The Repotec.com FAQ mentioned below says: (My comments are after the copy/pasted section)
--- Q15 Will the powerline signal pass between houses? The powerline signals do not pass power meters, thus signals should not be able to pass to other houses. However in some cases, depending on the path and the length pf the wiring, it can happen. Powerline uses 56-DES encryption, so even if the signals pass to the houses nearby, the encryption will secure your data. Q16 Will the powerline signal pass through power transformers? The powerline signals will not pass through these transformers. Q17 Do the devices have protection against power surges if the use of surge protectors is not recommended? Yes, the powerline devices have internal surge protectors that provide protection against power surges. Q18 Will the powerline signals pass through different phases? Would a phase coupler help? In some cases, the powerline signal will be able to pass through a different phase because of mutual inductance. However, testing has shown that the strength of the signals is very weak and eventually the performance goes down, until the communication is completely lost. A phase coupler is an ideal solution to this problem; installed in the power distribution box by an electrician, the phase coupler joints all phases together allowing signals to be injected directly into the different phases. --- AFAIK, the case where you can use powerline ethernet to share between houses is when both houses/apartments are on the same transformer, on the same phase. In the cases where the powerline ethernet only worked in some rooms of a house, it was probably because the house was wired in a split-phase system and there is no phase-coupler installed (as mentioned in Q18). This type of phase-coupler is often needed for X10 style home control systems and other powerline technology. A split-phase wiring system is where 240v AC service is brought to the house using 2 120v legs, one 120v above ground potential, and other 120v below ground. It is sometimes used as a load-balancing technique or a wiring simplification technique to get two different circuits serving the same duplex outlet (where the top and bottom outlet are on different phases). The split phase usually comes from a 240v center-tapped transformer where the center is considered the 'ground' making each half 120v above/below ground. As far as Q15 saying the signals don't pass power meters, I'd say it probably depends on the style of the meter. These links may give additional insight about split-phase wiring: http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.home.automation/browse_thread/threa d/9d142309125114cf/7052461fcfec1113 http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_2/chpt_10/1.html At 07:36 PM 12/22/2004 -0800, Allen Fear wrote: >You're right, electrical grid in this context is pretty vague. I've seen >this work between houses that I'm pretty sure had seperate meters and that >were about 20 yards apart. The FAQ you cite seems to indicate that this is >possible in some cases as well. I've also heard complaints of these only >working in certain rooms of a house and not in others. I tried it out in a 4 >story building and had a signal on every floor and in every outlet I tried, >though I didn't try them all. Probably the easiest way to find out if it's >going to work is to try it. Just don't forget to keep your receipt. > >On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 17:48:52 -0800 (PST), Eric Sorenson wrote >> On Mon, 20 Dec 2004, Allen Fear wrote: >> >> > >> > If the houses are on the same electrical grid, and it sounds like they >> > probably are, your best bet might be to use your power lines as a >backbone >> > with the help of a couple of HomePlug adapters: >> >> Have you tried this and found it to work? Over what distance between >> houses? Same electrical grid" could mean a lot of things, and >> everything I've read from some quick googling (ie. >> http://www.repotec.com/faq/faq_power_line.htm#Q15) suggests it >> doesn't usually go upstream of your meter. 'Twould be a very cool >> thing to provide neighborhood internet access with a minimum of fuss, >> if it works... >> >> -- >> >> - Eric Sorenson - Explosive Networking - http://eric.explosive.net - > > >_______________________________________________ >BAWUG's general wireless chat mailing list >[unsubscribe] http://lists.bawug.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > _______________________________________________ BAWUG's general wireless chat mailing list [unsubscribe] http://lists.bawug.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless
