Powerline adapters...

[the86d]

My son is one of these kids that plays games too much.

Thinking Belkin F5D4076 Gigabit Powerline HD Starter Kit for Christmas, for less latency?

Currently, I turn off his guest SSID when he is an "asp", or limit his upstream/downstream to .1-.2mbps when chores are not done (I know, evil right, but it works well for removing his head from his backside, REAL QUICK), SO I could still do the throttle for his machine (but no cutting the SSID would be needed in this case), I'll just unplug the cable, or powerline adapter...on the router-end.

Anyone have experience with these or similar devices in recent years, and do they work closer to wired speeds, in latency compared to wireless 802.11N @150 (which he is running now, getting lagged with flac)?

Security issues to the power lines outside the house (thinking neighbor with same model)?
I read this shouldn't be an issue on the other side for the meter?

Drawbacks, or issues with yours, same or similar product?

When a brownout occurs, or power drops and is restored do they come back up automagically, or have to be yanked out of the wall and resync'd?

Are Zyxel, or TRENDnet adapters better than the Belkin?

[FresnoRob]

I used one of these for 3-4 years. It started acting up where I’d have to recycle the power. So I went back to wireless. It worked ok for the first few years. The speed was close when I first installed them. After the 4 years I got a better WiFi router and when I went back to wireless the wireless is a lot faster.

[67Cuda]

I'm using Netgear power line adapters. They work great.

[tommyboy619]

I have the entry level TP Link set. I believe it to better than extending wireless, at least for my situation. Just like everything network related, you occasionally do have to "reset" it. But that's as easy as unplugging and re-plugging.

[cid`]

Power lines are last resort tech, pretty much garbage, but in some cases can work ok/mediocre.

An way you can hardwire?

[71MUSTY]

OP made me laugh. I had the first DSL in my town, which my kids thought was great. But their biggest complaint was it was down most of the time.

They never figured out I was un-plugging it.

[the86d]

...An way you can hardwire?

Not w/out cutting the drywall and running a cable, or dropping one on the floor.
The location of my son's rig is a 20 ft from a network jack, but across the room, and the main walkway (so his computer is in view ).

Corp. Skype session w/a coworker yesterday, and he says he doesn't have any issues with his and gets about 1/2 the rated bandwidth of his devices (300mbps, while he gets ~150). He says they work okay.

[MaHoTex]

My son is one of these kids that plays games too much.

Thinking Belkin F5D4076 Gigabit Powerline HD Starter Kit for Christmas, for less latency?

Currently, I turn off his guest SSID when he is an "asp", or limit his upstream/downstream to .1-.2mbps when chores are not done (I know, evil right, but it works well for removing his head from his backside, REAL QUICK), SO I could still do the throttle for his machine (but no cutting the SSID would be needed in this case), I'll just unplug the cable, or powerline adapter...on the router-end.

Anyone have experience with these or similar devices in recent years, and do they work closer to wired speeds, in latency compared to wireless 802.11N @150 (which he is running now, getting lagged with flac)?

Security issues to the power lines outside the house (thinking neighbor with same model)?
I read this shouldn't be an issue on the other side for the meter?

Drawbacks, or issues with yours, same or similar product?

When a brownout occurs, or power drops and is restored do they come back up automagically, or have to be yanked out of the wall and resync'd?

Are Zyxel, or TRENDnet adapters better than the Belkin?

Is a MOCA adapter a possibility? If there is a CATV plug in the area you could go that route. That is what I have done for a couple of locations to avoid using wireless. In another place I use the TPLink powerline adapters. They work "OK" but not even close to MOCA ability.

[the86d]

Is a MOCA adapter a possibility? If there is a CATV plug in the area you could go that route. That is what I have done for a couple of locations to avoid using wireless. In another place I use the TPLink powerline adapters. They work "OK" but not even close to MOCA ability.

No, unfortunately. There isn't coax at the location, or I would have already done MoCA.
I think I still have NIM-100 units in the garage that I bridged from the FiOS Actiontec's with in the past.

CRAP, now that I am actively selling on eBay, those would have sold quickly... They worked well on pre-Quantum equipment. I never even tried them on the Red-trimmed FiOS, as most of my home is pre-wired Cat5... just not where my son's rig is. It's officially the "formal dining room" ("kid's play room" in my case).

[crufflers]

I've use the AV1200's and AV500's - still have one location on a powerline adapter and it always works and is stable. The wi-fi range extenders are really great nowadays though and that is what I prefer... and sometimes you have to use wifi. A good router and something like a TP-LINK RE450 cover a ton of area.

[the86d]

I've use the AV1200's and AV500's...

Have you done tests to see the bandwidth you get...
stated vs. actual?

[sholling]

I've never had good luck with powerline. Too many things can cause interference making it hit or miss, and 802.11N is just too short range and too slow for reliable gaming.

I do have good luck with wireless (802.11ac) but my house is only 1500sft. One problem can be the quality of built-in 802.11ac network adapters and 802.11ac USB adapters. 802.11ac done right is tri-band with triple antennas (3x3) yet many of the built-in and USB adapters are slow 1x1 or 2x2 setups. One inexpensive solution (assuming a normal sized home) is to use a pair of 802.11ac routers, one as a normal router and the other in "bridge mode" (wireless network adapter mode). You could do that for less that $120 for a pair of refurbished T-Mobile optimised Asus RT-AC68u (AC1900) routers, or $160 for a pair of new ones. These are really good really fast routers. Non-T-Mobile branded are double that price.

https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-AC1900-Dual-Band-AiProtection-Certified-Refurbished/dp/B075GYWPCJ

https://www.amazon.com/T-Mobile-Wireless-AC1900-Dual-Band-AiProtection-Complete/dp/B01MYTAURW

If I had a larger home I'd invest in a mesh router system like Netgear's Orbi AC3000 and still use an RT-AC68U in bridge mode for an wireless gaming system.

https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Whole-System-Tri-band-plug/dp/B01K4CZOBS

[jmaglipay]

I've used powerline adapters for years and were ok. I even used it in a detached garage while the main adapter was inside the house. I suggest going with AC mimo wireless. It's fast, reliable but expensive.

[Mountain Max]

You said there is a network jack in the vicinity? I would pick up this router and set it up as an access point that's hard wired to the network jack. You will get very good performance and have a full range of control over the device. You can use a fancier router, if the budget is higher for the gift.

ASUS RT-N12 $29 on Amazon
RT-N12.jpg

[sholling]

You said there is a network jack in the vicinity? I would pick up this router and set it up as an access point that's hard wired to the network jack. You will get very good performance and have a full range of control over the device. You can use a fancier router, if the budget is higher for the gift.

I just hate to see someone buy long outdated 802.11N technology, the performance just isn't there and the range of "N" routers is really short. It's also possible that the bottleneck isn't in the wireless adapter in the computer.