A method to quasi-model in-line devices in power line communications networks

This work presents a method to quasi-model in-line devices commonly present in power line communication networks. The models are to be used to improve analyses of power line channel transfer functions, which typically, do not take into account the presence of those devices. The method exploits measurement of the S parameters, conversion to ABCD two-port matrix and estimation to Pi or T network of basic components using a mean square error technique. The techniques used in the method are discussed. The proposed method is used to model an indoor splice connector and an electrical outlet socket in the 2-30 MHz frequency band of HomePlug, a power line communication standard.