Chapter 6 The OS X Configuration Utility

Table 11 Link Information (continued)

LABEL

DESCRIPTION

Avg. Attentuation/

This field displays the average attenuation measured in dB.

Carrier

Attenuation is the reduction in strength of a signal as it travels

 

over a transmission line. Use this field to check the reduction in

 

the strength of the signal between two devices.

 

Attenuation may vary considerably across a Powerline network

 

as line conditions also vary. A typical level of attenuation may

 

be 40 dB, but may reach over 70 dB, depending on line quality

 

and distance.

 

A main cause of attenuation is the power requirements of

 

appliances on your electrical circuit. Powerline traffic near an

 

appliance such as a refrigerator may be affected by attenuation

 

more than on other sections of your Powerline network.

 

 

Avg. Output Power/

This field shows the average power produced by the source

Carrier

device. Power levels should be constant and limited by the

 

output power standard of your country. Unusually high output

 

power levels may damage your device.

 

 

Clear Statistics

Click this button to reset all counters in this screen to zero.

 

 

Close

Click this button to close this window.

 

 

6.1.9 Download Firmware

Use this screen to go to the ZyXEL download library from where you can download firmware to your computer.

Figure 28 Download Firmware

6.2 Firmware Detection Tool

Use the Firmware Detection Tool to detect the firmware version of the Powerline devices on your network. All Powerline devices of the same type should

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PLA-407 User’s Guide