Homeplugs - advice and suggestions

[ubuysa]

This is an usual request and I'm making it because I've never used homeplugs and so I know nothing about their reliability, availability, or performance, but I'm wondering whether they might be a solution to a problem.

The marina I'm in on Crete uses wifi to provide free Internet access. We have 6 hotspots spread around the marina so that most people can connect to one of them. The problem is that wifi is the worst system to use in a marina. When it's breezy and all these yacht masts are moving around we probably get all sorts of reflections and refractions that causes radio interference and TCP packets get dropped resulting in endless retransmissions etc.

In an ideal world we'd have an Ethernet cable at each electrical power box on the pontoons that we could plug into that would give us reliable Internet connectivity. The cost of installing Ethernet cabling in a marina with over 250 berths is out of the question (this is Greece remember).

However, we do have an electrical power point at every berth (standard three-phase 220v 50Hz AC just like the UK) so I'm wondering whether some type of Homeplug might be a potential solution? Bear in mind there are over 250 potential end points and the whole marina is served by two 24Mbps ADSL lines.

What do you think? Is this worth investigating further, or is it a non-starter?

 

[Wozza63]

They tend to do badly in crowded circuits and even worse if you use any kind of plug multiplier thingies. You might be able to get away with 1 or 2 sets but I think add any more and you'll get performance as bad as the wifi.

 

[LFFPicard]

The other thing to bear in mind if I remember correctly the homeplugs need to be on the same circuit, they wont work cross circuit so you need to make sure that the power base on your pontoon is on the same circuit as the adsl connection.

Besides, you just got another $10bn loan, so get those ethernet orders in quick before Greece spends it all!

 

[ubuysa]

Thanks for the info guys. I wasn't hopeful but it was worth asking. It's back to bean tins and string then.......

 

[Wozza63]

The other thing to bear in mind if I remember correctly the homeplugs need to be on the same circuit, they wont work cross circuit so you need to make sure that the power base on your pontoon is on the same circuit as the adsl connection.

Besides, you just got another $10bn loan, so get those ethernet orders in quick before Greece spends it all!

That's true, I was assuming that it would all be on the same circuit.

You could always try some signal boosters dotted around the place to at least provide a more consistent connection with less drops like these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Belkin-Mou...64252218&sr=8-1&keywords=wifi+signal+boosters

Or just get some better routers...

 

[ubuysa]

That's true, I was assuming that it would all be on the same circuit.

You could always try some signal boosters dotted around the place to at least provide a more consistent connection with less drops like these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Belkin-Mou...64252218&sr=8-1&keywords=wifi+signal+boosters

Or just get some better routers...

It's not really a router issue, it's more of a radio issue. Wifi is entirely the wrong system to use in a marina, it's literally a forest of yacht masts waving around in the wind. Wifi really needs line-of-sight and moving yacht masts easily disrupt that. Sadly it's really the only affordable solution to bring the Internet to individual boats.

The routers they use are commercial, I have no idea what model, the third-party company that manages the network here are not very open. The hotspot antenna are also commercial and very high power. Signal strength is not a problem, router performance is not a problem, signal quality (and thus packet loss) is the problem as yacht masts interfere with the microwave radio signals.

I was just looking for alternatives. I guess there aren't any!