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TICKET ARCHIVE -> 802.11g on older iMac

DrDom - Jun 18, 2006 - 9:57 am

Hi,

I have a G4 iMac (anglepoise/flat screen, tray loading, 800MHz) and OS 10.3.9 and want to go wireless with it (and buy a Mac Book to use wirelessly also).

I gather that I can't buy an Airport Extreme card and plug that in, but is there another way to use Extreme? It isn't clear from what I read whether I can buy a card from another maker and plug it into the Airport slot in the base of the iMac, or if an ethernet wireless external module is the only way. (Or 802.11g USB stick??)

This is because if I have a nice new MacBook it will only run at 802.11b speeds on the net if the older iMac is running at that speed. Correct me if I'm wrong!

The other thing of course is the cost of Airport cards! Why are they so much more than Airport Extreme cards?

Many thanks for anybody's help!

Dom.

earthsaver - Jun 18, 2006 - 12:05 pm

Original AirPort cards cost so much because Apple isn't producing them anymore, so they've become rarer commodities. Your MacBook will only run at b speeds if your iMac is the one receiving the direct Internet connection and sharing it with the MacBook.

So, I'm not familiar with an Ethernet wireless module you speak of. I think USB is the only way to get g speed on the iMac. (No, the AirPort slot is not compatible with other cards.)

Alternatively, you could get an inexpensive wireless router (about $50) to receive your Internet connection from your modem by Ethernet and transmit it wirelessly to other computers. Optionally, you could station it near the iMac and connect that directly by wire, so it's not limited to a slower speed. The MacBook will then pickup the higher speed connection.

Final note: 11Mbps isn't terribly slow, given that your Internet connection itself probably isn't even that fast (unless you're paying big bucks for a 20Mbps cable connection, which I highly doubt is the case). So, if you were to end up transmitting your connection from iMac to MacBook, you probably wouldn't suffer terribly unless you were forced to also deal with lots of distance and interference between them.

- Ben

earthsaver - Jun 25, 2006 - 12:04 pm

Was my explanation useful to you? Do you need anything else?

DrDom - Jul 20, 2006 - 2:51 am

Thanks for the help Ben. It did clarify things for me - I still haven't sorted it, because although it would be good to have it working now it is really for when I move house in a couple of months, when the desktop won't be anywhere near the phone socket.

Thanks for the help and I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you.

Dominic