AirPort Question

debaserdebaser
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I'm hoping for some advice about setting up an airport wireless network in my house. I have a TiBook 550 and my fiance has a 700 iBook, both have the original airport cards installed (from our recent college days). Currently we have a DSL internet connection and we take turns plugging in and out the ethernet cable (although i have a router, one cord is easier to manage than three). I'm interested in setting up a wireless network that would enable us to (A) access the net at a reasonable speed and (b) wirelessly print to our Epson C82 inkjet printer.



Which apple solution is best for us? Thanks for the advice.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    toweltowel Posts: 1,479member
    The Airport part is easy. Buy a cheap wireless router, like the D-Link DI-614+, and plug it into the cable modem. That should run you less than $100. I find the D-Link to be easy to set up with a surprisingly powerful set of features.



    The printer may be more difficult. If it's network-aware with an ethernet port, you should be able to plug it into the wireless router (make sure the one you buy has a few wired LAN ports, too, like the 614+) and connect to it by the IP address the router assigns it. If the printer only has a USB port...hmm. I'm sure somebody makes an adapter that lets you share it over a network, but I couldn't point you to one. MacOSX does have a "share local printers" option, so if you have a desktop Mac you can connect the printer to it, connect the Mac to the router, and share its pinter. That would work.
  • Reply 2 of 6
    debaserdebaser Posts: 5member
    Thanks for the information. I was hoping that I might be able to use the current airport basestation offered by apple and share my USB printer that way, even though both machines recieving wireless internet were operating with older airport cards.
  • Reply 3 of 6
    johnqjohnq Posts: 2,763member
    Wireless is dramatically slower than wired ethernet, just so you know. It's a tradeoff. Relative mobility vs. higher throughput. Better to just get a 2 (I recommend 4-port) ethernet router (not a wireless one). I use a Netgear (link).



    But I actually plug my Airport hub into THAT. This gives me 2 ethernet ports for wired ethernet, 1 for XBOX and 1 for the Airport.



    So, if I'm at my desk I can be wired (faster; for downloads) but I can also go wireless anytime.



    Like so:

    http://www.nullface.com/network.jpg



    (Don't be put off by some of the other stuff) Not shown are 2 empty ethernet ports in the NetGear, that I can use for direct connections to 2 more computers.



    Can it be done with a wireless router for less? I don't know. I wanted only to use Airport, particularly its great admin utility (managing several computers as you can tell)



    Can't help with that USB printer.
  • Reply 4 of 6
    seen_xuseen_xu Posts: 134member
    what about a wireless router solution? will it cost much? I think a cable modern, a wired router, and a wireless AP would also turn to your room a great mess, but a cable modern and a wireless router would make your budget tie, right?
  • Reply 5 of 6
    idebaseridebaser Posts: 121member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Debaser

    I'm hoping for some advice about setting up an airport wireless network in my house. I have a TiBook 550 and my fiance has a 700 iBook, both have the original airport cards installed (from our recent college days). Currently we have a DSL internet connection and we take turns plugging in and out the ethernet cable (although i have a router, one cord is easier to manage than three). I'm interested in setting up a wireless network that would enable us to (A) access the net at a reasonable speed and (b) wirelessly print to our Epson C82 inkjet printer.



    Which apple solution is best for us? Thanks for the advice.



    Apple's current airport station has a USB out specifically for a printer...it also handles the older airport cards and DSL is still slower than 802.11b, so don't worry about internet speed...it's not the cheapest but it's the cleanest and easiest solution...if u wanna discount buy the airport base station this friday at an apple store during the Panther extravaganza!

    Airport Extreme Base Station
  • Reply 6 of 6
    toweltowel Posts: 1,479member
    Um, I think johnq is assuming wireless =! lan. That's not true, at least not with most wireless routers.



    The DI-614+ wireless router I suggested has five ethernet jacks: one to plug into your cable/DSL modem, and four that you can plug computers into. You don't need two routers. One router does both tasks. Wireless is slower than wired, but both are way faster than your cable modem. Unless you're regularly swapping 600MB linux distros between your laptops, I doubt you'll feel the need to plug in after you've experienced the joys of home wireless. Surfing the web on the couch as you watch TV rocks.



    As for the Airport base station, you can certainly use it as your router. But it includes only a single LAN port (one wired computer at a time) and it costs $200. The DI-614+ has four LAN ports and costs $45 at Amazon after rebates. Your call. NetGear and Linksys make similar low-cost routers. In my opinion, there's little reason to buy Apple's base station.



    Edit: Just saw the last post. So there is a reason to buy the ABS, if you can plug your printer into it. But you might want to see if you can find a less expensive solution, given that the ABS's lack of LAN jacks might mean investing in a second LAN-only router.
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