PLC Internet over the powerline

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In the high towers of Ravencloud, we study the invisible threads of the Network—the Aether (Wi-Fi) and the dedicated Ley Lines (Ethernet). But there is a grittier magic, one that delves into the domain of Bufferpuff: using the very life-blood of the castle—the electrical wiring—to transmit our whispers. This is known as PLC (Powerline Communication).

To a Ravencloud mind, this practice feels almost heretical, while Bufferpuffs see it as a pragmatic triumph: if copper already reaches every wall, why not make it speak?

At first glance, it seems like forbidden alchemy. How can the same copper veins that power my cauldron (refrigerator) and illumination spells also carry the delicate runes of the Internet? It forces a Bitzard to reconsider the nature of the Medium.

The Frequency Spectrum: Rivers and Skimmers {#frequency-spectrum}

The secret lies in Frequency. The Great Current that powers the castle flows at a low, heavy hum—typically 50 Hz or 60 Hz. This is the "Base Rumble."

PLC exploits the vast silence above this rumble. It modulates digital incantations onto a much higher frequency carrier wave—somewhere between 2 and 80 MHz.

Imagine a mighty, slow-moving river (The Power). It carries heavy barges of energy downstream. Now, imagine tiny, incredibly fast water-striders (The Data) skimming across the surface. They share the same river, but they exist on different planes of speed. They do not collide.

The Prism: The Adapter {#the-adapter}

To harness this, we use a PLC Adapter. This artifact acts as a High-Pass Filter—a magical prism.

• Extraction: It separates the high-frequency data sprites from the low-frequency brute power.
• Translation: It decodes these ripples back into a standard Ethernet signal that our terminals can understand.

It is a brilliant reuse of existing infrastructure, but it relies on Physical Continuity.

The Wards of the Panel {#the-wards}

A Bitzard must be wary of the Electrical Panel (The Circuit Breaker Box). It is a gatekeeper.

Modern Energy Meters are designed to be robust; they often act as Low-Pass Filters to clean the power. If you try to cast a link to a neighbor's apartment, your signal must pass through your meter and then theirs. These Wards usually dampen the high-frequency sprites to oblivion. It is a security feature born of physics.

The Phase Problem {#phase-problem}

In larger domains (industrial zones or large manors) powered by Three-Phase magic, a wizard on Phase A cannot easily commune with a wizard on Phase B. They are in parallel dimensions. Unless there is a "Phase Coupler" (a bridge between worlds) or significant crosstalk, the signal will not cross the void.

Two Bitzards may be separated by only a wall, yet if one dwells on Phase A and the other on Phase B, their spells pass like ghosts, never quite touching.

Aether vs. Copper: The Battle for Stability {#aether-vs-copper}

Why resort to this earth-magic when we have Wi-Fi?

Wi-Fi suffers from the Mirror Effect (Half-Duplex). A repeater must listen, then speak. It cannot do both at once. It halves the bandwidth. Moreover, the air is shared; it is polluted by the neighbor's spells and the microwave's interference.

PLC offers a Tunnel. It is a confined path through the copper. * Latency: The stability of the wire offers a lower, more consistent "Ping" (Response Time). For a Duelist (Gamer), this "snappiness" is crucial.

The Curse of Noise {#noise-curse}

But the tunnel is not safe. It has a nemesis: Electrical Noise.

If you plug a noisy construct—like a cheap vacuum cleaner or a generic phone charger—into the circuit, its motor introduces Harmonic Chaos into the line. To the PLC artifact, this looks like data corruption.

The First Law of PLC: Never plug the adapter into a Surge Protector (Power Strip). These strips are designed to clamp down on spikes. They mistake your high-frequency data signal for a dangerous surge and filter it out. They inadvertently silence the magic.

The Price of Power {#limitations}

If this magic is so convenient, why do we still lay dedicated Ethernet cables?

Because unshielded electrical wires act as giant Antennas. When we push MHz signals through them, they radiate electromagnetic energy. If every room used PLC, the radio spectrum would be drowned in noise. It is a pollution of the Aether.

Ethernet cables are the pristine, shielded ley lines designed solely for data. Electrical wires are a hostile, noisy environment.

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PLC is a testament to the ingenuity of the Bitzard—forcing a system to do what it was not designed for. It is a bridge, a useful hack for the retrofitting wizard, but it can never replace the purity of a dedicated connection.