a device that provides an interface between alternating current powerline communication signals and direct current powerline communication signals . in one embodiment alternating current powerline communication signals and direct current powerline communication signals are interfaced with a bridging device . in another embodiment , a router configuration allows dissimilar protocols to be interfaced to direct current using a router configuration . in yet another embodiment the alternating current powerline communication and direct current powerline communication signals are interfaced using a passive repeater configuration . in the bridge and router configurations , use of an internal computer allows for additional features , such as error checking , buffering , diagnostics , and virus checking .