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Do these Powerline adapters take up the whole wall socket?

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demare27

New Around Here
Hi

Looking at getting some 500Mbps Powerline adapters for a specific purpose. My main concern / question is will these take up both plugin's on a wall outlet. For example, obviously, it only requires one plugin, however, does it leave space to plug in something else above? I'm specifically looking at buying the DLINK DHP 500AV model.

Thanks for any advice from someone who has used these products.

Dan
 
Some do. The DHP 500AV is a bit tall, so I think it will partially block the outlet above it. I think the NETGEAR XAV5001, Trendnet TPL-401E and ZyXEL PLA4205 won't.

And, as Claykin suggests, a short extension cord is fine to use.
 
And, as Claykin suggests, a short extension cord is fine to use.

Make sure it reaches the ground/desk for strain relief though!

You might also want to consider the plug-through Powerline models for a tidier (though usually more expensive) solution.
 
Thanks for all your help. I went with the Trendnet TPL401E2K kit. Thankfully it fits wonderfully and allows for my powerbars to be plugged in above.

The main reason I need the powerline was to allow for my computer to access my new 100Mbps blazing fast internet connection in a form that was not wireless. Wife had her say and the computer could only go in one spot :D New home and about 10 feet away from eachother the powerline was able to let me download up to 85Mbps so far from the internet which is AWESOME. Thank god it worked.

Initial setup was a pain in the butt. For some reason it wouldn't let Windows connect to the internet when I had it connected to the cable modem itself. Moving the ethernet cable to my wifi modem instantly fixed the problem. Who knows why but its working like a charm now.

THank you to SmallNetBuilder otherwise I would still be suffering through 15Mbps WiFi speeds. Honestly this is the only site that I've found with in depth info on Powerline technology.
 
I was wondering if replacing the ac outlets with ones that you wrap the ac wires around a screw instead of inserting the wires through the hole on the side of the ac outlet would provide a better connection. The use of the mounting hole is nothing more then a fork spring metal pinched against the wire, which can cause intermittent connections at best for this type of application. The power on, temps, time, surges can cause movements at the joint of wire to spring metal
 
Hi Biker. I have a feeling you meant to post that in another thread? Although i can open up my wall sockets and see how they are attached if you want? ;)

An update I have now recieved almost maximum internet speeds through the Trendnet powerline. Got up to 96 Mbps this morning! Hurray!
 
demare27, no it was for this thread. Using the AC outlet for building wide access makes me concern about the true connections involved.
 
Ahhh no problem. I am not sure if my wires within the wall outlet are connected via clamp or screws, however, in the one day I've had this installed I've noticed no performance dropouts or anything of that nature. Performance even stays strong when I run other appliances in the general vicinity as well.

I am not expert enough to know if the clamp/pinch method degrades performance on Powerline technology.
 
I'll chime in on two topics: screw-terminal vs. friction poke-in-hole wires in outlets... So long as it's copper to copper, I don't think it'll make any difference. I wouldn't do this on a GFI or a wet-area outlet due to possible corrosion. Maybe I wouldn't want it if I lived in Florida (humidity).

I think corrosion will affect the many-amp AC loads moreso than the high freq. Homeplug signals.

As has been discussed in this forum, the issues with HomePlug speeds and reliability are noise on the power lines and signal attenuation from the so-called surge suppressors and EMI filters in some plug strips and inside most new consumer electronics, and esp. PCs. I say the cure is lots of wire distance between the homeplug device and the possible attenuating (offending) devices. This length of wire (even inside walls) creates inductance which tends reduce the attenuation at the high frequencies.

ALso there's the cross-phase coupling issue in No. American homes. Lots has been written on this.
 
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I dusted off my old, first generation Linksys PLK200 adapter kit that had been unused for about 3 or more years. Plugged 'em in to getup a new gaming rig build in a room up on the second floor of my house. Network center is based around our finished basement. Gaming..I didn't want wireless. Don't feel like running ethernet through the walls, so I found this old boxed pair and brought them out of retirement.

Installed Win7 x64..started pounding my connection with round after round of Windows updates, including sp1, installed Battlefield 3...started downloading all of that content. Was downloading at over 1.6 megs over an 18 meg connection...with other users on the LAN.

Just plugged these guys into the lower socket of the outlet...leaving the top socket usable.
 
This was my dilemma. I wanted the DLink AV500 since it appeared to outperform my second choice Netgear. However, it sure looks like the DLink will block the outlet above it and I really don't want to go buy dongles to extend them past the plug.
I suppose I will take the performance hit and get the Netgear. Too bad DLink couldn't have factored this major design issue into their product. :confused:
 
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