Question 1

The picture shows two adapters. I want to know whether this comes with a pair of adapters or do I have to buy two units?

Accepted Answer

It comes with two.
Also there was no configuration for me, I did the following: 
I plugged them in to the outlets, 
plugged the one nearest my broadband router (modem as they are often called) into the router (using a standard networking cable), 
plugged the other one into the computer, and waited for a bit (I believe it auto-discovers your network).

NOTE: I have had these stop working once after being plugged in for a good number of weeks, the simple fix was to unplug the offending device from the outlet then plug it back in (in my case the problem seemed to be the device closest to my router though that could be coincidence and I had already unplugged the one closer to the computer previous to that... so both might be necessary).

Question 2

So would this be better than a wi-fi connection?

Accepted Answer

@D.J.H  Depends on what you are using the rest of your bandwidth for, (and in smaller part how many wireless networks you have close by).

First off, if you aren't doing anything that requires a lot of bandwidth* then WiFi is fine & definitely more convenient. 
*(a lot of bandwidth like playing FPSs on the internet... or hosting FPSs on your LAN... I suspect this second gets less optimization and, if there are more than 2 computers on your network requires more bandwidth anyway...).

Second, WiFi does have some bandwidth limitations that ethernet connections do not (even wireless N).
1. WiFi devices all share the same radio frequency spectrum... so if there are a lot of different WiFi networks close by or actually in your area, they will all eat up bandwidth from the others
2. If your WiFi device is handling traffic from other sources (streaming video, other video games, voice over IP, etc...), while you are attempting to get your bandwidth, then the internal communications subsystems (I think it's still called a bus like in a PC but can't remember) have bandwidth limits too... regardless of the WiFi bandwidth 
(NOTE: #2 might STILL be a problem even with ethernet connections unless you have a separate router/hub for the ethernet connections and they are not going out to the internet through the same hardware that houses the WiFi... such as a DSL modem...)
3. Distance matters a lot in WiFi... in wired connections it can matter too, but only after (as I remember it) 100 meters, and then bandwidth doesn't drop off very quickly... Also, as I understand it, data over power solutions tend to decrease this effect of distance.
4. Ethernet bandwidth is still pretty darn deep compared to any WiFi other than N... these Tenda P200 devices are 200Mbs I'm guessing you would require gigabit ethernet to take advantage of that... otherwise it's 100Mbs... anyway good luck

Question 3

CAN THIS BE USED WITH MY CABLE MODEM PHONE OUTPUT?

Accepted Answer

This is an ethernet to powerline adapter and it does not work as a substitute for the phone wiring. It can connect two different networks over electical wires in your home. Just think of if as a replacement for the ethernet cable.

Question 4

The description of this kits says that the speed up to 200mbps, but the ethernet adapter on it is only 10/100mbps. I am wondering with the limit of ethernet adaptor, how can it achieve 200mbps speed, assuming everything is perfert? Thanks.

Accepted Answer

From what I read @ Google, it won't achieve 200mbps. My ISP installer had a meter to measure the network speed. Maybe you can find similar.

Question 5

When i plug it into my router then my computer it doesn't work but when i plug it into my laptop it works fine. is it a defect or is my pc messing up?

Accepted Answer

Hello!

Hard to say without knowing more about your home network setup and gear, but it sounds like you have one connected to the router and plugged into the nearest outlet, and the other is plugged into an outlet near your PC with a data cable going to the PC.  You then are taking the same data cable and plugging it into the laptop and it's working fine.

Couple things to check here:
1. When trying it on your laptop, make sure the adapter is plugged into the same outlet near your PC as when you are trying it on your PC (since the adapter might work on one outlet in your house, but not another).  Also remember to turn off any wireless on your laptop that you are using to connect to the same router (because if it's working fine, you might think that the Tenda P200 is working when really the data is being routed over the wireless).

2. If possible, try hooking up your PC to the router directly (without the Tenda P200) to ensure that you PC's Ethernet connection is working properly.  This can be done with long cord or by moving your PC closer to where the router is.

3. Try using a different data cord- if you are using the ones included in the box, there is a chance that one or both of them might be bad.  If you are using your own data cord(s), then try the ones included in the box (if they are long enough).

4. Try doing the reset procedure on each module- press and hold the button on the bottom for about 12-15 seconds (until you see both the power and "house" lights blink).  This should revert them to factory defaults and they should have no issue establishing a link with each other.

I have 2 sets of these (4 total) and so far I've had pretty good luck.  Let me know how you make out.

Question 6

Why is this advertising "up to 200mps" speeds when the ethernet port is 100?

Accepted Answer

Advertising "up to 200Mpbs" seems misleading, but there's actually a good reason for it...

An Ethernet port can run at "half" and "full" duplex, with full duplex being the normal operating mode. An Ethernet cable has two pairs of wires (4 wires total) with one pair to transmit data and the other pair to receive data. On a 100Mbps Ethernet port, each pair of wires can move data at 100Mbps, so in full duplex mode it's possible to reach 200Mbps (100Mbps in each direction). For home users, downloads are often more data intensive than uploads, but for servers, it's not unusual to upload and download equally large amounts of data.

Powerline modules can only transmit/receive data 60 times per second because it has to wait for the AC sine wave to hit zero (US electrical outlets are 60hz AC). And because it can't transmit and receive data at the same time (there's basically only one pair of wires), it needs to have at least 2x the throughput in order to match a device that can run at full duplex.

Factor in the limit on sending data in bursts 60 times per second, and a powerline module has to be a lot faster than even a basic 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port for there to be parity. Older powerline modules that were rated for 50Mbps or 100Mbps really only fully supported a 10Mbps Ethernet port. For the same reasons, it's generally not practical to do gigabit Ethernet over home electrical systems due to washers, dryers, fans, vacuums and other devices that generate electrical noise. Powerline modules have line filters and error correction that helps cut through some of the noise, but it's not immune to it.

So, in order for the 100Mbps Ethernet port on the powerline module to offer anywhere near 100Mbps, the powerline module actually has be able to move a lot more data in order to compensate for the overhead from transmitting/receiving data in bursts 60 times per second, plus the electrical noise that causes data corruption, requiring data to be resent.

Hope this helps

Question 7

Do these work with an international adapter? Were going down to panama for the winter and wonder if these will work in the power outlets down there?

Accepted Answer

Not unless the power there is 110 volt.  Most that use adapters are 220 volt.

Question 8

when i install the drivers it says i have to stop a process that is running a previous version of winpcap and i dont know what it is. help please?

Accepted Answer

winpcap is a network packet capture utility.  You have something like Wireshark running, or perhaps an anti-virsus software running.  Stop those applications and re-install.
If you are trying to figure out which application is using winpcap Sysinternals/Microsoft's ProcessViewer.  It's free from their TechNet site.

Question 9

Based on the design of a robot we're using this for, I need to know if this is version-1 or version-2 of the adapter.  Tenda started making the new version-2 type in July, and that's what I need.  As I understand it, Newegg has stock of both- is there any way I can be sure to get adapters from the later version-2 batch that would have been received after July?  I plan to order 50 sets on Black Friday.

Accepted Answer

Wow! Robots! Lucky (grumble grumble)

I dunno how to answer your question. I would strongly suggest communicating with a newegg representative to determine this. I would assume you just have to look at the serial numbers of the lot you're selecting from. But I don't know if that's something you can determine from outside of the packaging.

Questions & Answers