Tír Na HiFi

Came across a 'two box setup' [in Maplins] that use the mains wiring to bring your computer network to another room. Sky box to broadband router was suggested. Basically you plug one box into the mains at the router and the other box beside the Sky box. Internet cables are provided to connect to the router and the Sky box. Wondering if this idea works or has anyone any experience with this technology. Thinking aloud, if it works as claimed, would a wired connecting using this technology be *better* than WiFi for my Squeezebox?

Any help would be appreciated. And aplogies if this question has been dealt with before.

I'm using it here all the time Tom. It works perfectly but with one caveat.... the connection is dependent on how your house is wired.

Example: Modern fuseboard with breakers. Separate runs to each set of sockets as is normal code now. The homeplug will talk across some breakers, but not others.

So you have one homeplug in a socket near your router - but when you plug in to another socket on a different breaker it may or may not work. You might need to plug it in to a socket on a different breaker etc.

However, once it works and the little indicator lights light up that you have a connection it is 100% reliable.

I have used several homeplugs over time - they all talk to each other no matter what brand you buy. However, I have had 2 fail (power supply burnt out) after a year or 2 in use. I think they were "advent" brand bought in PCworld

Best value in buying them I have found is from a crowd called 7dayshop. The link below looks very like the ones I have.

http://www.7dayshop.com/7dayshop-200mbp ... plug&sl=sl


Fran

Further info here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthre ... 2056263590

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthre ... 2056576758

Thanks Fran, I will give it a try.

I'm certain I saw an ad for "hifi" version of this in one of the mags...

let me see if I can dig it out....

http://www.netserverapps.com/naimaudio/ ... gory_id=27


This is from the naim website ..



Can I use Homeplugs?



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Ethernet-over-mains products such as Homeplugs offer an inexpensive and convenient way of creating a virtual wired network in your home. They are plugged into mains sockets and carry network data over your existing mains wiring, and are connected at each end to networked devices using Ethernet cable.


In many cases, these are a great way to create a strong, interference-free network. However, we have found cases where, depending on the nature of your mains supply, adding a network signal to it can have a detrimental effect on the quality of mains supply, and can cause unwanted noise in audio components. While this is not guaranteed to happen, be aware of the possible effects, including hum and distortion. If your mains supply is prone to introducing artifacts to the audio chain, this will be quite obvious to hear when no music is playing; if there is an audible hum from your speakers when Homeplugs are turned on, they should not be used. If you hear no difference, then you can use them with confidence.

Yes, it can happen. I had one case where I plugged a valve amp into the same mains strip as the home plug and got some noise. Plugging the amp into a different strip solved it (even though they both went into the one socket eventually. I had a similar issue with an smps wall wart so it might have been the power supply in the home plug rather than the data....