Airport vs. Airport Extreme

pensfan

pensfan

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Finally, my wife and I are switching to broadband. We're going from dialup to cable modem.javascript:smilie(':D')

I have to set up a wireless network because are computers are at opposite ends of the house (my only concern is that the kitchen is between the rooms where we have our computers and that may be a problem because of the Microwave, I understand).

Should I get the Airport Extreme or go the cheaper route and just get Airport? I'm going to get 2 cards and the base station.

Thanks,
Kevin
G3 500 MhZ iMac, 1 GB RAM, 40 GB HD, OS 10.2.3
 
You can only use the older style AirPort in your iMac, and if your wife has a new PowerBook (the only computers currently AirPort Extreme-ready) then buying 1/2 and 1/2 will limit the speed to the slower connection. So, go for the 802.11b - you'd be throwing your money away otherwise.

BTW, before people start railing Apple for forcing upgrades through no AirPort Extreme compatiblity for older Macs, realize that the older PC card system used by the original AirPort can't run fast enough for AirPort Extreme.

http://wireless-starter-kit.com/80211g_update.html
 
Thanks, Snowball. I somehow missed that only the new powerbooks are compatible with Extreme.
I guess it's my way of 'forcing' myself to get a new 17-inch PB!
Thanks for your help,
Kevin
 
Get the Airport Extreme base station. It will work fine with the older Airport, and you'll also have a USB port on it for sharing printers. It's much cheaper than the original Airports were.
 
Maczone.com lists them both at about the same price (new one is cheaper by a dollar, or two, I think). The difference is that the new base station is not yet in stock. You won't save much by buying a new ABS that isn't ABS Extreme.

I'm with BOBW, get the Airport Extreme base station because it's backward compatible with 802.11b and with it you get a USB port. You're also given the option to connect an external antenna (sold for $100-150) that can increase your range from 150 feet up to 250/500 feet. Since you don't own a new Powerbook, you should get the ABS Extreme and the 79 bucks airport card (not extreme).

If you insist on getting the outdated version of ABS (I don't reccomend it), tell me what's the cheapest one you find, and maybe I'll consider selling you mine for cheaper. Dunno what the hell for, though... hehe... not much beneficial to me. But we'll see...

Edit: The 250 bucks version of ABSE comes with a port to connect an external antenna, not the 200 bucks version.
 
(my only concern is that the kitchen is between the rooms where we have our computers and that may be a problem because of the Microwave, I understand).
Click to expand...

Do what I did, either get rid of some of your housemates, or make them sign a contract not to use the microwave when you're online. Or, convince them of the benefits of heating food old style. Got logs?

Seriously, though... The microwave thing won't be too much of a problem, unless you've got a a lot of people in your house, and/or frequent eaters. As far as I know, I get disconnected when microwave is in use, and the da*n thing is not even close to being directly between ABS and my iBook.
 
A microwave is not much of a problem. Any microwave sold in the last 30 years is better insulated than they used to be. At worst, you will have spotty connectivity when you are using the microwave and how long will that last, 30 seconds? If you are the person microwaving, you will not even be using the computer. I have run the Microwave in my house with no problems.

A real problem is other devices that operate at 2.4 GHz, namely cordless telephones. Make sure if you have a cordless phone that it is Wi-Fi compatible.

I have a Panasonic phone and when I get a call, my connection becomes unuseable because my phone and my older Airport do not share the 2.4 GHz frequency very well. When I hang up, I have connectivity again.


This problem was most likely exacerbated by the fact the base station for the phone and the base station for the Airport were next to each other. My house had only two phone jacks that worked and the data line and the phone line were only in one room. If they were further apart, it might aleviate the problem. I fixed the problem partially by moving.

The new Apple Airport supports Wi-Fi, but none of the Panasonic phones I have seen in stores indicates that it supports Wi-Fi. This problem most likely plagues other cordless telephones in the 2.4 GHz spectrum as well. I mention Panasonic specifically because I have one and because I like their phone and would like to buy another one if it will work with my Airport.

900 MHz phones do not have similar problems.

So if you have or are planning on purchasing an Airport or a cordless phone, this is a concern you should research before you make any purchasing decisions.
 
Originally posted by pyroboy
A real problem is other devices that operate at 2.4 GHz
Click to expand...
Does anyone know how badly Bluetooth effects airport connections? It seems strange to me that Apple would put both Bluetooth and Airport Extreme in a machine if they fight (part of the reason I thought Airport Extreme was in the 5 GHz band...but alas it isn't).
 
Apple has addressed this, finally, and said that bluetooth and airport do not interfere with each other. Theoretically it looked like they might, but I have to say that my personal experience supports apple in its statement. I use bluetooth and airport in close proximity to each other on a tibook 667DVI without issue.

Has anyone heard anything more than apple's paragraph about usb printer sharing through the new airport extreme?
 
Originally posted by Snowball
You can only use the older style AirPort in your iMac, and if your wife has a new PowerBook (the only computers currently AirPort Extreme-ready) then buying 1/2 and 1/2 will limit the speed to the slower connection.
Click to expand...

Not true, the Airport Extreme base station can simultaneously provide 54 Mb/s and 11 Mb/s connections to 802.11g and 802.11b clients, respectively.

So I'd recommend getting the Airport Extreme.
 
Not true, the Airport Extreme base station can simultaneously provide 54 Mb/s and 11 Mb/s connections to 802.11g and 802.11b clients, respectively.
Click to expand...

Care to show us an Apple help document proving that? I'm not saying you can't, but the above seems like good stuff. And I think I've seen one doc proving the above to be untrue.
 
Found at page linked by g3joel:
[...]the 11g clients will still be going much faster than the 11b clients, especially within 30 - 40 feet of the 11g access point, even though one or more 11b clients are connected to that 11g/b access point.
Click to expand...

"Much faster" is relative. It's not necessarily 54mbps. One of the documents cited (was it in this thread?), stated that the 802.11g client would be getting 16mbps. 16mbps is much faster than 11mbps, no? Almost 50% faster.
 
Well the talk is that the 11g spec, at least in theory, supports both full b and g speeds at the same time. Seeing as the 11g specification is still yet to be ratified, and 11g technology is only just being released into the marketplace, it may take several firmware and driver updates before we can realistically expect this.

I think you are correct when you say that actual 11g transmission speeds wont be as high in a mixed WLAN as they will be in a pure 11g WLAN, at least for the time being. On the other hand, 11g clients wont be strictly limited to 11b speeds when there is a mixture of b and g clients on the network.

So if you have both sorts of wireless cards then it's worth investing in the Airport Extreme base station rather than the older version, especially if you end up upgrading all clients to 11g some time in the future.
 
I have a 15" PowerBook (Version 2.1 550MHz) and a G4 Tower (Version 2.9 467MHz). I'm running OS10.2 on both machines. I have an adsl connection which goes through an external Alcatel SpeedTouch modem.

Will I face any compatibility issues if I purchase an AirPort Extreme Base Station? I assume I will have to buy two AirPort Extreme cards, one for each machine? Do I then connect my modem to the AirPort?

Thanks for any help.
 
Will I face any compatibility issues if I purchase an AirPort Extreme Base Station? I assume I will have to buy two AirPort Extreme cards, one for each machine? Do I then connect my modem to the AirPort?
Click to expand...

Get the Airport Base Station Extreme. As to the cards, DO NOT buy Extreme cards. They'd be useless to you. They won't fit in the card-slot of either of your machines.

Do you need to have both of your computers wireless? If not, you could get away with buying only one card. Add the card to the powerbook, connect the modem to one of the two ethernet ports in the base station (I forget which -- I say the WAN port, the one with the circular image), and connect the G4 Tower to the other port.

How far will your powerbook be from the base station? If far (ABS' max range is 150 feet), consider getting the version of the ABS that allows you to connect an external antenna ($100-$150 for the antenna, optional). That same version also comes with an internal dial-up modem. $249. Don't need either thing? $199

If I had your machines, I'd buy the $249 ABS and one airport card (NOT EXTREME). That way, I'd be able to add an external antenna, or connect through dial-up, if ever needed.
 
Many thanks for your help Dusty :)

I'll take your advise and just get the one airport card (not extreme) and the extreme base station.
 
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