High Tech Marketing Blog



When I got my kids a desktop PC, I was glad to see it came with wireless connectivity built in.

Since I already had a Linksys router working, it was easy to hook them up.

Unfortunately, I soon had problems.

“Dad, the internet is slow” became a frequently heard complaint. I tried to tweak the settings. I tried to change the channel it worked on. I rebooted.

But we still had marginal connections.

The problem soon became obvious.

I have a stone fireplace running diagonally between the router and the PC.

The router worked fine downstairs, and in other places in the house. But the orientation of the fireplace meant the signal had to travel through several feet of rock. And it did not do that so well.

I lived with this problem for over a year because hard wiring was way too difficult and I had no good alternatives for moving the router.

A Solution

I finally found a solution while browsing the web. I read about a technology called PowerLine networking and a product called Cisco-Linksys PLK300 PowerLine AV Ethernet Adapter Kit


This is cool. You have a transmitter which gets plugged into your router via ethernet cable, and into the wall via AC cord.

You have one or more receivers which plug into the wall where you need the connection. The receiver I bought has three ethernet ports into which I can plug whatever I need connected.

The system sends and receives internet signals through the AC power lines that are already in your house.

I was skeptical, but it works great!

Another cool feature is that you can have multiple receivers – and I do.

The kit comes with one receiver and I used that downstairs in my home entertainment system. Good thing it has four ethernet ports because I am using three of them already:

* Xbox
* BluRay DVD Player (Connects to Amazon video rentals online)
* Dish Network Satellite receiver (allows remote recording)

I bought a second receiver and upstairs I connected the kids’ PC and my wife’s Mac.

Both receivers work perfectly, and my kids’ PC upstairs now
downloads as fast as it should.

A word about installation:

If you are like me, networking can be intimidating.

When I read reviews of the powerline they all stressed how easy and automatic the set-up was.

And believe it or not, it was!

I just plugged it in, and it worked. I didn’t have to tweak anything. No setting, nothing. It installs security automatically.

Cisco-Linksys had done a great job with this technology and it solves a real problem that many people have. If you have trouble spots in your house where you need a good connection, give this a try.

I bought mine at Amazon
because of their return policy – but I’m glad I didn’t need it. This is a keeper.