Powerline Adaptor for a shed

CianSmyth

Hey,

I recently revamped a shed out my back and now plan on using it as a gaming/living room. Its about 60m from my house and has a mains connection. I really need an internet connection down there thats suitable for gaming but I'm not sure how to do it. I only found out about Powerline today and this would be a great idea but i'm not sure how well it would work at +60m.
Its either this or run Cat6 cables I think, i'm not completely useless at this stuff I just need a more knowledgable opinion on how to proceed.

srsly78

If you can run a cable then do it, this will always be the best solution.

Powerline adapters can be good, but they work best when nothing else is using the powerline. In your case you will have lots of gear in the shed as well so this will probably interfere.

Try to borrow some powerline adapters and give it a go. You can buy older models for pretty cheap, but the most modern ones are about e100. If you want over 100Mbit/s make sure the adapters have gigabit ethernet ports. Best case scenario you could get 200Mbit/s (unlikely tho).

roast

Best to run some CAT6 out there. If latency is a concern (for gaming etc.) then I wouldn't advise powerline adaptors.

srsly78

Powerline adapters don't have latency issues when working properly (1-3ms). If you experience bad latency this means bad connection and packets dropping and being resent.

But yes, mileage can vary a lot with them. It seems very difficult to predict how well they will work. I have had good experiences in old houses with dodgy wiring, and the opposite experience with new houses with good wiring - go figure.

roast

srsly78 wrote: »

Powerline adapters don't have latency issues when working properly (1-3ms). If you experience bad latency this means bad connection and packets dropping and being resent.

But yes, mileage can vary a lot with them. It seems very difficult to predict how well they will work. I have had good experiences in old houses with dodgy wiring, and the opposite experience with new houses with good wiring - go figure.

Any increase in latency is enough when it comes to latency-sensitive stuff like gaming.
I've tested a few sets both in work and in the gaff, I've noticed some perform better than others in general and also the same sets performing radically different depending on where they're implemented.
As you said - mileage varies a lot with them - I just don't see the point in them if the structure is going to be permanent and CAT6 (and the necessary ducts etc.) cost in-or-around the same as some powerline sets.

CianSmyth

Yeah, I have decided to run a cat6 cable as I already have a pipe through which the main runs through to send it down. will I be able to just send the cat6 from an output on my router straight down to a wireless point in the shed or do I need anything else.

srsly78

Just need to configure the router (what you call an access point) in the shed is all. Turn off dhcp server is probably all that needs doing. Also, set the SSID and password+security settings to be the same as your main wifi - then you should be able to move from house to shed and back and devices will hop from one wifi to the other seamlessly.

CianSmyth

Really appreciate the help! Any suggestions for the wireless router I will place in my shed? Have found 100m of cat6 for 30 euro with delivery but I'm not sure if it's shielded etc. trying to keep the price low.

srsly78

Cat6 is rated for 50m at it's max speed (10GB). Cat6e is rated for 100m at it's max speed (10GB) - but you probably won't notice. Still I wouldn't recommend buying cheapo cabling!

Any router will do, just make sure it has gigabit ethernet ports. If you care about wifi speed make sure it has at least wifi N. You might want to buy a modern one with wifi AC for best speed possible. Note that your devices must also support this standard to get the most out of it.

CianSmyth

srsly78 wrote: »

Cat6 is rated for 50m at it's max speed (10GB). Cat6e is rated for 100m at it's max speed (10GB) - but you probably won't notice. Still I wouldn't recommend buying cheapo cabling!

Any router will do, just make sure it has gigabit ethernet ports. If you care about wifi speed make sure it has at least wifi N. You might want to buy a modern one with wifi AC for best speed possible. Note that your devices must also support this standard to get the most out of it.

Grand, well would you know anywhere I can buy 80-100m of cat6/6e cable? Either online or a store.

srsly78

Ehh it's sold everywhere.

CianSmyth

100m doesn't seem to be sold in many places

srsly78

Just ask them in shop to make you up a cable of the correct length, or get a crimping tool.

CianSmyth

Ahh I see, thanks