AirPort purchasing advice?

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stratosfearstratosfear
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
My parents are looking wireless connection, because they can't get ethernet cable into room where PowerMac Cube is.



Idea is that ADSL-box plus AirPort base station are in upstairs and computer is in downstairs.



Right now there isn't AirPort Extreme card available for Cube and I don't know, if Apple will release Extreme card for Cube.



In this case, when there is only one computer, AirPort Extreme vs. AirPort should not be big difference?



Is there any other wireless base station models, that I should look? Apple AirPort base station, might be easy purchase, but it's a little bit expensive.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    The AirPort Extreme Basestation should be competitively priced against its predecessors. While other brands might be cheaper too, Apple's base should be most compatible with stuff like AppleTalk and possibly rendezvous. The USB printer server is also nice...
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  • Reply 2 of 7
    monkeyastronautmonkeyastronaut Posts: 1,343member
    I had been planning to buy one too, but I don't know how good the signal/reception would be. In Mexico most houses (and inner walls) are made with concrete/cement or other hard materials and I'm skeptical it'd be a good purchase.
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  • Reply 3 of 7
    a@rona@ron Posts: 201member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by monkeyastronaut

    I had been planning to buy one too, but I don't know how good the signal/reception would be. In Mexico most houses (and inner walls) are made with concrete/cement or other hard materials and I'm skeptical it'd be a good purchase.



    If you are worried that the 30 mW the Airport basestation puts out you might want to try this EnGenius AP it has 200 mW output and has the usb printing port on it as well. Only downside is it is not 802.11g only is 802.11b. Either that or build an antenna



    A@ron
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  • Reply 4 of 7
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    If you're too afraid to build your own antenna. Hyperlink sells much more powerful antennae than what Dr. Bott has...they have Apple specific kits with the right connector.
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  • Reply 5 of 7
    a@rona@ron Posts: 201member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Eugene

    If you're too afraid to build your own antenna. Hyperlink sells much more powerful antennae than what Dr. Bott has...they have Apple specific kits with the right connector.



    yeah but the Dr. Bott antennas are too expensive for the 3.5 dBi gain they provide. The wires generally are quite lossy and lose between 1-2 dBi anyhow... I built a 9 dBi antenna from a kit. It required elementary knowledge of soldering and that was about it! Very simple. The connecting wire to go from an Apple Aitport Basestation to an antenna is generally LMR-100 with a MC Card connector and then the appropriate antenna connecting end.



    A@ron
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  • Reply 6 of 7
    monkeyastronautmonkeyastronaut Posts: 1,343member
    Thanks guys!
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  • Reply 7 of 7
    a@rona@ron Posts: 201member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by monkeyastronaut

    Thanks guys!



    No problem MA, oh and if you really want to drop some cash you can get a power amplifier (PA) for the wireless network. However, there is some debate if it is actually useful because they also amplify the noise I've got no experiance in the PA field because of the $400-$500 they want to buy a 1 watt amplifier... ouch.



    A@ron
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