On Tue, March 13, 2012 4:18 pm, Josh Koffman wrote: > Hi All. > > I've been asked to help with a bit of background research for an idea > a friend of mine had. He wants to do some data over powerline > transmissions. This isn't long distance (it would be within the same > building). A few years ago I would have said that it wasn't going to > be that possible, but with the number of broadband over powerline > devices and the plethora of home networking extenders that use power > lines, maybe things have changed? > > I've been doing some searching around, but as with most things network > related, I'm not finding a ton of really useful info out there. Then > again, maybe I'm just missing it. His specs aren't too demanding. > Speed is somewhere between 100-300kpbs. Might be able to tolerate > lower. Bi-directionality is a plus. Low cost is also a consideration, > so if there are expensive transformers or the like involved, that > might not be too good. > > I'm going to keep searching, but if anyone has any pointers, even just > to manufacturers that do this kind of stuff, I'd appreciate it! Microchip has a development board that uses powerline communications: It runs on a dsPIC33. There are other powerline solutions that don't use a general purpose chip, but the dsPIC solution is the only one I've worked with. Powerline communications is challenging- particularly if you are trying to stay in one of the "approved" bands (below 130KHz, for example). By design, AC power is very low impedance- in the milli-ohms, typically up to at least 1 MHz. Add to that all the other noise on the line- getting reliable communications is not trivial. Don't forget the "not kill yourself" part. When you're playing with mains, the risk is *REAL*. Matt Bennett Just outside of Austin, TX 30.51,-97.91 The views I express are my own, not that of my employer, a large multinational corporation that you are familiar with. --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .