Noises off
Of course, it's all relative. Netgear's website cheekily talks about a "Gigabit-fast wired connections". Just because the adaptor has a Gigabit port doesn't mean it's "Gigabit-fast". If it was, it would deliver a rate of at least 389Mb/s, which is what I measured for the transfer when I casually hooked up the laptop direct to the router.
So yes, the ideal solution is to plumb in Cat 5 cable throughout your home. Though, before a reader suggests exactly that, don't forget such a move isn't always practical or even feasible for many folk - people who rent their properties, for instance.
Gigabit? Not half
Some other curmudgeon will grumble about the radio noise some, badly behaved powerline adaptors emit. For what it's worth, I didn't pick up any audible interference on on an FM radio tuned to the lowest possible station. That said, if you only get a weak signal where you live, your signal may not be sufficient to mask the powerline noise, as BBC engineers recently found.
The Beeb's engineers didn't say which adaptors they used, but the photos show what appears to be the Belkin Gigle-based adaptor, which has been claimed by some to be more noisy than the rest thanks to its use of higher frequencies to up the bit rate.
Verdict
At £60 a pop and around £100 for two, Netgear's XAV5001 delivers a speed boost over 200Mb/s powerline adaptors, which aren't a great deal cheaper. New to powerline? Then 500Mb/s is the way to go, but if you already use it, there's no compelling reason to upgrade unless you're finding existing bandwidth insufficient. ®
More Powerline Ethernet Adaptor Reviews |
||||
 WD
Livewire |
 D-Link
DHP-306AV |
 Devolo
dLan AVplus |
 Belkin
Powerline HD Gigabit |
 Solwise
Piggy 6 |
Netgear XAV5001 500Mb/s powerline Ethernet adaptor
COMMENTS
Sigh...
Pushed as a Gigabit ethernet.
States 500Mb/s.
Tested at 79.67Mb/s.
Why are all those firms subcontracting advertisements in Nigeria those days?
all subjective?
No, not subjective at all. It is objective and measurable. A lot of power line kit violates the standards it is required to respect, and Ofcon are doing Sweet FA about it.
Microwave ovens operate at a specific frequency, and the unlicensed ISM band that they could interfere with was created precisely because the interference from ovens could render it useless. It therefore isn't saleable spectrum.
If people pay for the use of certain parts of the RF spectrum, they are entitled to expect other users not to interfere with that use. What's so subjective about that?
FM interference
"I don't get any interference using a FM radio".. what the hell? You DO know that FM uses a phase-locked-loop on a carrier frequency right? FM is designed to disguise radio spectrum noise. Try an AM radio.. far more indicative of potential noise issues. Try checking with your local radio HAM before making such a misguided statement.
EMC regulations
So your crappy PLT works just fine so long as everything else plugged in to the mains conforms to the required EMC standards!
However...
...it buggers up DAB nicely if its on the same mains ring and sometimes even if its on a different phase (ie someone elses house), never mind different mains ring. Oh and yes I do understand the difference between conducted & radiated EMI ta, the point is that these abominations are guilty of breaking the rules on BOTH in every single installation, bar none.
Since the days of FM are apparently limited then best not get too attached to the idea of listening to any broadcast radio other than that found on LW :)
Funny how every major user of spectrum from the CAA to GCHQ* to the BBC all state that it IS a problem.
The exception? Yes its Ofcom who strangely enough don't actually employ much in the way of RF engineers, unlike all the other organisations who disagree with them.
*yes they do, they just weren't allowed to say so in public
