective and very easy to install.
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I bought the TP Link version (also on your link, BJSLIV) and it was useless.  It does say that it needs to be plugged in direct though, so my feeling was that the fact that I had to adapt it to the French system probably ruined its eficacity.  Hence I bought the superb bit of kit mentioned above.

 

How did our o/p get on, btw, any luck with any of these ideas?  It's a subject that comes up a bit (I asked the same question before I bought my two very variable bits of kit so it would be good to get some feedback, no?)

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Well, the Netgear Homeplugs arrived in one day from Amazon fr. I stuck them in and they worked straight away. Each plug has three little lights: the first indicates that the plug is working; the second that it has an internet connection; and the third that another Homeplug has been detected. The third light also changes colour according to how 'good' the socket is: green best, orange good, red ok. Quite impressed really. I would recommend them. The exact product is: Netgear CPL 200AV+ Mini XAVB1401.

Patrick

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