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Forum Discussion
Powerline Carrier - do you have to have utility (ie: 120V) power present for PL1200 to work?
I'm trying to get my wifi over to a remote shop that has a separate subpanel serving it from the main house. The goal is to set up a smart security/camera system that relies on wifi and hard ethernet connections. I purchased a high power router in the main house and connected it to our Comcast modem/router, but this did not do the trick because it's far enough away that the signal was not stable enough. The local Best Buy guy suggested the PL1200 stating that it would work thru the house wiring, subfeed breaker out to the garage panel, etc, but here's the kicker. I'm looking to set all this up with modems, routers, devices running off of a battery UPS units such that should utility lose power....as long as Comcast is still up - the router(s), cameras, etc would all see 120V thru the UPS for a short amount of time (until the batteries die...). I understand the PL1200 cannot be connected to the UPS apparently so asked my Best Buy guy if you lose utility and the house wiring is "dead" will the signal still travel thru the wires and work if all equipment is still active under UPS power ? He said the house wiring does not have to be "live" with 120V and that the PL1200 devices only use the wiring, not the power running thru them. I'm writing the community because I'm skeptical whether I got a straight answer here. I have a lot of $$ invested in battery UPS units, routers, security hubs, etc and it's all dependent on getting the Comcast modem/router signal over to the shop. If the PL1200 devices are useless w/o power then I assume I'm dead in the water should power be lost. I can't find anything anywhere that speaks to this little detail, but like all things, the devil is in the details so hopefully this makes sense to somebody who understands how this stuff really works.
Just looking to find out if I should just return these PL1200's and move on or whether I got good advice and should give it a shot.
On that same note - can the device work thru a UPS since the UPS is just a pass thru device or is that simply a no-no... Using an APC BE550G (550W) plug in UPS/Surge Protector unit
thanks in advance...
3 Replies
The PL1200 needs power to work, so if your utility power is cut off, and you cannot power the PL1200 through UPS, they will not work.
In this case running ethernet cable would be your solution
With regards to the UPS, I would hazard a guess (as I don't know) that there would be enough electronics within the unit to stop powerline adapters working correctly
I hope this helps
Thanks for the reply. Can I ask why is it that the PL1200 needs to see 120V power if the ethernet cable plugged into it is "live" having come from a router plugged into a UPS.....both on the sending and receiving end?
With respect to the UPS and a power line adapter, what exactly is it with power strips, suppressors, a UPS, etc that keeps the data signal from flowing? is there a certain electronic component that's keeping it from working?
With respect to the power being required, trying to understand whether the data flow over the house wiring just needs to see the copper wire or if it needs the current flowing thru it and the data is being transmitted as sort of a carrier signal type event. I guess the only way to find out if the adapters will work plugged into a UPS is try it out. Was hoping to avoid that, but will try it out and report back for others who may be trying to do the same thing....
running an ethernet cable would be great, but problem is I'd have to dig a ditch across a hard gravel/dirt driveway bed and that's too much $$. Was thinking of trying a wi-fi extender to try and capture the house wife signal and redistribute out in the garage, but am being told this is tricky for static devices like IP cameras. All this technology seems to be more of a pain than anything, but will be glad when I finally get this to work....if I can. Thanks
- The ethernet cable will not power the PL1200, it's not POE, the adapter is powered by the mains electricity. Therefore if it is not powered it can not transfer data to the other adapter, which presumably is not powered either!
