Tenda HomePlug Starter Kit – Extend Your Wireless Network
Tenda HomePlug wireless kit and packaging.
Typical home and small office setup for the two HomePlug units. (Adapted from Tenda instruction sheet).Most people’s networks only have a single wireless access point (“AP”), the one that’s built in to their router or modem (such as the BT Home Hub / Smart Hub or Virgin Super Hub). Problem is that in larger buildings it’s very hard to find a position for the router that doesn’t leave at least some gaps or weak points in its WiFi coverage.
What you want is a secondary wireless AP in a different location that covers these gaps, or provides better reception further away from your home or office. And that’s exactly what this starter kit does. It combines WiFi technology with HomePlug networking-over-powerline technology to extend your network.
(If you’re not interested in the details here, scroll down to “How Disc Depot Can Help You”).
What HomePlug Is
You’re already familiar with wireless networks, but what’s HomePlug and how does it come into this? Let’s start at the beginning.
HomePlug is a technology that lets you transmit network data over your home or office’s existing power lines- no network cables required. We won’t go into the details of how it does this, but if you plug one HomePlug unit into a power socket, and the other into another power socket elsewhere in the building (with some restrictions), they can send data to each other.
Most HomePlug units have at least a standard network socket, and can be used to extend an existing wired network.
The diagram to the left shows how they are typically used. The purple router sends data via a standard network cable to the blue HomePlug adaptor. This in turn forwards the data over the powerlines (shown in red) to the green HomePlug adaptor. The green adaptor then sends it over the final step to the PC via a standard network cable.
The important bit here is the red powerline section, since it saves you having to install lots of additional network cabling. That’s nice if you have a wired network, but how does it help extend your wireless network?
How HomePlug Helps You Extend Your Wireless Network
That’s where the larger of the two units in the kit- the one in green on the diagram- comes in. In addition to the network socket most HomePlug units have, it also contains a wireless access point. Instead of connecting to the main AP (with bad reception), you simply connect your computer, tablet or smartphone wirelessly via this new AP instead.
Once connected, data is forwarded over the powerlines to the other HomePlug, then onto the router and the Internet. This means you can enjoy Internet access in more areas, further away from the main access point, than you did before.
All you need are two wall sockets- the existing power cabling does the job of joining things up. Easy!
(Although you can buy wireless range extenders that don’t need wires at all, HomePlug-based ones like this work even at great distances where the secondary AP is out of range of the main AP/router).
How Disc Depot Can Help You
If you didn’t follow everything above (or you’re not interested in the details)- don’t worry. Our staff can listen to your requirements and help explain what you need to extend your wireless network, add HomePlug, or indeed anything else network-related.
We’ve got a large selection of equipment including
- A range of HomePlug adaptors, including 200 Mbps and 1000 Mbps kits and individual units from Tenda and Sumvision
- Routers (including combination router/ADSL modem units)
- Standard Ethernet-type wired network equipment, including RJ45 network cables, network switches and more
- WiFi Wireless network equipment including wireless routers and wireless range extenders
In fact, you don’t need to know anything about networking at all- whatever you want, ask us about our installation services, and we’ll help you buy everything and get it set up without any head-scratching!
