Powerline network adapters... Are they safe?

Are powerline network adapters safe is there any risk of neighbours picking up the network signal?

powerline network adapters

asked Jun 10 '10 at 03:53

Headwards
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closed Jun 16 '10 at 15:08

jakek090
3.7k●38●93●123

Bump................

(Jun 10 '10 at 04:59) Headwards

lol jakek's on a rampage again. someone should tame that wild bull

(Jun 16 '10 at 15:13) nepdude101

2 Answers:

oldest newest most voted

Yes, Broadband Over Powerlines (BPL), HomePlug, IEEE P1901, etc. have been around for many years. It's used in Europe & Asia, and slowly being adopted in the U.S.A. I've installed & use Panasonic BL-PA100KTA HD-PLC Ethernet Adaptor BL-PA100A units.

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answered Jun 10 '10 at 07:33

r0bErT4u
31.0k●513●672●938

As safe as electricity can be. If your neighbours have the necessary equipment, they can read the electromagnetic radiation emitted by your screen... but in normal circumstances, your neighbours shouldn't be able to pick up the signal unless you're sharing a fuse box.

answered Jun 10 '10 at 05:05

Seb
(suspended)

What do you mean pick up from my screen?

(Jun 10 '10 at 05:12) Headwards

People with the correct equipment can easily read electromagnetic signals emitted by LCD screens... People with the correct equipment can read the voltage drops that are caused by you pressing a key on your keyboard...

(Jun 10 '10 at 05:14) Seb

Having said that, the latter is very difficult when washing machines or kettles are involved.

(Jun 10 '10 at 05:15) Seb

What does this have to do with powerline adapters?

(Jun 10 '10 at 07:29) Headwards

A neighbour could pick up your signal, if he/she is on the same phase and within distance. I'm pretty sure that means on the same circuit, because there are 3 phases on the street and they alternate from house to house. The distance for ethernet over power isn't that great. Of course, if this worries you, you could enable encryption... just like wireless ;)

Don't use this device with solar inverters or UPS. I don't see a happy ending in those circumstances. You might also like to consider what might happen if lightning hits your power line. Try to get a switch board that will cut out if this happens while allowing your ethernet over power device to communicate ;) That could be very difficult, because surge protectors strip this sort of current. Also consider what happens when you turn the washing machine or kettle on. Washing machines and kettles draw loads of leccy, and it doesn't matter what sort of leccy, they're just happy to take it. Your network would crawl to a halt while you run your washing machine for 2 hours. Or you could just buy a wireless router.

(Jun 10 '10 at 08:11) Seb

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