Revision Information
Originally posted August 14th 2006
Updated August 17th 2006
Product Information
Delivering an average of 35mbps of encrypted throughput.
Earlier powerline networking gear had a reputation for being susceptible to interference from household appliances, but when I turned on a microwave oven between the connection points, it was the Wi-Fi connection that dived _ to a third of its previous speed _ while the HDX101 (NetGear) held steady.
Source:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/09/AR2006080901146.html
More reviews will be linked soon.
Purchase:
http://www.insight.ca/apps/productpresentation/index.php?alert=categoryresults&product_id=NGJ89245
Product page: http://www.netgear.com/Products/BridgesAccessPointsandExtenders/PowerlineWallPluggedExtenders/HDX101.aspx
Update 1 - August 17th 2006:
The product arrived DOA yesterday. One of the adapters failed to function. Contacted the retailer (insight.ca) and contacted Netgear directly.
Called Netgear today - got case looked at over the phone. My first call disconnected while I was on hold. Hung up, called again. Opened case again, asked details again, and asked to explain failure, despite my opened ticket. I was then asked, "How many network jacks do you have at the back of this product?".
After being escalated twice, I was transferred to the RMA department, who gave me an RMA number.
I then called my retailer back, and provided them with this RMA number. We'll see what happens now. The details (and all the dirty work) has been done; I hope Insight gets this fixed.
Update 2 - August 25th 2006:
Got my replacement adapters. The defective units were shipped back earlier this week.
I'll do some throughput tests this weekend.
Update 3 - August 26th 2006:
Very nice. I tried these two units in several scenarios, and two of them are worth mentioning.
a) I tried two units across a phase change in the power. I tried one unit in the main patch panel, and the other across a 220V, plugged into a jack on a separate panel.
Result: I got a sustained transfer of about 3kb/s, with an average of 11kb/s, maxed out at 70kb/s. (The speed quickly drops down after an initial burst.) Useless. I would recommend a carrier pigeon instead.
b) The second scenario worth mentioning in with the two units plugged into the same board, on separate fuses.
Result: I just transferred 338.33 mB in 2 minutes, 37 seconds. Average transfer rate 2.15 mB/sec, with maximum speed of 3.49 mB/sec.
Well... it relieves my already overloaded wireless network! =)