Quantcast
Subscribe to magazine
You are not logged in, click here to log in.
Up to Discussions in Mac IT and Security
6 Replies Last post: Jan 2, 2005 5:59 PM by MacCheetah3  
Click to view helium's profile New Member
helium
46 posts since
Dec 7, 2004
Reply

Dec 30, 2004 8:18 AM

Airport Extreme Range

sorry, had this in the wrong thread....

I've got a 20" iMac G5, with 512 RAM.
I just installed an Airport Extreme card, and the Airport Express Base Station.
My Mac is upstairs, at 25 feet from the base station, yet I still only get 1 bar for signal, and sometimes lose it.
This may be due to my house, as cell phones don't always work either, but is there a way to boost the signal to the base station?

Also - when I switch from wireless internet to direct connect (why do I do that? Don't knwo, but...) I have to unplug and reset my cable modem. Is there a way to avoid this? If I don't do that, the Mac can't see the internet connection.
Reply
Click to view d00d's profile Macworld Editorial
d00d
12,136 posts since
Apr 24, 2001
1. Dec 30, 2004 10:32 AM in response to: helium
Re: Airport Extreme Range
In reply to:<hr />
is there a way to boost the signal to the base station?

<hr />
Make sure that you have the antenna plugged into the Airport card.

In reply to:<hr />
Also - when I switch from wireless internet to direct connect (why do I do that? Don't knwo, but...) I have to unplug and reset my cable modem. Is there a way to avoid this? If I don't do that, the Mac can't see the internet connection.

<hr />
No. Most likely your internet provider binds the cable modem to a single MAC (networking acronym) address. Is it really a big deal? It shouldn't take long to get going again.
Reply
Click to view helium's profile New Member
helium
46 posts since
Dec 7, 2004
2. Dec 30, 2004 11:33 AM in response to: d00d
Re: Airport Extreme Range
well yeah, the antenna would have to be plugged into the card to get any signal, wouldn't it? i get all but one bar when it's right next to the base station, and only the one when it's downstairs.


no, no big deal, i think you're right about the MAC address and my ISP.

Reply
Click to view moose_n_squirrel's profile Old Hand
moose_n_squirrel
2,857 posts since
Sep 16, 2004
3. Dec 30, 2004 12:42 PM in response to: helium
Re: Airport Extreme Range
In reply to:<hr />
This may be due to my house, as cell phones don't always work either, but is there a way to boost the signal to the base station?

<hr />


If radio is that bad in there, fighting with wireless could be an uphill battle. Give some thought to a HomePlug powerline network instead using a device like this, this, or this to run Ethernet through your existing electrical wiring.
Reply
Click to view Officetom's profile New Member
Officetom
78 posts since
Aug 4, 2002
4. Dec 31, 2004 4:03 PM in response to: helium
Re: Airport Extreme Range
If the airport express base station that you are talking about is the tiny little cube device (looks like a power supply) one thing to check is in its software you can set it to send a reduced signal. Normally it comes turned on at the highest setting but you can reduce it (comes in handy if you only want to cover a room or a small area and don't want anybody to be able to see the signal from a distance. I know this device supports this it may be possible that it has been turned way down on the device. If it is not this device I don't know if other apple devices support this feature as well and you could be accidentally turned down. Somthing to check anyway. I have an airport express device and I get a great signal on it and I have turned the power output down to 3/4s.
Reply
Click to view lkrupp's profile Member
lkrupp
176 posts since
Dec 30, 2004
5. Jan 2, 2005 4:25 PM in response to: helium
Re: Airport Extreme Range
I use a D-Link wireless router. In the FAQ section of D-Link's support page there is a FAQ that talks about reception problems. The 802.11b/g protocol uses the 2.4gHz radio band. A lot of cordless phones also use the 2.4gHz band. 2.4gHz cordless phones and the X10 remote control devices can interfere with the 802.11b/g. A neighbor might also be using a 2.4gHz phone that will interfere.

If you have any 2.4gHz phones or any X10 devices you may want to try turning them off and see what happens.

As for boosting the signal Dr. Bott makes a couple of high gain antennas for the Airport Extreme base station. You might check those out.
Reply
Click to view MacCheetah3's profile Old Hand
MacCheetah3
6,635 posts since
Apr 2, 2001
6. Jan 2, 2005 5:59 PM in response to: lkrupp
Re: Airport Extreme Range
Hi
Originally posted by d00d
In reply to:<hr />
No. Most likely your internet provider binds the cable modem to a single MAC (networking acronym) address. Is it really a big deal? It shouldn't take long to get going again.

<hr />

I'm quite certain this is the "norm" for cable Internet modems and ISPs, however they control that. In my experience, about 30 minutes to reset the modem. That is unless the reset button on the modem works for you, since it doesn't for me.

Originally posted by lkrupp
In reply to:<hr />
A lot of cordless phones also use the 2.4gHz band. 2.4gHz cordless phones and the X10 remote control devices can interfere with the 802.11b/g. A neighbor might also be using a 2.4gHz phone that will interfere.

<hr />

I made this very mistake. I can't believe it didn't even dawn on me. Of course, the device only interferes when it is in use. However, when in use, it seems to interfere quite severely.

Originally posted by lkrupp
In reply to:<hr />
As for boosting the signal Dr. Bott makes a couple of high gain antennas for the Airport Extreme base station.

<hr />

The Airport Express has no external antenna connector.

Apple MacBook (Black) 2.16GHz C2D, 4GB, 200GB (7.2K), DL-SD + 16GB iPod touch - Debug Computer Services http://www.click2debug.com
Reply

Actions

More Like This

Macworld powered by Jive Software's Clearspace ® -1.10.1 (Version: {3}) - Submit product feedback
© Jive Software