Powerline Adapters: Do they work and what kind do I need?

J

Jellyfish

n3wb
Jun 2, 2015
10
0
The wife and I were visiting friends in Florida this winter and he had a couple of his IP cams using powerline adapters (PAs) to communicate with the NVR. They seemed to be working just fine for him and, since I'm getting ready to set up (or try to set up) a system using Hikvision NVR and cams, I thought I'd look into using a similar set up to make the install easier. I probably should mention that he's in a fairly new condominium with, I guess, fairly modern wiring circuits, while I've got a 100+ year-old farmhouse with not-so-new wiring. If I'm going to use only one or two (out of a total of three or four) cams on this powerline adapter set up, will I get good image quality? What kind of technical specs should I look for on the PAs and what brand would you guys recommend? I'd ask him about this but he had his system installed by a pro and doesn't know squat about these things. Sorta like me in that regard!
 
I've had two different types of PAs...
TRENDnet TPL-406E2K, and LINKSYS PLEK500-CA. The TRENDnet experienced too many drop outs for me to be happy with it, and I ended up using WiFi instead for several months. When I got one of the TOP-201 cameras, wifi wasn't an option, so I decided I'd give a different brand of PA a try. I caught the Linksys adapters on sale at newegg for $44, and bought them. Initially I put one PA by my router in the kitchen, and the other in the upstairs bedroom, and the Linksys software was showing the adapters connected at ~170Mbps. I remembered that I had an unused Ethernet connection in another upstairs bedroom, so I moved the "base" PA to that bedroom, and the connection speed went to ~270Mbps. In 3 weeks time I haven't seen a single drop out on the Linksys adapters, so I'm pretty pleased.
 
Powerline can work well depending on the wiring...however, consider that you can have someone professionally run the cables for you for about double the cost of powerline...you will have a solid connection and be able to use poe...its worth the cost..
Edit: also keep in mind that you cannot use surge protection with powerline adapters...
 
fenderman said:
Powerline can work well depending on the wiring...however, consider that you can have someone professionally run the cables for you for about double the cost of powerline...you will have a solid connection and be able to use poe...its worth the cost..
Edit: also keep in mind that you cannot use surge protection with powerline adapters...
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I actually don't have a clue on how much running cable costs. Can you give me an idea?
 
OldStyle said:
I actually don't have a clue on how much running cable costs. Can you give me an idea?
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It will vary by location, whether or not you supply the cable (always make sure its solid copper cable, not junk CCA) and the difficulty level of the runs..for example a drop ceiling vs all sheetrock, long vs short, type of structure etc...
Expect to pay 100-150 per drop..generally around 100 for the average home possibly less....the key is finding someone who is skilled at running cable..neat and with minimal damage....look for phone system and alarm installers (the real alarm guys, not the folks who use wireless sensors and "install" them with double sided tape)..they are generally very good at pulling cable. These guys can do really impressive work and basically bring cable to any point in the structure.
 
fenderman said:
It will vary by location, whether or not you supply the cable (always make sure its solid copper cable, not junk CCA) and the difficulty level of the runs..for example a drop ceiling vs all sheetrock, long vs short, type of structure etc...
Expect to pay 100-150 per drop..generally around 100 for the average home possibly less....the key is finding someone who is skilled at running cable..neat and with minimal damage....look for phone system and alarm installers (the real alarm guys, not the folks who use wireless sensors and "install" them with double sided tape)..they are generally very good at pulling cable. These guys can do really impressive work and basically bring cable to any point in the structure.
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Good to know. My detached garage is not an issue for me, but my 1930s house with an attic that is blows full of insulation is another story.
 
fenderman said:
It will vary by location, whether or not you supply the cable (always make sure its solid copper cable, not junk CCA) and the difficulty level of the runs..for example a drop ceiling vs all sheetrock, long vs short, type of structure etc...
Expect to pay 100-150 per drop..generally around 100 for the average home possibly less....the key is finding someone who is skilled at running cable..neat and with minimal damage....look for phone system and alarm installers (the real alarm guys, not the folks who use wireless sensors and "install" them with double sided tape)..they are generally very good at pulling cable. These guys can do really impressive work and basically bring cable to any point in the structure.
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I was looking at C2G cables. They are highly rated. Are those OK?
 
fenderman said:
yes. c2g, cable matters, monoprice are all good choices...You should be buying solid cable (not stranded)...
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Hmm. The ones I'm looking at (the highest rated ones) are "4-pair UTP 24 AWG stranded copper". So you're saying to *not* buy those?
 
OldStyle said:
Yes, premade cable. At which lengths does the solid copper become important?
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You will not find premade cable that is solid (well i think ive seen one offered at some crazy price)...
There is no set maximum and if you tested it, you can probably get away with pretty long distances of stranded......but I personally wouldnt use it for more than 100f...
Good cable is relatively cheap and bad cable can cause all sorts of problems..but if you are using prefabricated quality cable you will be fine..
 
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