4 ms·

This was an interesting read but doesn't make sense. I tried these powerline adapters and found they were very unreliable across the two phases in my own home.

This was an interesting read but doesn't make sense. I tried these powerline adapters and found they were very unreliable across the two phases in my own home. By this i mean if i plugged one adapter into an outlet, i had to find another outlet on the same side of the panel to get it to work. To hear that it is working across homes means it must have went back to the transformer??

psychphysic 4y ago
I have power line adaptors just to link a printer in my conservatory to the rest of my home network. One month my internet was incredibly flaking. After finally getting down to debugging I was horrified to find mine and my neighbours networks had coalesced. I tore the power line adaptors out and got a WiFi printer. I have no idea how it could happen only that at some point we'd both pressed the connect buttons within the discoverable phase.
- kennend3 4y ago
  My experience was also very short lived.. I ran an ethernet cable after fighting with that stupid thing for a few days. i came to realize i've spent more time on it vs running a wire.
- boardwaalk 4y ago
  You really should have had a physical filter. They’re cheap and easy to install.
  - walterbell 4y ago
    Could you share a pointer to one of these, or good search terms? "Powerline filter" doesn't return much.
    - psychphysic 4y ago
      Search for surge protector. Power line filters are really transient blocking / low pass filters. Not sure how it applies in this context. You could plug both power line adaptors into the same surge protected extension but to what end?
      - walterbell 4y ago
        > I was horrified to find mine and my neighbours networks had coalesced. Is there a physical filter that could "firewall" local AC wiring powerline communication from the neighbor's AC wiring?
- HWR_14 4y ago
  > a printer in my conservatory This may be a different use of the word, but I am picturing a detached greenhouse. My mental picture has the humidity too high for electronics and the only safe outlets being outdoor-rated outlets.
  - Tsiklon 4y ago
    Perhaps a sunroom may be a better word in this case, in the U.K. a conservatory is a recreational room with large amounts of glass built to face the sun. So one can enjoy the sun and brightness of a sunny day without having to go outside if it’s not warm, or too windy. Frequently they’ll open onto a patio or other paved outdoor space and from there into the garden proper.
marmetio 4y ago
What would stop the signal from getting to the distribution transformer through the wires? This is why things like power factor and harmonic distortion are regulated (specifics depend on country and customer type). You can mess up the power for everyone else. Or share a network.
- kennend3 4y ago
  > What would stop the signal from getting to the transformer through the wires? The answer is obviously nothing stops it from going to the transformer. You seem to have completely missed my point so let me restate it. It is odd how in this case the system works across a transformer and into another home yet i found it had difficulties on the two phases of my own home? It would be interesting to hear for an actual electrician on how this would be possible, and why it didn't work properly for me?
  - jesprenj 4y ago
    Signal is usually lost going across a tranformer, from one winding to anotner. But usually whole residential areas, consisting of many streets, share a 24kV to low voltage 220V transformer. Meaning you and your neighbour in most cases share a single transformer, to which you are connected to in parallel. Different phases are never interconnected, have separate windings on a transformer and are on different cables, since there's a voltage between different phases, as they represent three different points on a generator axis and are offset by pi2/3.
  - MrStonedOne 4y ago
nucleardog 4y ago
At least in North America (and I’d guess elsewhere, but I’ve been surprised before) there’s not a transformer per dwelling in anything besides low density rural areas. It wasn’t having to go back out to or through a transformer, just back out along the common wire serving that phase to his and his neighbour’s houses. It’s functionally equivalent to connecting two outlets on the same phase within your house, just a bit longer distance.
balderdash 4y ago
I’m guessing neighbor in an apartment / multi-unit?

psychphysic 4y ago

I have power line adaptors just to link a printer in my conservatory to the rest of my home network. One month my internet was incredibly flaking. After finally getting down to debugging I was horrified to find mine and my neighbours networks had coalesced. I tore the power line adaptors out and got a WiFi printer. I have no idea how it could happen only that at some point we'd both pressed the connect buttons within the discoverable phase.

kennend3 4y ago
My experience was also very short lived.. I ran an ethernet cable after fighting with that stupid thing for a few days. i came to realize i've spent more time on it vs running a wire.
boardwaalk 4y ago
You really should have had a physical filter. They’re cheap and easy to install.
- walterbell 4y ago
  Could you share a pointer to one of these, or good search terms? "Powerline filter" doesn't return much.
  - psychphysic 4y ago
    Search for surge protector. Power line filters are really transient blocking / low pass filters. Not sure how it applies in this context. You could plug both power line adaptors into the same surge protected extension but to what end?
    - walterbell 4y ago
      > I was horrified to find mine and my neighbours networks had coalesced. Is there a physical filter that could "firewall" local AC wiring powerline communication from the neighbor's AC wiring?
HWR_14 4y ago
> a printer in my conservatory This may be a different use of the word, but I am picturing a detached greenhouse. My mental picture has the humidity too high for electronics and the only safe outlets being outdoor-rated outlets.
- Tsiklon 4y ago
  Perhaps a sunroom may be a better word in this case, in the U.K. a conservatory is a recreational room with large amounts of glass built to face the sun. So one can enjoy the sun and brightness of a sunny day without having to go outside if it’s not warm, or too windy. Frequently they’ll open onto a patio or other paved outdoor space and from there into the garden proper.

marmetio 4y ago

What would stop the signal from getting to the distribution transformer through the wires? This is why things like power factor and harmonic distortion are regulated (specifics depend on country and customer type). You can mess up the power for everyone else. Or share a network.

kennend3 4y ago
> What would stop the signal from getting to the transformer through the wires? The answer is obviously nothing stops it from going to the transformer. You seem to have completely missed my point so let me restate it. It is odd how in this case the system works across a transformer and into another home yet i found it had difficulties on the two phases of my own home? It would be interesting to hear for an actual electrician on how this would be possible, and why it didn't work properly for me?
- jesprenj 4y ago
  Signal is usually lost going across a tranformer, from one winding to anotner. But usually whole residential areas, consisting of many streets, share a 24kV to low voltage 220V transformer. Meaning you and your neighbour in most cases share a single transformer, to which you are connected to in parallel. Different phases are never interconnected, have separate windings on a transformer and are on different cables, since there's a voltage between different phases, as they represent three different points on a generator axis and are offset by pi2/3.
- MrStonedOne 4y ago

nucleardog 4y ago

At least in North America (and I’d guess elsewhere, but I’ve been surprised before) there’s not a transformer per dwelling in anything besides low density rural areas. It wasn’t having to go back out to or through a transformer, just back out along the common wire serving that phase to his and his neighbour’s houses. It’s functionally equivalent to connecting two outlets on the same phase within your house, just a bit longer distance.

balderdash 4y ago

I’m guessing neighbor in an apartment / multi-unit?