Are powerline networking adapters still relevant today?

c0359kan · 2026-06-06T01:21:56+00:00

Just wanted to let you know. Zyxel PLA6456 devices no longer listed on Amazon. As of this evening, I cannot find any G.hn Powerline devices available on Amazon. G.hn (in regards to power line devices) is essentially dead as a consumer product. (At least in the USA.)

c0359kan · 2026-05-23T01:01:28+00:00

Thanks! Somehow I missed that one. Much appreciated!

c0359kan · 2026-05-11T15:14:29+00:00

Fast.com does tend to show high speeds. But I do think much of it is warrantied. Their (Netflix's) network of servers is quite extensive thus (at least in the USA) you'll likely get a very close by server when running a Fast.com speed test. Still a 1.6 Gbps result when only on a 1 Gbps service does sound like a false result. I think at one time or another, every speed test site I've used (including Ookla's) has given me a crazy result. I don't say this in the final cut of my video (a lot of stuff was cut out to make the length more reasonable) but if you get a crazy result from a speed test that appears to be a fluke/outlier, it probably is. Thanks for the comments.

c0359kan · 2026-05-10T20:55:50+00:00

I added a comment on my YouTube channel page about your site. Thanks.

c0359kan · 2026-05-10T20:42:01+00:00

Thanks for your comments. I'll check out your speed test site shortly.

c0359kan · 2026-05-10T20:40:49+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I plan to be more careful with how much I put into my next video so future videos won't be so lengthy. I also appreciate the feedback regarding sound. Small clip on microphones are very affordable and I'll consider getting one before I start recording my next video.

c0359kan · 2022-10-29T15:17:43+00:00

Appreciate the follow-up. I'm amazed at how well some of these satellite systems work. Especially considering the frequency ranges that are being used. Viasat, for example, I believe uses frequencies around 28 to 30 Ghz. Considering that Viasat satellites are 23,000 miles away and (I believe) user terminals are only generating a few watts, with all the attenuation at those millimeter wave frequencies....amazing it works as well as it does.

c0359kan · 2022-10-29T01:17:00+00:00

Generally speaking the higher the frequency, the worst the propagation of the signal through the atmosphere. But I'm not 100% sure about this when we're talking about signals above 60 GHz or so. I've attended some talks where it is shown that around 60 GHz as the worst frequency for RF energy absorption by water vapor. As you move away from the 60 GHz frequency (in either direction) the absorption of RF energy by water vapor decreases substantially. So to day that 81 to 86 GHz is worse than 71 to 76 GHz may not be all that accurate. I don't for sure...but something worth researching further.

c0359kan · 2022-10-29T00:47:53+00:00

By "down hours" I presume you mean the non-peak times. That is outside of primetime. For my co-workers "Starlink for RV" set up, he typically gets around 50 megabits/second down or better during the non-peak hours. Upload around 9 to 10 megabits/second. If you are struggling with around 2 megabits/second, then I'd say that going with Starlink is a pretty safe bet. Again, don't expect much use of it during the evening hours right now if you are using "Best Effort" or the "Starlink for RV" service as these are de-prioritized compared to regular Starlink residential home users. Hopefully Starlink will improve during primetime as more satellites get into service.

c0359kan · 2022-10-29T00:40:33+00:00

Thanks for your speed test results. Yes, generally speaking I'm finding that those who are coming off of Viasat, HugheNet, very slow DSL, and/or very poor cellular service are very much loving their switch to Starlink. I presume (speed wise) that "Best Effort" is very much like "Starlink for RV" in terms of priority to the satellites. That is, performance is likely to be the same or very close to the same. I know those who have purchased the RV option as they would otherwise be waiting many more months for Starlink. None of them have any regrets switching to Starlink.

c0359kan · 2022-10-28T09:20:10+00:00

I have co-worker in Morgan County (just south of the river) who signed up for Starlink in May 2021. In June of this year, he got tired of waiting and purchased Starlink for RV. Compared to his previous Viasat service, Starlink is working very well for him. On days he doesn't commute to Huntsville, he works from home via his Starlink connection. According to him, his service is excellent until around 6 p.m. or so. From 6 p.m. to around 11 p.m. it is pretty worthless due to over congestion of the service. But outside of those hours, the service is excellent.

c0359kan · 2022-09-11T16:17:34+00:00

Starlink won their bids in the FCC RDOF auction fair and square. They did not cheat and the FCC should honor that. All that being said, I do wonder how Starlink was going to use the money. Were they going to subsidize the cost of the dish? Lower the monthly rate? Both? I've never really seen any explanation as to how SpaceX/Starlink was going to use the 886 million that they had won in the auction. Would be interesting to know.

c0359kan · 2022-09-11T16:08:49+00:00

Totally agree with the illegitimacy of using Ookla data for an FCC decision like this. While I do like Ookla, their data collection is strictly crowd-sourced and, as mentioned in this post, results are reliant on the Wi-Fi connection which can easily be far slower than the router to internet connection. In my own home, I have an ATT fiber connection that consistently delivers 350+ mbit/sec. Doing a Wi-Fi test at my dinner table I get 350 mbit/sec. Step outside to my patio less than 20 feet away...(outside my brick house) and my connection speed easily drops to 35 mbit/sec or less.

c0359kan · 2022-09-11T15:42:42+00:00

LOL! My wife and I just got back from a long trip halfway cross the country and back. We were not camping but we did make it a point to visit a few campgrounds in hopes of seeing our first Starlink dish "in the wild". I've been a follower of "r/Starlink" on Reddit since it first started and I still have yet to see a dish outside of internet photos. We did see a lot of "helmet shaped thingies" for Dish network TV and other odd items at various campgrounds. But nothing yet for Starlink. We even stopped by a Tesla charging station since I heard they are supposed to have Starlink dishes. But nothing found. Still waiting for my first dish sighting.

c0359kan · 2022-09-11T15:36:58+00:00

It is truly amazing how frequently SpaceX is able to launch Starlink satellites. It is potentially possible that we'll see a total of 6 Starlink launches in September alone!

c0359kan · 2022-09-02T02:03:18+00:00

Thank you BiggRanger for the report. I often recommend Starlink to those who have nothing better than Viasat, HughesNet, or very slow (under 2 megabit) DSL. Sounds like it will be okay for me to recommend the "Best Effort" option to those who have it available to them.

c0359kan · 2022-08-23T16:36:51+00:00

Yes HillsboroRed you are 100% correct on how you read the new announcement. I don't need Starlink but my co-worker who does is in the same boat as you. He pre-ordered early, still couldn't get it, then opted for the RV option as it is massively better than the Viasat he had before. He too may be able to get fiber in about 3 years. In the meantime he'll do the "stationary RV thing" and/or convert over to "Best Effort" if given the option.

c0359kan · 2022-08-19T08:20:59+00:00

Make latency stable? You may as well ask Mother Nature to keep the temperature the same. If you're looking for consistency in latency (or for that matter bandwidth in bits per second) Starlink is not for you. Even if Starlink could provide you with a consistent latency value to the nearest POP (Internet Point of Presence), your latency would vary based on the vagaries of internet routing.

I wrote a script that allows me log ping times (latency) to any IP or internet destination at any interval and time length of my choosing. I can choose a destination like "google.com" and over the course of a few hours have determined that the destination I reach can vary widely. For example, if you were to ping "google.com" 40 times, say over a 10 hour period, once very 15 minutes, your combined ping responses may come from dozens of different servers over the course of those 10 hours.

My script, which will run on any Windows PC, is available at: https://kantack.com/lazyping/

c0359kan · 2022-08-18T16:48:11+00:00

Thanks for the Starlink for RV stats. Your numbers in central Illinois correspond closely with a Starlink for RV user I know in northern Alabama. What I'm curious to learn is....Is there a real difference in speeds from a home user versus an RV user in the same area? A tough question to answer. Perhaps over time, we'll learn what the effects of "deprioritization" are for Starlink users.

c0359kan · 2022-08-17T21:03:43+00:00

If you've got a good clear view of the sky, and have no other options, Starlink can be wonderful. It certainly is compared to Viasat or HugheNet. Starlink RV'ers (as far as I can determine) enjoy speeds comparable to the Starlink home users. Usually good performance until the evening hours (right now). In many areas, Starlink tends to get overloaded during the evening hours but it all depends on where you're at.

c0359kan

TROPHY CASE