Farallon Skyline wireless PC card

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
<a href="http://www.farallon.com/products/all/skyline/pn473/index.html"; target="_blank">http://www.farallon.com/products/all/skyline/pn473/index.html</a>;



I've heard that using this instead of airport gives better reception on TiBooks. How much better? I can get an AirPort card for $79, but this card is $119. Is the AirPort reception THAT bad to warrant the extra money?

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  • Reply 1 of 1
    Yes, the Skyline card gives a noticable boost to 802.11 reception in the newest TiBooks.



    I bought a Skyline to put in a Wallstreet powerbook about a year ago when I installed an airport network in my house (I have an office in an attached apartment which also uses the same airport network).



    Reception with the skyline kicked ass - not quite as good as the reception in my G4 tower - couldn't get reception when it was placed next to my tower - but if I moved it around I could find a sweet spot.



    I bought a new revision TiBook (the 800MHz model) to replace the aging Wallstreet hearing the reception had been improved - among other things. Much to my dismay, the normal desk the laptop lives on (not in the office - in the main house) would vary between 2 poles (out of 4) and 0 - about 90% of the time 0 (no reception). This is the same placement the Wallstreet would normally vary between 3 and 4 poles - it very rarely cut out at all.



    I stuck that Skyline card in there on a whim and BAM - back to 3 poles most of the time... It still cuts out more than the Wallstreet did - I assume because of the titanium shell getting in the way - but at least it is usable. I can sit and watch the airport reception and many times it is at 0 when the SkyLine card is still getting good reception.



    I really think your situation depends on the location and layout of the surroundings. The problem with my layout is there is a bathroom (copper pipes) REALLY close to the line between the base station and the laptop.



    The G4 with it's internal antennae (is that plural? it should be) normally kicks 3 poles through 3 or 4 walls, a floor and a tiny bit of roof (!!). The reception line runs down the side of a wall for about 20 feet, and it goes over the top of a bathroom with all kinds of pipes. Totally amazing (pretty lucky really).



    Anyway - Skyline helps a lot - it sticks out the side of the laptop so it gets better reception. And there is a third party (hack) driver so you can use it in your machine.



    [ 07-24-2002: Message edited by: The Pie Man ]



    [ 07-24-2002: Message edited by: The Pie Man ]</p>
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