Ethernet over power (powerline) flakey after installing 2 LED floodlights

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srdegnan

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Title explains most of it!

Swapped out two old halogen floodlights (500w) with LED lights (50w). Nothing fancy needed with the electrics.

Since installing, my normally reliable ethernet over power plugs (Devolo) are dropping signal almost continuously when the external lights go on (I first noticed at dusk when the lights kicked in!). Turning the lights off resolves the issue.

Any thoughts? I didn't think these units would generate enough noise to cause a problem
 
With Powerline adaptors and your interfering LED lights, your house must be RFI hell! Where did you buy the LED lights from? I have a cheap 12v LED flood, I had to swap the driver with a different one as it would wipe out AM FM and DAB.
 
There was some concern a few years ago that Powerline adaptors can interfere with the operation of some RCDs.
 
srdegnan said:
Any thoughts?
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Throw the powerline adaptors away and install a cable instead.
That they have been 'reliable' until now is due to pure luck.
Removing the LED lights will probably fix the problem - until your neighbour installs similar lights, or someone else in the street installs some other equipment which causes interference, etc.
 
ericmark said:
... how they have got away with it I don't know.
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That's easy.
These adapter first became popular when BT were handing them out with their Vision product (an early IP TV system IIRC). BT are big, and OfCon have always seemed reluctant to do anything to upset them - the revolving door between OfCon and BT is probably just a complete coincidence.
At the same time, the Radiocommunications Agency as it was then said they couldn't do anything as the devices weren't a "transmitter" (they weren't designed to transmit radio signals).
So for a long time, both agencies spent a lot of time and effort in proving that it wasn't their hot potato - leading to the situation now where banning them (as would be the only possible outcome of applying the law properly) would be very much a "post horse leaving, stable door bolting" exercise.
There's also the matter that (IIRC) a manufacturer managed to "prove" compliance with standards - by the simple expedient of plugging one into a good filter to prevent any RF getting into the main wiring. The equivalent of proving that mobile phones don't emit any RF - by putting one inside a metal biscuit tin before testing it.

It does seem odd in a normal world - but given the long history of OfCon seeming to be in BT's pocket (see Regulatory Capture), not really that surprising.
 
I think I see, like when using a 70 cm hand held radio it should not be held too close to your head, but you can hold the mobile phone next to your ear? The radio waves used in a mobile phone are not like other radio waves of around the same frequency.

Cure is to put phone in your pocket then effects of the radio waves will cause a natural reduction of the species which use them! Mine goes in back pack with a blu tooth watch to answer it with, not a clue what frequency blu tooth uses though. Or what power.
 
Never worked 13 cm band, tried to see what power is allowed, but there is a reference to foundation and intermediate licence holders to check their licence, I have never had a foundation or intermediate licence, I took the old RAE. But I think although high power may be used, in the main at those frequencies it tends to be low. So not likely to get problems with HAMs swamping the frequency. I have worked with wires, I am not really into wave guides.

Listened to lectures on early days of radar, it was interesting, seems they thought they could make a death ray after finding the seagulls in Orfordness were landing ready cooked as they passed through the microwaves. However the death ray never worked, but the research into making one showed how it was possible to cook with microwaves. My thanks to the late Sir Richard Davies his lectures were really good, I will never forget them.
 
ericmark said:
Never worked 13 cm band ...
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I have, but best part of 50 years ago; I did much more on 23 cms.
ericmark said:
... tried to see what power is allowed, but there is a reference to foundation and intermediate licence holders to check their licence, I have never had a foundation or intermediate licence, I took the old RAE. But I think although high power may be used, in the main at those frequencies it tends to be low.
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Certainly 'back then', mere mortals such as myself did not have access to any valves which could produce a lot of output at such frequencies - so my personal experiences were certainly of pretty low power!

Kind Regards, John
 
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