iAntennae : What Are They?

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
The new G5's have ports for Airport and Bluetooth antennae....but you know, I've never seen those things for sale anywhere.



What are they?



What do they look like?



How much do they cost?
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 22
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    the metal case blocks all wireless waves.



    therefore apple is shipping the G5s with external antennas
  • Reply 2 of 22
    Are you sure they actually SHIP with external antennae? I should go back and look, but all I remember seeing were ports for the antennae. It would be nice of them to bundle them in, since they used to be built into the enclosure...
  • Reply 3 of 22
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    hmm... well, apple will either include antennas with the computer or with the cards.



    either way i dont see them costing extra
  • Reply 4 of 22
    macroninmacronin Posts: 1,174member
    Look at page 19 of the Apple G5 Technology Overview PDF...



    See the three pictures on the left hand side of the page? The middle one shows the AirPort antenna that comes standard with the G5...
  • Reply 5 of 22
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Dr. Bott sells two AirPort extension antennae (antennas? antennation? antennai?)



  • Reply 6 of 22
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MacRonin

    Look at page 19 of the Apple G5 Technology Overview PDF...



    See the three pictures on the left hand side of the page? The middle one shows the AirPort antenna that comes standard with the G5...




    Can you link me?
  • Reply 7 of 22
    cakecake Posts: 1,010member
    Link to the PDF and the pic:



  • Reply 8 of 22
    palterpalter Posts: 98member
    If you use the "Learn more" link at the Apple Store for the Airport Extreme Card on the PowerMac G5 page, it says
    Quote:

    The new Power Mac G5 ships with an external antenna part that is affixed to the exterior of the Power Mac G5 (the antenna connects to the internal AirPort Extreme Card port, once installed; just insert the antenna into it's external connector).



    If you do the same for the Bluetooth Module, it says
    Quote:

    Customers who select Bluetooth Module for Power Mac G5 also receive a Bluetooth antenna that is attached to the external case of your Power Mac G5.



  • Reply 9 of 22
    Ahhh my last tiny niggling compaint about the new case is addressed.



    I was planning on holding off on getting a 970 machine until the 2nd rev. Not sure I will make it now



    Curious if the reception of this external solution isn't actually better than the internal antennae of the El Capitan?
  • Reply 10 of 22
    escherescher Posts: 1,811member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Cake

    Link to the PDF and the pic:







    Wow, that looks odd. Better not have the back of your PowerMac in a high-traffic area. I wouldn't like the leg of my pants to snag onto this odd hook. I also wonder whether there is a radio "shadow" directly in front of the PowerMac.



    I think Apple should integrate AirPort and Bluetooth antennas in the keyboard instead. I bet they'd get great reception that way.



    Escher
  • Reply 11 of 22
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    That's a great idea, Escher. But an antenna that clips on top of the display (a la iSight) would be nice because elevated antennae usually recieve superior reception.
  • Reply 12 of 22
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    If you're not going to make your own antenna, Hyperlink Tech units are a much better deal than the Dr. Bott ones.
  • Reply 13 of 22
    bka77bka77 Posts: 331member
    Hi,



    I was at a Powermac G5 presentation on Wednesday and the Apple representative also showed the antennas for Airport and bluetooth. They are smaller than they look on the pictures and I don't think that it is possible to hit a antenna without hitting the whole case (I would kill that person immideatly). He also mentioned that you can use Dr. Botts antenna if you want to have a greater range, because the port for the antenna is the same as the Airport Extreme basestation has.

    The antennae are only shipped with the Powermac G5 if you order Airport extreme or bluetooth.

    It is possible to by the airport extreme card in the powermac G5 later, then the antennae comes with the card. But it is not possible to by a blutooth card, if you don't get bluetooth build in when you by the powermac and later want bluetooth then you need a USB solution.
  • Reply 14 of 22
    Quote:

    Originally posted by bka77

    But it is not possible to by a blutooth card, if you don't get bluetooth build in when you by the powermac and later want bluetooth then you need a USB solution.



    That's good to know...
  • Reply 15 of 22
    macvaultmacvault Posts: 323member
    Wow! It's soooo cool that they put external antenna ports on the G5! I didn't know that. I've been wishing they had done that with the new powerbooks ever since I got the 12". It would come in really handy to be able to plug in an external antenna to my 12" PB. I've been thinking about modifying my PB to do this. Does anyone know of a website that shows the best way to do this? Is it possible to use the internal antennas and external antennas at the same time? Or would the internal ones have to be abandoned altogether? I built a wireless ISP a couple years ago, and we used splitters at our broadcast towers, so I don't see why I couldn't use a splitter in the powerbook to keep the internal antennas hot while also splitting off to a jumper that goes to a port on the outside of the aluminum case.??
  • Reply 16 of 22
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    How would it be handy to plug external antennae in to the PB12 when it has them built into the lid, where they're supposed to be on a notebook, and they give great range?
  • Reply 17 of 22
    macvaultmacvault Posts: 323member
    Hi Matsu: for one thing the PB12" does not have great range. It's far weaker than the iBooks. And secondly, when I go war-driving I can't allways get right up to within 40 feet of the access points, and if I could plug in a yagi or some kind of directional antenna I could more easily pinpoint where an access point is.
  • Reply 18 of 22
    johnsonwaxjohnsonwax Posts: 462member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by pscates

    Dr. Bott sells two AirPort extension antennae (antennas? antennation? antennai?)



    Well, it's complicated, you see. For signal antenna, it's antennas. For insect antenna, it's antennae.



    The latin root for the insect bits is antennae and has been in use, well, pretty much continuously since the Romans. The term antenna for aerials, etc. is derived from latin antennaria which is the mast of a Roman sailing ship and got antennas as a plural. Pick one or the other.



    I prefer antennae for both, personally. We really don't need extra words floating around unnecessarily.
  • Reply 20 of 22
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by shatteringglass

    http://www.99mac.com/nyhetsbilder/bluetooth.jpg



    The first PC with an erection.
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