Powerline Adapters, often called “HomePlugs” using the home’s mains wiring to send computer data – this can be very useful in situations where it’s not possible to use wi-fi or run Ethernet cables.

We often get questions about whether or not it’s possible to use Powerline Adapters in certain domestic situations. Here are some notes:

I have two Electricity Meters – Will Powerline Adapters work?

In most cases, HomePlugs will work on electrical circuits that share the same electricity meter. If you have a three-phase power supply (which is not that common for residential properties), Powerline adapters will only work on the same phase.

I have multiple fuse boxes – Will Powerline Adapters work?

In many cases, Powerline adapters don’t work if the transmitter is connected via one Consumer Unit (Fuse box) and the receiver is connected via a different Consumer Unit (Fuse box)

Some users of Powerline adapters report that it works, but based on feedback to us, most report that it doesn’t. The degree of electrical separation and the quality of the equipment may be the deciding factor

My Router is downstairs, and I want to use a Powerline for Upstairs – Will this work?

In most cases, yes, flights of stairs aren’t an issue. Provided the transmitter and receiver go through the same fusebox and electricity meter, you should be able to use a powerline adapter.

I use RCDs – Will Powerline work?

Residual Current Devices (RCDs) are circuit breakers designed to ‘trip out’ if a dangerous condition is detected with the electrical supply. RCDs can be a problem for Powerline Adapters – in some cases prevent signal from getting through, and in some cases, event tripping out when being used to sent data. See Using a Powerline Adapter with an RCD for more

I have a Surge Protector – Will Powerline work?

Again, no definite answer on this one, as it depends on a number of factors. We use a Powerline adapter here in the office going through a mains extension block that’s protected by a surge protector. It works for us – although we note that the speed drops when it goes through a surge protector compared to a direct unprotected connection.

How can I check, one way or another

Each home is different – different lengths of cable run, different quality of equipment. The only sure way to tell, is to try it – either borrow or buy one and see if it works – Even then, it’s not a guarantee, as a high-spec quality Powerline adapter is likely to perform better that a low-speed cheap one. See: Powerline Adapters at Amazon

Alternatives to Powerline Adapters

You can use wi-fi. If you don;t have the range, then consider a wi-fi extender. See

Alternatively, you could consider relocating your router, or running Ethernet cables.

Any thoughts or questions? Please ask in the box below

The Issue

One of our customers asked us to create a .ru (Russian) web domain to forward to their existing .eu web domain – the aim being for traffic to www.customername.ru to be forwarded to www.customername.eu/russian

The domain name was purchased via GoDaddy, who was offering the .RU domain for £10 per year – much cheaper than man of the UK-based domain name companies.

The registration took a long time – longer than the quoted 72 hours, and when it finally get registered and was showing the “This domain is registed to a GoDayy customer” landing page, it wasn’t possible to set up the forwarding – the domain was in a pending state.

After a 30 minute call to the lovely Kim at GoDaddy tech Support in Arizona, it seems that there is a restriction on .ru Russian domains that the Russian Registrar doesn’t allow domain forwarding.

The Solution

GoDaddy’s suggestion is to use DNS to redirect the domain to the server hosting the site, and to set up a new domain account on the hosting server that points to the appropriate Russian page on the server.

A little bit of a faff, but at least it’s a workaround.

We’re publishing this for information for anyone who comes across the same problem.

Any comments or thoughts on this, please add a comment below.

Accessing the BIOS setup

On boot, the Celsius 650 gives you an option to boot, or to enter setup. Trying to enter setup threw up a prompt for an administrator password… that I didn’t know. All attempts at finding it failed, as did an online search for a default BIOS password for the Celsius 650. In the end, it was a case of resetting the BIOS and starting again, and even this wasn’t easy.

Resetting the BIOS

To reset the BIOS (wiping any settings including the BIOS Administration password, it’s a case of altering the position of a jumper. The jumper in question is J1F2 on the motherboard. To reset the BIOS, move the jumper from pins 1 and 2, to pins 2 and 3, then power up the machine. The following pics may help:

Once the BIOS jumper had been swapped, it was easy to do in and disable the Admin password from the BIOS Security tab, pictured here:

Installing a SATA drive

Before you read any further – note that the following did not work. I gave up, and found an IDE drive instead. I’ve left it here in case it helps anyone else.

With new IDE drives increasingly hard to find, I was forced to by a SATA drive for our Celsius 650 – The motherboard, of course, can’t cope with a SATA drive, as it’s only equipped with IDE, but the drive I opted for had an IDE-to-SATA connector card. This plugs into one of the two IDE ports and then onto the data socket on the new SATA hard drive.

Note that our connector card and the drive need their own power supply (using the standard 4-pin MOLEX connectors) – Our card didn’t come with a second MOLEX adapter, so a trip to local UK electronics store Maplin was needed to get a MOLEX to SATA power connector. Once our card was working (little red LED), the Celsius 650 could see the hard drive. Here’s a photo of the IDE to SATA connector in situ in IDE1:

The drive was now installed and correctly identified by the BIOS. The next problem, is that it failed to boot.

Installing Windows XP on a SATA drive

I was unable to get the SATA drive going. My investigation suggested the following, which I tried to no avail. It’s here in case it helps anyone.

My research showed that the next problem is that Windows XP installation CDs don’t include the required SATA drivers needed to allow installation on a SATA drive. The work-around for this is to rebuild a Windows XP boot CD that includes the required SATA drivers. The process is called Slipstreaming, and the instructions here worked a treat for burning a CD ROM with Windows XP and the SATA drivers: How to slipstream your SATA drivers into a Windows XP installation.

Summary

This page should hope you to get past the BIOS password, and tell you what I tried to get the SATA working. Sorry not to have not a good conclusion at the end, but hopefully this has helped.

This meant that some set-top boxes (such as the Thomson DTI-6300) were no longer displaying the TV guide, making recording Freeview programmes a problem. Here is an easy fix though:

Switch to the standard Freeview Programme Guide

Top Up TV boxes used a customer 14 day programme guide that was sent over-the-air. Luckily, the Freeview programme guide service is still available, and you can switch your Top Up TV service over to the Freeview guide quickly and easily. From the set-top box, do the following:

• Press Menu
• Select Settings
• Go to “Change Your Box Settings” (Option 8)
• At the prompt “TV guide type 8 or 14″, select the 8 day option (Freeview’s 8 day guide)
• Save settings

When you change this setting, the box will download the Freeview programming guide over-the-air. This may take a few hours.

It’s also worth running a scan to refresh the channel lineup

The manual with this BT handset does state that performance will deteriorate over time, and normal Nickel-metal hydride batteries, like the ones used in this phone, typically can only survive about 1000 full charges. Oddly, it seems that the handset we use least, has fared the worst, presumably as it almost never gets run down to flat and fully recharged.

Replacing the batteries in the Synergy 5500

The act of replacing the batteries is very straightforward, so no need to go into much detail here. For us, the hard bit was finding the replacements….

The two batteries originally supplied with each handsets are as follows:

• Type: 1.2 Volt AAA Ni-MH
• Rating: 550mAh
• Manufacturer: Kaifeng New Energy Co. Ltd (China)
• Standard charge: 16 hrs at 55mA

Possibly rather naively, we assumed that it was a simple case of popping out to a high street electrical shop such as Currys, and buying a replacement set of rechargeable batteries. That’s exactly what we did – opting for a set of Energizer 700mAh batteries. These worked perfectly in one of the two handsets be tried, but not in the third identical handset. We also tried a higher capacity 850mAh battery, but this failed to work in any phone, despite being fully charged.

After consulting the manual and doing some checking online, it seems that BT cordless phones are very fussy about what types of batteries can be used. We put in a call to BT’s Synergy Helpline on
0800 145 6789 to be told that many rechargeable batteries don’t work and it’s important to buy the correct ones that are designed for the phones and with the correct power rating. Apparently only batteries rated between 550 and 750mAh will work – and they strongly recommended buying the correct replacements otherwise the phone may not work.

In the end, we were sold three sets of replacement batteries for £15.98 (inc postage and packing), with an estimated 5 days delivery. (Price as of May 2013)

Since ordering, we’ve found an online shop selling batteries suitable for the BT Synergy 5500 – Buyabattery.co.uk sell packs of 750mAh with claim to be compatible. Price for 6 batteries is £10.20 including postage and packing – a saving of £5.78 on BT’s price.

We also looked on Currys Partmaster, normally a great place to buy spares, but at the time of checking – no stock. It;s worth having a look though: Partmaster Cordless Phone Batteries

It pays to shop around.

A very popular little monitor that’s ideal for desks, and supports playback of media from a USB memory stick.

This works well for reception of Freeview, can cope with a “line in” AV feed from a DVD player, or a digital TV set-top box, and can be powered from mains or from a car cigar lighter socket.

This unit can play music and video via a USB socket on the side, and can also be used as a digital photo frame. It comes with a portable digital TV antenna, although you’ll get best results when connecting to a rooftop TV aerial.

For full details, go here: Nikkai 7″ Digital TV from Maplin

No channels found

Matt Spicer reported problems getting the Nikkai to find channels:

“I bought a Nikkai 7inch TV, plugged into main TV to access all channels no problem but as soon as I disconnect & try to find them using the antenna it comes up with no signal,as this is in my house I’m not convinced that taking it outside to find a signal would be any better,after all that’s where I want to use it! Please help!”

First off, now that analogue TV in the UK no longer operates, you need to make sure this unit is set to “DTV” (Digital TV). Do the following:

• Connect a TV aerial that’s capable of getting Freeview
• Press the ‘Mode’ button on the remote until you get to “DTV”
• Press Menu, and scroll to “Setup”
• Select “Installation” – you should see the following screen
• Press “OK” to scan for channels

The TV should scan for channels and you’ll see a list of channels found. If the scan doesn’t show any results, check you’ve set the Installation to English, and that the TV aerial is correctly connected. If there are still no channels found – double-check that the TV aerial is capable of getting a decent Freeview signal.

Got a comment or a question about the Nikkai 7″ monitor? Please add a comment below.

“I’m really confused about Top-Up TV… I want to get some extra TV channels as well as extra movies, but I don’t want to sign up to Sky. I want to top up my Freeview, but can’t work out exactly what I get with a Top-Up box.

I don’t want Sky Sports, or a big bill”

Confused by Top Up TV?

When Top Up TV started, it offered 11 channels of extra TV as well as the free channels via a TV aerial.

These days, there are no extra channels, just extra TV shows and movies that are downloaded to a special set-top box overnight. At the time of writing, the price for the basic TV service (with very limited content) is £13.99. The only extra channels available are Sky Sports and ESPN (for a premium – £42 a month).

To get the extra TV shows and movies, you need to get a Top Up TV Anytime box (with a built-in hard drive), but Top Up TV no longer sell these, so getting the box is not easy.

Top Up TV boxes do not have Internet connectivity, don’t handle catch-up TV and don’t support Freeview HD.

If all you want is extra TV, without the expense of Sky, then Top Up TV is not the answer.

Alternative to Top Up TV?

You might want to take a look at YouView – the service offers live TV from Freeview, extra TV and films over the Internet, plus access to services like BBC iPlayer, itvPlayer and 4oD from Channel 4. You can also get extra content from BT Vision and Sky’s Now TV service.

You have two options, buy the box outright with no subscription, or get a free box from your broadband provider:

• Buy the Humax YouView box from Amazon
• Get a free YouView box from BT
• Get YouView from TalkTalk

Until November 2012, it was possible for people over 75, people with disabilities, and those on some types of benefit to get help under the UK Government’s Digital TV Help Scheme.

The Help Scheme is no longer available – although if you had help in the past, support is available for 12 months after installation.

Why can’t I get help?

The Help Scheme is no longer available. The scheme ran from 2007 to 2012, and is now closed to new applicants.

The digital switchover completed in October 2012 when the last old analogue TV transmitter was turned off.

How can I get digital TV?

The old analogue TV service hasn’t been available since 2012, with many areas switching well before then. It’s assumed that pretty much everyone interested in watching TV beyond October 2012 will have now got a service such as Freeview, Freesat, Sky, Virgin, BT Vision or YouView.

If you haven’t yet got digital TV, or have an old analogue TV that you want to convert, there are two ways of getting this without a subscription:

• Freeview – You need a TV aerial (normally on the roof) and a Freeview set-top box – These cost around £25 on the high street or online
• Freesat – You need a satellite dish and a Freesat set-top box – Boxes cost around £40, installation of the dish is approx  £75-£150 from a local installer

My Freeview has stopped working

If your Freeview system was installed as part of the Government’s Help Scheme, you will get 12 months of “aftercare” – If your system was installed as part of the help scheme, you can call the helpline on the following free number: 0800 40 85 935

Related Posts

• How do I connect a Freeview  box to my TV?
• How do I tune in Freeview on my TV

VCR: Sound but no video

“I have connected my old VCR recorder/player to my digital TV via SCART connections. When I play the tape I get the sound but not the vision.

I am only concerned with playing old tapes, not recording onto them. Can you help?”

Sure – We’ll help if we can. Here are a few things to check:

First off, make sure you have inserted the SCART connector firmly into the socket on the video recorder and on the back of the TV set. SCART leads have 20 tiny pins inside and if the plug is not connected firmly into the socket, then not all of the pins make contact, resulting in either a loss of audio, video or both

If you’re sure that the lead is firmly inserted at both ends, then the next thing to check is the SCART lead itself. It’s very easy for the pins inside a SCART lead to get bent, again leading to a loss of video, audio or both. Try a different lead.

Still no video?

If you’re sure it’s not the lead or the connectors that are at fault, then it’s either the video recorder’s output, or the TV’s Line In that’s at fault. More things to try:

• Does your TV set have more than one SCART socket? If so, try another one, remembering to switch the TV to the other “Line In / AUX” channel
• Do you have something else with a SCART socket, such as a Freeview box or DVD Player? Try plugging this into your TV via SCART. If it works, it proves that the lead and the TV are OK, meaning the fault may be with the video recorder
• Try plugging the video recorder into a different TV via SCART. If the video plays OK on another telly, you’ve proved the VCR and the SCART lead are OK

If you’re still having problems, please add a comment below giving as much information as possible on what you’ve tried.

Our setup

• Monitor: CurrentCost Envi Power Monitor
• Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
• Software: Techtoniq Energy Station v2.05
• Connectivity: USB

The Problem

The Techtoniq software fails to detect the Envi unit and no data is captured.

Assuming the Envi is powered and plugged in correctly, this may be a driver issue, and it first started to cause us a problem after an automatic Windows Update. It seems that Windows had found a better USB driver online and overwritten the current driver with a new one. Here’s how the problem manifests itself…

Looking in Control Panel > Device Manager reveals that there is a problem with the drivers ( shown by a yellow cross next to unknown driver)

The fix was to install the old Prolific Serial-to-USB drivers for the Current Cost Envi, which can be found here: CurrentCost Software Downloads – It’s not quite straightforward though

Re-installing the Prolific PL-2303 USB driver

• First, with the Envi connected, uninstall the faulty driver from Control panel > Device Manager
• Next, unplug the USB lead
• Now, install the new driver from the Current Cost site (above)
• Then, plug the USB lead back in – but be ready for the next bit, as you only have a few seconds
• Important bit! Windows will detect the new hardware and look for drivers. By default, it will look online for new drivers – you must stop this! Click on the “Installing drivers” dialog and click the “Skip obtaining driver software from Windows Update” bit, as per the screenshot below.

Skipping the installation of the latest Windows version of the Prolific driver seems to be the key here. If you do this, you should see a message indicating a successful driver installation.

For us, that solved the problem. Starting up Techtoniq Energy Station caused the software to find the Envi and all was well.

Hope that’s a help. If you’re having problems, please add a comment in the box below.

There is a related issue that you may also encounter – see below

Techtoniq “Root Element is missing” error

This is a rather irritating message that we’ve encountered a couple of times with Techtoniq Energy Station v2.0

This problem seems unconnected with the  driver issue, but we keep hitting it whilst trying to fix Envi driver issues. Our assumption is that this is to do with the Techtoniq profile getting damaged by having to reboot the machine – the file may not be closed correctly during the numerous reboots and so gets corrupt.

The profile file is a 2k file that you can open and close via the File menu on the Energy Station application. It has a .ESW on the end. Restoring to a backup of this file, or even creating a new one, seems to resolve the problem.

Hopefully this page was useful. Got a comment or question? Please add it in the box below