Installation

What do you get?

The Phoneline system we tested included 2 PCI network cards, 2 RJ11 (normal phone) cables, and the installation CD-ROM. Diamond also includes WinGate internet sharing proxy software on the installation CD-ROM. Each network card has two phone jacks, one in and one out, like most modems.

No hassles

Installation was trouble free. We just plugged in the cards, connected them to the phone jacks, installed the drivers, and then fired up the installation software. One note: if the household has two or more phone numbers, the Homefree system must all be on lines with the same phone number.

Easier than Wireless

Diamond's Phoneline installation wizard seemed more polished than their Wireless installation wizard. The installation program configures all the networking settings, and tells you if there's a resource conflict with the Phoneline card, unlike the Wireless installation wizard, which would just crash in the middle of an installation if there was a resource conflict. In under 10 minutes, the Phoneline installation wizard set up the entire network along with the WinGate Proxy software, and we had a working LAN.

The installation CD-ROM contains the installation manual with a sizeable troubleshooting FAQ in case you run into any problems. We didn't have to consult the FAQ during our installation, but it's nice knowing that it's there.