Home > Consumer Reviews > Linksys Power Over Ethernet Adapter Kit

Linksys makes a version of this unit ( WAPPOE12 ) - that is designed for 12 volt systems.

Perfect, simple product for the nagging problem of getting line voltage near your electronics. Other versions have been available from other sources for a while now, and you could always roll your own, but this is a nice, elegant, reasonably priced package that does precisely what it should do.

By the way, the other reviewer's comments about mixing 5 volt and 12 volt components is incorrect. You should NOT use a 5 volt power source with a 12 volt device. Granted you *probably* won't damage it, but IF it works - which is unlikely - it will probably be unreliable. I'm an Electronics Engineer with over 25 years of career experience; it's up to you whom you should trust!

The newer Linksys products including the WRT54G v.2 use a 12 volt power supply and will not work with the WAPPOE. Linksys lists on the product page for the WAPPOE that it will work with the WRT54G but in reality it will only work with the v.1 and v.1.1 that use a 5 volt power supply.

I'll be the second engineer to tell you not to use this product with any 12V equipment. Devices require some fixed amount of power to operate and when you supply 5V to a device that expects 12V, it's going to get the power, at the expense of drawing over twice as much current. This will cause the device to operate outside its operating specifications, probably run hotter, and probably fail earlier.

The hardest part I had in setting up the product was identifying the ethernet cable that went to the remote location. After that was taken care of, I plugged everything in and it worked. (Yes, I'm working on labeling my cables.)