Product Description

The Linksys Powerline Network Kit contains a single-port PowerlineAdapter and a four-port Powerline Adapter which let you easilycreate a network using the existing electrical outlets in yourhome. Now you don't have to drill holes in walls and climb

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47137 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Linksys
• Model: PLTK300-UK
• Released on: 2008-01-10
• Dimensions: .42 pounds

Manufacturer's Description
The Linksys Powerline Network Kit contains a single-port Powerline adapter, and a four-port Powerline adapter, which let you easily create a network using the existing electrical outlets in your home. Now you don't have to drill holes in walls and climb through the attic or cellar to install network cables - just use the wires that already run through the building.With Powerline network adapters, you can connect computers or any other wired Ethernet device using the HomePlug 1.0 with Turbo network standard. They also work with older HomePlug 1.0 devices. Adding devices to the network is as simple as plugging a Powerline adapter into an electrical outlet, and connecting your Ethernet-equipped devices to the built-in Ethernet ports. Additional devices can be connected to the same network using additional Powerline adapters plugged into any electrical outlet anywhere in the house.Once your computers are connected to the network, they can share resources like printers and storage space, and all kinds of files - music, digital pictures, and documents. With up to 85Mbps data rates, you can play lag-free head-to-head network computer games, and run applications like Voice over IP telephony. Plug your Internet connected router into a Powerline adapter and you'll be able to get to the Internet from any Powerline attached computer in the house.The Linksys Powerline Network Kit gets you started with easy, "no new wires", home or office networking.

Customer Reviews

Simplicity!
I ordered this piece of kit for my nephew and he said it is brilliant. So easy to set up and perfect for his office computer which is in his garden shed. The only complaint he had, which was a minor one, is that the equipment didn't come with a UK plug so he had to purchase an adapter before he could install the system. Other than that, he is thrilled with the product.

Mostly fine but a couple of minor grumbles
If you are looking for a simple method to attach a network-enabled device (PC, Console, Printer etc.) to your network anywhere in your property (provided it is on the same ring-main), and don't want to or cannot use Wi-Fi for whatever reason, then Powerline Networking is for you. It is simple and fuss-free, and can offer a life-line to people who may have been struggling to find a reliable way of connecting hard-to-reach areas of their property.


The crux of the problem I had with this item stemmed around the fact that amazon saw fit to send me an EU version instead of a UK version, so there were no UK 3-pin plugs or adapters. As I had immediate need to use this item and couldn't afford the time to send it back, I ended up using some travel adapters I happened to have on-hand. Fortunately, it worked fine.

The devices themselves are pleasingly inoffensive and show you all the information you need to know about. The inclusion of a 4-port switch on the end device is a real boon as it allows 4 things to share the connection when most Powerline adapters only allow for 1.

Having already used 2 different types of Homeplug device (both being from the manufacturer dEvolo), these Linksys devices are just as faultless from my assessment. You plug them in... they work. Simple.

The only other minor gripe I had was that the vertical stands are not particularly rugged. One of them clicked into place fine, but the other one wouldn't stay in and risked toppling over if the desk that I was placing the device on got knocked, so I ended up placing it flat on the desk instead.

As a word of note to anyone using Powerline products, make sure you do not plug these in through a Surge-Protected socket. They will happily take a regular multi-gang extension plug if need be, as long as there is no surge-protection on it, as it will disrupt the signal and prevent the network from forming.

Bear in mind that there are 2 flavours out there currently, standard speed being 85Mbps and "HD" or "200", which offer higher speeds which may be required to stream HD media. Bear in mind that the 85Mbps varients give you a rough real-world speed of around 30-40Mbps connection, and the HD varients give you around an 85Mbps connection (they add the down-and-up speeds together to get their headline "200" figures - minus the overheads of connecting through a ring-main).

These Linksys products are a decent-enough varient on an increasingly popular networking standard. There are other manufacturers out there that offer similar items so shop around to get the best deal.

This is the future!!!
So, how many of you have a similar setup to me? You have a wireless router in your house, and have some networked devices (be they laptops, desktops, printer, Network Attached Storage, XBOX, PS3 etc) elsewhere in the house that you want to connect with a decent, reliable speed?

Up until recently, your only options were to hardwire RJ45 ports all over your house, or keep upgrading your wireless network in the hope that it would reach the far corners of your house.

If doing the latter, more often than not the strength and reliability of signal got weaker and weaker the further away you got - especially if you live in a solid house with brick walls, or lots of floors.

Powerline networking is quite possibly the answer to many of these problems - and amazingly, it is quite the easist thing to setup I have ever come across.

Simply put, it enables you to utilise the mains wiring in your house as a Local Area Network. The thinking behind it is, if you already have big fat wires plumbed into your house already (for power), why not use it for data as well? You can put networked devices anywhere you have a plug socket!

Never having strayed into this area before, I was a little dubious of the claims made, but I have to say I am now a COMPLETE convert.

This is what you do: plug one of these devices into a 13amp plug socket and attach one end of the RJ45 network cable into it, and the other end into, say, your router. Plug the other device into another 13amp plug socket somewhere else in your house, and again attach your device to it with the RJ45 cable. That's it. Done. Dusted. No drivers, no configuration. It just works.

This particular device is the only one I've found anywhere that adds the additional convenience of having a 4-port switch at one end. It's enabled me to connect a desktop, networked printer and NAS box in a room in my house that was previously too far away from my wireless router to receive a good signal. The software that comes with the gear (which is purely for diagnostics, security settings and info) now tells me I am getting a 65Mb connection to these from my router.

I would highly recommend this technology. It makes perfect sense and, in the overal scheme of things, is not vastly expensive compared to the (sometimes variable quality) wireless alternative.