Because it is a common way to connect a tv or pvr??
That website could do with a better design for the visually impaired who presumably may wish to make more use of a radio.

and the internet

This sounds like SW DX enthusiasts getting their knickers in a twist. Well, SW is old technology and times move on. Many countries have shut down their SW services, and more will do so in the future. We cannot stop technology because it inteferes with a few people's old-time hobby. Amateur astronomers moan about light pollution, but equally we are not going to turn out city lights or make people blackout (as per WWII) just so they can persue a leisure interest.

Besides that, we all know how tight and rigorous the rules are in the UK regarding just about every gadget known to man. I cannot see homeplugs being legal in the UK if they were that much of a problem re: stray RF.

Home plugs are a common way of connecting a PC (with media files) or router to a smart TV or streaming box etc. People want to keep wi-fi clear for their laptops, and since TVs, routers, set-top boxes etc. are generally in fixed positions in the house, it avoids running ethernet around. You've got a wiring system that already runs around your whole house called mains wiring, you see.

I note in the States, new houses are being built with ethernet to (several points in) every room, together with dedicated space for a router/modem etc., or even comms rack, near your telephone/DSL point. Hopefully in the UK some day...

The size of the modern British house, with its poor construction standards, probably doesn't really require Cat5/6 - one WiFi AP could probably cover the shoeboxes you tend to see built

Not everyone (in fact only a minority) lives in a modern house - we see endless examples where WiFi is too poor to use in much of the house.

Ever heard of foil lined plasterboard to meet the latest energy loss building reg requirements ?

Yes but it is mains wiring, not data wiring. It is not designed to carry data and that is the problem. It radiates and causes interference to others.

In France too all new houses and rewires have to have Ethernet points in all rooms (and possibly aerial points as well) wired to a central point where routers etc go.

HF radio is very much alive and well. Yes some countries are closing down broadcasts but HF is used for aircraft communication and emergency services among others. Also those broadcasts are being replaced with DAB and FM and the latest gigabit Homeplugs interfere with those as well.

UK rules are not that tight and rigorous, you know they even allow the sale of tobacco products.

Picture it -

buys a new ham radio rig
CQ, CQ, CQ, anyone out there
Winston here from Digital Spy. Now about PLA's . . .
fffffffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
commits suicide
Last edited by Mr Dos : 18-12-2014 at 00:53

If I lived next door to Winston, I'd run homeplugs in each and every socket I owned. I'd run 6-way trailing socket extensions with homeplugs in each socket. My house would resemble Chevy Chase's but with homeplugs instead of Christmas lights.

I'd wave Winston a cheery "Hello" on my way to work, as his crimson face glared back at me through his window.

I'm not a ham so take your picture down.

You must have money to burn.
You'd very soon get a visit from Ofcom's interference investigation department though.

How evangelical.... Makes Billy Graham look like a bloke with a "bit of a fixation"

Why? If that's the case, why aren't the many "normal" home plug users getting investigated? Why hasn't Ofcom acted to ban them if they are doing anything illegal?

I live in a 100 year old house with thick stone walls, I'm aware of the challenge (probably more so than any new build)

I can still go without PLT by running cat5/6 internally and using WiFi for the mobile devices

Fairly obviously (and supported by all the official sites that Winston used to post links to) because there have been hardly any complaints (a very tiny percentage of one percent), and pretty well all have been from Radio Hams (for a long time it was all - but I believe there's been a complaint from a non-ham now - perhaps Winston ).

This isn't to say that running Ethernet isn't a far better solution, but PLT has a use and a place, and is very useful for many users.

Maybe he was interfered with at some time ......

Not sure what your point is. How do you run cat 5 if you have solid wood polished floors. Most of my network is hard wired, but I have a 10M gap between a Smart TV and a Foxsat-hdr and a network switch hard wired to my router. There's a fireplace in the way so no easy way to run network cable. A pair of homeplugs bridges the gap nicely. I live in a cul de sac and no all my neighbours well. None have any interference issues, nor do I for those of them also using the technology.

WiFi is unreliable for me.

I don't see any reason to remove them, and why should I ?

I sometimes use a 3rd one to create a temporary access point in some areas that WiFi is very poor.

Cables don't have to be run underneath floors?

I'm not telling you what to do, I'm saying that regardless of the age of the house, there are ways around using PLT - and that personally I refuse to use it because it is unreliable and crap. I'd rather see 1Gbps guaranteed than around 100Mbps occasionally

I can't run externally from the location, only way would be to bury the cables would be to channel out the plaster going all the way round a fireplace. As the only use is for streaming services and file transfers whose speed is restricted by the pvr processor, 100Mbps is more than fast enough (fast enough for Netflix 4K). Anything faster would be a total waste. it's twice as fast as my isp download speed. It has worked reliably since 2008 so hardly unreliable and crap. Strikes me you have a massive bias, the devices certainly aren't unreliable in my experience. Other than shifting large files quickly across your LAN to and from kit that is capable of higher than 100Mbps what advantage is there ?

Cat5 only runs at 100Mbps anyway and I don't have a gigabit router.

But in my experience it's not even 100Mbps, it's often less and highly variable - but everyone will have different experiences.

Even if I only had 100Mbit hardware, I'd see a consistent and reliable 100Mbps with proper ethernet cabling than over PLT.


I actually do have gigabit hardware and do a fair amount of file transfers, so gigabit is important to me.

I've tried a few in my home out of curiosity and they don't work very well. Oddly they are worse in the 2000s extension than in the 1900s main house (with wiring from the 80s, I believe)


Cat5e (which everyone would have installed if they've bothered to put in network cabling) works fine for 1000BASE-T.

I only need to transfer data across adjacent sockets on my downstairs ring main, and have no need for anything faster (they are 300Mbps units) .

Why? - what are you doing that requires a full 100mbps? - or do you just like big numbers

This is a far more serious problem than any PLT causing worldwide melt down: