dm65
Established Member
None - they work quite well and saves a lot of work running cables
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
PC KEEPS LOSING WIRELESS INTERNET
- Thread starter Con Owen
- Start date
Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
mseries
Established Member
Con Owen":3idgqqah said:Hi
My PC and router has been in the same position for the last 3 years working absolutely fine. It is only recently that this problem occurred. For the past 2 years or so I have used a pair of TL PA211 Home Plug Device mentioned here to connect my TV/DVD recoder to wirless upstairs enabling my old model tv to recieve BBC I player etc. So I may go down this route as suggested by purchasing another pair, they can be obtained for about £20 on Play .com. Can anyone see a problem for me going this route?
Regard
Cono
no problem at all. If you already have one plugged into your router you'll only need one more. I am not what you mean though when you say " I have used a pair of TL PA211 Home Plug Device mentioned here to connect my TV/DVD recoder to wirless upstairs", home plugs are not wireless
gregmcateer
Established Member
mseries":1yl0x5un said:The products that Phil talks about do not boost your wireless signal, they replace wireless with a wired connection that uses your mains cables for transmission. It shouldn't matter who supplies your broadband or router. You connect one Home Plug to your router using the CAT5/ethernet cable, plug the device into a 13amp socket. Plug another device into your computer using a CAT5 Ethernet cable and plug this device into another mains socket.
Aha! I See.
If I did want to boost my wireless, could I put a 'slave' router downstairs with it connected to the 'master' via a couple of the homeplugs? That way the rugrats could use their i-thingies in the extension, (leaving me in peace and quiet elsewhere!!)
mseries
Established Member
gregmcateer":1j95wma4 said:mseries":1j95wma4 said:The products that Phil talks about do not boost your wireless signal, they replace wireless with a wired connection that uses your mains cables for transmission. It shouldn't matter who supplies your broadband or router. You connect one Home Plug to your router using the CAT5/ethernet cable, plug the device into a 13amp socket. Plug another device into your computer using a CAT5 Ethernet cable and plug this device into another mains socket.
Aha! I See.
If I did want to boost my wireless, could I put a 'slave' router downstairs with it connected to the 'master' via a couple of the homeplugs? That way the rugrats could use their i-thingies in the extension, (leaving me in peace and quiet elsewhere!!)
Kind of yes. You'd need a secondary (slave) wireless access point which just does the wireless aspect and the routing to the wireless devices that use it. Something like this in your extension
http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-TL-WPA2 ... 221&sr=1-6
and another home plug, not necessarily wireless connected to your router. All the brands do equivalent models, it's best to match the two. Here is a set of both items
http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-TL-WPA2 ... ers_text_y
NB please read up on these carefully, I have not used them nor studied them much, I'll help where I can though.
Thanks to everyone who has given me advice it has been much appreciated.
Hi mseries
I am not very computer savvy and probably not explaining myself well. I thought that when I installed the PA211s that they were in fact enabling me to transfer the wireless connection from my router which is downstairs to my sony Bluray player which is located upstairs. It allows the function on the player which is connected to the TV to get BBC I player etc. I have ordered another pair of 211s, do I just plug one into a socket and connect it to one of the spare LANs on the router? Also can I remover the existing wireless adaptercard TL-WN851N?
Regards
Cono
Hi mseries
I am not very computer savvy and probably not explaining myself well. I thought that when I installed the PA211s that they were in fact enabling me to transfer the wireless connection from my router which is downstairs to my sony Bluray player which is located upstairs. It allows the function on the player which is connected to the TV to get BBC I player etc. I have ordered another pair of 211s, do I just plug one into a socket and connect it to one of the spare LANs on the router? Also can I remover the existing wireless adaptercard TL-WN851N?
Regards
Cono
mseries
Established Member
Hi Cono,
Is your Bluray a SMART one, that is does it have a LAN port (RJ45) ? If so yes I think you have the right idea. I hope I understand you properly. I think your use of the term wireless confused me, I see a distinction between wireless and broadband. Right, I'll try to talk you through it. Your ISP supplies your broadband to the WAN (Wide Area Network - the internet) side of your router via your phone or cable jack on your wall. Your router is responsible for directing the information (known as packets) to the correct computer in your home (on your Local Area Network or LAN). And in the opposite direction, multiple computers may send requests to the internet and your router manages it all, sending the correct response to computer that made the request (this is what routing is). OK so far so good. All this is achieved by TCP/IP the protocol that's used to communicate between devices. Now at the physical level it all needs wires or wireless and networks often have a mixture of both. Wireless (wifi) is just a means of transmitting network data (packets) from a device such as a smart phone or laptop or tablet to a wireless access point (AP) using radio. The AP sends it down the ethernet cable (CAT5) to the router for onward transmission (to the WAN or to another device on the LAN). The AP is able to manage many wireless devices, up to 255 usually. Wireless routers combine the routing function with the AP function but they are separate and I understand that ISPs tend to dumb it all down for the consumer, to me the term wireless broadband is nonsense, broadband is what comes down the phonelines/cables and it not wireless and once it's in the router it becomes just network traffic which can be wireless or not, like all other TCP/IP network traffic. It didn't used to be sold as wireless broadband, it's all the same though, the wireless AP or wireless router is what makes in wireless not the broadband itself. Now homeplugs replace the ethernet cables for the main part (OK they need a short one to connect to the router but not for room to room as they use your mains wiring). I think they are a good solution, they can be encrypted like wireless but I can;t really see how someone can evesdrop your electricity cables. Without applying the encryption it is as easy as plugging them in, connecting them to the router and device and switching on. I don't encrypt mine by the way nor does my colleague - though I don't use mine much.
So to answer your question. You could dispense with wireless by using the ethernet cables to connect your devices to your router (perhaps indirectly using home plugs). The small square LAN ports on your router and PC/laptop are known as RJ45 incidently. I have all three solutions in my home. I have my SMART TV and PVR connect using a CAT5 to a small switch which is then connected to the router using CAT5. Also connected to the router is a homeplug and a long CAT5 going upstairs to another switch where I have a couple of computers connected via CAT5s - this was installed before homeplugs were available. My router is wireless and my wife and I use a laptop, a smart phone and a tablet each. I also have my RaspberryPi wireless enabled though sometimes I use the homeplug for this.
Wired connections are much more reliable than wireless usually. The fastest wired connection is faster than the fastest wireless but all the equipment needs to be fast enough, it'll be as fast as the slowest component. Often your internet connection will be slowest so fast wireless and LAN might be a waste, depends what you are doing really. (My broadband is about 14Mbps, my LAN 100Mbps, my wifi 54Mbps (wireless G), streaming HD from Netflix works fine on the wired network (no homeplugs), youtube, BBCi is fine on the wireless.)
Does this help ? I could ramble on for ages about speeds, DNS, DHCP and things !!!
Is your Bluray a SMART one, that is does it have a LAN port (RJ45) ? If so yes I think you have the right idea. I hope I understand you properly. I think your use of the term wireless confused me, I see a distinction between wireless and broadband. Right, I'll try to talk you through it. Your ISP supplies your broadband to the WAN (Wide Area Network - the internet) side of your router via your phone or cable jack on your wall. Your router is responsible for directing the information (known as packets) to the correct computer in your home (on your Local Area Network or LAN). And in the opposite direction, multiple computers may send requests to the internet and your router manages it all, sending the correct response to computer that made the request (this is what routing is). OK so far so good. All this is achieved by TCP/IP the protocol that's used to communicate between devices. Now at the physical level it all needs wires or wireless and networks often have a mixture of both. Wireless (wifi) is just a means of transmitting network data (packets) from a device such as a smart phone or laptop or tablet to a wireless access point (AP) using radio. The AP sends it down the ethernet cable (CAT5) to the router for onward transmission (to the WAN or to another device on the LAN). The AP is able to manage many wireless devices, up to 255 usually. Wireless routers combine the routing function with the AP function but they are separate and I understand that ISPs tend to dumb it all down for the consumer, to me the term wireless broadband is nonsense, broadband is what comes down the phonelines/cables and it not wireless and once it's in the router it becomes just network traffic which can be wireless or not, like all other TCP/IP network traffic. It didn't used to be sold as wireless broadband, it's all the same though, the wireless AP or wireless router is what makes in wireless not the broadband itself. Now homeplugs replace the ethernet cables for the main part (OK they need a short one to connect to the router but not for room to room as they use your mains wiring). I think they are a good solution, they can be encrypted like wireless but I can;t really see how someone can evesdrop your electricity cables. Without applying the encryption it is as easy as plugging them in, connecting them to the router and device and switching on. I don't encrypt mine by the way nor does my colleague - though I don't use mine much.
So to answer your question. You could dispense with wireless by using the ethernet cables to connect your devices to your router (perhaps indirectly using home plugs). The small square LAN ports on your router and PC/laptop are known as RJ45 incidently. I have all three solutions in my home. I have my SMART TV and PVR connect using a CAT5 to a small switch which is then connected to the router using CAT5. Also connected to the router is a homeplug and a long CAT5 going upstairs to another switch where I have a couple of computers connected via CAT5s - this was installed before homeplugs were available. My router is wireless and my wife and I use a laptop, a smart phone and a tablet each. I also have my RaspberryPi wireless enabled though sometimes I use the homeplug for this.
Wired connections are much more reliable than wireless usually. The fastest wired connection is faster than the fastest wireless but all the equipment needs to be fast enough, it'll be as fast as the slowest component. Often your internet connection will be slowest so fast wireless and LAN might be a waste, depends what you are doing really. (My broadband is about 14Mbps, my LAN 100Mbps, my wifi 54Mbps (wireless G), streaming HD from Netflix works fine on the wired network (no homeplugs), youtube, BBCi is fine on the wireless.)
Does this help ? I could ramble on for ages about speeds, DNS, DHCP and things !!!
gregmcateer
Established Member
Thanks to all the clever fellas here - handy info all round.
Some reading required, methinks.
Greg
Some reading required, methinks.
Greg
Hi mseries
Yes my bluray has the lead from the PA211 going into the back, which allows me to access BBC I player etc., so I guess it is a smart bluray
Many thanks for taking the time and trouble to explain what to me is a complex subject. I believe that I am beginning to understand a little now. I am saving what you have told me on my favourites as I wish to read and reread it many, many times so that it will really sink in.
Regards
Cono
Yes my bluray has the lead from the PA211 going into the back, which allows me to access BBC I player etc., so I guess it is a smart bluray
Many thanks for taking the time and trouble to explain what to me is a complex subject. I believe that I am beginning to understand a little now. I am saving what you have told me on my favourites as I wish to read and reread it many, many times so that it will really sink in.
Regards
Cono
mseries
Established Member
hi
Yes exactly, you have connected your Bluray to your network using the PA211. This connects it to your router where I presume you have another PA211. You can do the same with your computer. You'll only need one more PA211 to connect to your computer. The one at the router will work with (talk to) all of the rest. They are not paired up as such. All data flows round the network to all devices but it's addressed using the ip address of the recipient for which it's intended. The PA211s are quite low level and pass on everything. The network interface in the device accepts the packets addressed only to it and ignores all others.
Computer networking is complex, it's something I am interested in but I am not a networking expert. I studied networks at Uni in the 1980s and work with networked computers everyday so I am comfortable talking at this level. Thankfully the consumer products we get now are relatively easy to setup and tend to be pretty reliable.
Feel free to PM me with questions. I say PM because I sometimes don't get time to check into this forum for a few days but I get email notifications of PMs
Yes exactly, you have connected your Bluray to your network using the PA211. This connects it to your router where I presume you have another PA211. You can do the same with your computer. You'll only need one more PA211 to connect to your computer. The one at the router will work with (talk to) all of the rest. They are not paired up as such. All data flows round the network to all devices but it's addressed using the ip address of the recipient for which it's intended. The PA211s are quite low level and pass on everything. The network interface in the device accepts the packets addressed only to it and ignores all others.
Computer networking is complex, it's something I am interested in but I am not a networking expert. I studied networks at Uni in the 1980s and work with networked computers everyday so I am comfortable talking at this level. Thankfully the consumer products we get now are relatively easy to setup and tend to be pretty reliable.
Feel free to PM me with questions. I say PM because I sometimes don't get time to check into this forum for a few days but I get email notifications of PMs
Similar threads
- Replies
- 5
- Views
- 760
- Replies
- 17
- Views
- 4K
- Replies
- 9
- Views
- 853
