Which Homeplugs for fibre broadband?

Blackhorse · 8 Jun 2012 at 09:48

Im lucky enough to be able to start trialing the Orange fibre broadband later this month.
My current setup is possibly not going to work.
At the moment my computer is in the attic, whilst the router is down two floors and plugged straight into the master socket.

Currently running on wireless N and getting about 50-60% signal.

Im told I should go from the 6MBs tp 37MBs when the upgrade is completed.
Now i dont think the wireless is going to hold up too well to this and therefore i think homeplugs would be the answer.

The question is which ones!?
Looked at a few brands but the TP-Link are seeming to be the ones.
But even then, there still so many choices

Do I go 200mbs or 500mbs? If i go 500mbs to I get the slightly older PA411 model or the newer PA511 model that has a Gigabit Ethernet Port

Anyones ideas would be VERY much appreciated.

Sin_Chase · 8 Jun 2012 at 10:01

37Mbps should be more than manageable on a decent N wireless network. Wired is always better but it's not exactly huge throughput.

This is assuming you mean 37Megabits (Mb/s) rather than MegaBytes(MB/s).

If you did actually mean MBs (Megabytes) then yeah you will need wired at at least 288Mbit/Sec so go for the 500Mbit/Sec units if you choose home plugs.

Blackhorse · 8 Jun 2012 at 10:04

Sin_Chase said:
37Mbps should be more than manageable on a decent N wireless network. Wired is always better but it's not exactly huge throughput.

This is assuming you Meant 37Megabits (Mbs) rather than MegaBytes(MBs).

Sorry im rubbish with the terminology!
Maybe i should hang fire and actually test what speeds the wireless connection achieves.

Other thought is the computer is connecting to the router on a Wireless N USB adapter, would it make more sense to look at a proper PCi Wireless card?

Do most people run their routers at 20MHz or 40MHz? (im guessing this answer will be subjective to each person and signal/interferance)

Sin_Chase · 8 Jun 2012 at 10:40

While 40MHz in theory should give you better throughput off the top of my head I think 40MHz is prone to issues.

Had a quick look around and this is the DD-WRT blurb on 20 vs 40MHz usage:

systems, it requires one main 20MHz channel plus a free adjacent channel at ±20MHz. The main channel is used for legacy (a/b/g) or other clients that aren't able to transmit at 40MHz. The spec also requires the whole WLAN to only use the main 20MHz channel if it detects anything using the additional 20MHz channel.

In 5GHz band, it shouldn't be that difficult to find two free channels, so go ahead and turn 40MHz on.

However, when using 2.4GHz, using 40MHz isn't nearly as easy since the channels were already overlapped in 11b and 11g mode.

Effectively to use this feature, you will block 7–9 of the 13 channels and, of course, ch12 and ch13 aren't available in North America. So yes, it's possible that your neighbors will hate you if you turn this option on. This is why there was a lot of pushback at the end of the final IEEE 802.11n ratification to entirely ban 40Mhz in 2.4GHz. That didn't happen as 40MHz is still appropriate for some situations (ie: a warehouse) but the bottom line remains, enabling 40MHz in the 2.4GHz band isn't a good idea for dense residential areas.

Blackhorse · 8 Jun 2012 at 11:03

Sin_Chase said:
While 40MHz in theory should give you better throughput off the top of my head I think 40MHz is prone to issues.

Had a quick look around and this is the DD-WRT blurb on 20 vs 40MHz usage:

Thanks for your help and time, its VERY much appreciated.
Downloaded the netgear software for my USB adapter, it states im on 90% signal and is connected to the router at 130Mbs.

Will see how it go'

docsonic · 8 Jun 2012 at 12:57

I can usually achieve 3 - 3.5 MB/S over wireless N upstairs. When I activate 40MHZ bonded mode I have at times been able to download at up to 5 MB/S - but more often than not it's much less

I have a pair of of the TP link 200 adaptors arriving today so hopefully they will improve things (current max via ethernet I'm getting is 57 mpbs)

haz_pro · 8 Jun 2012 at 22:57

Please let me know how you guys get on with the powerline kits. Think I will get some soon!

docsonic · 9 Jun 2012 at 08:47

I have my AV200's set up now & I'm so happy to finally be rid of wireless!

My d/l speed is up to approx 5 MB/S ( 40 Mbps.) Ok so it could be faster but its a definite improvement over wireless. Faster & more stable speeds, lower pings - I think its money well spent

On a side note - I did originally try using them with 1 plugged into my surge protector but the speed was horrible so I had to fudge my cabling to get them on their own sockets.