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The problem with the Airport base station capacitor failures is described on this web page:

http://www.vonwentzel.net/ABS/Repair/

There are also instructions buying and replacing the failed parts, with good images. I followed these instructions a couple years ago very successfully.

WEP is trivially breakable. Sniff the air for long enough to brute the WEP package, spoof one of the recorded MACs you heard while sniffing, and you're in. WEP uses a home-rolled encryption that's weak.

"WEP is vulnerable because of relatively short IVs and keys that remain static. The issues with WEP don't really have much to do with the RC4 encryption algorithm. With only 24 bits, WEP eventually uses the same IV for different data packets. For a large busy network, this reoccurrence of IVs can happen within an hour or so. This results in the transmission of frames having keystreams that are too similar. If a hacker collects enough frames based on the same IV, the individual can determine the shared values among them, i.e., the keystream or the shared secret key. This of course leads to the hacker decrypting any of the 802.11 frames."

WPA does not use such a thing. The new WPAv2 uses even better AES! Check out how it works.

Nintendo saying no to WPA basically means I will never use my DS at home since I'd have to setup another wireless basestation and a DMZ to allow it to access the net. I will not compromise my wireless network security for a toy.

It's also well known that Apple already uses AMD chips:
http://www.vonwentzel.net/ABS/Evolution/index.html

Doesn't it seem more reasonable that they're upgrading their wireless systems from AMD to Intel, than fundamentally changing their core machines/processes/software? I think so.

http://www.vonwentzel.net/ABS/Configuration/OSXExt reme/Airport/

4A * 250V = 1kVA

So, you need a 1kVA inverter of effeciency "e", a charger, and 8kwh/e bank of batteries. I'd get at least a 1.5kVA rated inverter unless you've already padded your requirements. I don't like to run any equipment at full rated load unless I really trust the vendor. Yeah, it'll work. But it won't last.

Just googling around, I see you can buy a 1.5kVA inverter for £210.60.
Another company has a 2kVA continuous inverter for £529.45. I have no idea if these vendors are reliable. The one specifies "power", but I didn't see "peak" (aka "starting") or "continuous" (aka "rated") power. More investigation of this one is indicated prior to purchase. The other seems to be the UK version of our JC Whitney. But I guess you can get some idea of cost here.

So, we've spec'ed the inverter at somewhere between £250 & £550. Oh, yeah--there's a 1kVA inverter on the speedydelivery site for about 1/2 of the 2kVA one.

If their effeciency ratings are to be believed, (85%), you'll need a little under 5kWH of energy from your batteries. That's a little over 200 amp-hours at 24V.

This guy has a lead acid battery page, discussing some issues pertinent to your application. If he's to be trusted (haven't confirmed his recommendations; spend some time with Google before you buy...), you want:

Deep Cycle Batteries

Only discharge down to 1/2 capacity

Keep discharge current as low as possible

Which means to buy about 400A*H of 24V deep cycle (marine) lead acid batteries. Or 12V pairs in series. Buy 800A*H if you use 12V. I have no idea what batteries cost in the UK. Wire your 24V batteries in parallel. If you put 12V batteries together in series, call that a 24V battery, and forget that it's 2 boxes. If you don't understand this, talk to somebody who does. Boiling sulfuric acid solution and battery shrapnel are dangerous.

I did find a price over here for an "interstate" (a well known US battery mfr) USRM-8D. Each of these has about 189A*H capacity at 25A or 132A*H capacity at 75A. They're 12V, so you'll want 800AH.

Running your system at 1kVA and 85% effeciency, you'll be drawing just under 50A from your battery bank. Wiring 2 (series) sets of 2 batteries in parallel, each battery will see 25A draw. It's up to you if you want 2 or 3 sets of batteries. You're a little short of 800A*H, but we've already doubled the size of the battery bank to increase battery life. I would only buy 4 of these. Over here, you're looking at $189.95 ea. If the only difference is currency conversion, you're looking at about £400, or £200 if you don't care about battery life and are willing to lose power a little earlier than 8 hours.

These guys have a charger for about £60. That seems kind of high to me, but I don't live in the UK, so ???

Alright...So, the battery solution is now looking something like £500 to £1000, depending on the decisions you make above (big vs little inverter; big vs little battery bank). +VAT, but that's a wash, since you haven't specified budget.

Generator: Again, we're looking at only 1kW. The smallest generator I can find (ignoring cutesy satchel-types that cost 10* as much) is 5kw. I looked for UK generator prices and found none. Best I can do is give you some typical prices from Amazon. I recently did a whole lot of research on these units (read last paragraph). There are basically 4 classes of generators I've seen:

Cheapest one you can buy a

• Cisco radio
• bridge/AP at same time
• built in print server
• AOL compatable modem($250)
• can use nice antennas without mod($250/$300)
• built-in POE($300 one)

Has anyone else tried these external antennae, and if so, has it resulted in better or worse signal when above or below the base station, compared to using an AEBS with no external antenna connection?

Its webmaster has put together a tutorial for every base station, including repairing the marginal power supply for the Graphite base station, how to extend the range of Graphite, Snow, or Extreme base station, etc. For you X-file fans, he even performed a Airport Extreme Dissection that goes much further than anything I have seen on the net.

Its webmaster has put together a tutorial for every base station, including repairing the marginal power supply for the Graphite base station, how to extend the range of Graphite, Snow, or Extreme base station, etc. For you X-file fans, he even performed a Airport Extreme Dissection that goes much further than anything I have seen on the net.

Its webmaster has put together a tutorial for every base station, including repairing the marginal power supply for the Graphite base station, how to extend the range of Graphite, Snow, or Extreme base station, etc. For you X-file fans, he even performed a Airport Extreme Dissection that goes much further than anything I have seen on the net.

Its webmaster has put together a tutorial for every base station, including repairing the marginal power supply for the Graphite base station, how to extend the range of Graphite, Snow, or Extreme base station, etc. For you X-file fans, he even performed a Airport Extreme Dissection that goes much further than anything I have seen on the net.

Its webmaster has put together a tutorial for every base station, including repairing the marginal power supply for the Graphite base station, how to extend the range of Graphite, Snow, or Extreme base station, etc. For you X-file fans, he even performed a Airport Extreme Dissection that goes much further than anything I have seen on the net.

There is also AirPort base station, which employs an AMD MIPS processor

The early graphite-colored AirPort Base Stations had a very widespread nasty problem of failing because of two capacitors failing - two Lelon capacitors. Apple acknowledged the problem within a certain serial number range (PW940XXXXXXX through PW952XXXXXX), and fixed the problem for customers out of warranty. However, Apple continued using the same apparently-faulty Lelon caps, and graphite base stations continute to fail. All that's needed is to replace these two capacitors; see this site for background information, and a picture of the Lelon capacitor compared to others. It's significantly smaller, considering the voltage and capacitance ratings, than other similar capacitors. Since it's a Lelon (one of the brands mentioned in the article), and because one of the supposed benefits of the secret electrolyte was to be able to make the caps smaller, it now seems clear what went on here. Apple hasn't made the graphite base stations for some time now, but they kept using the same faulty Lelon caps until the very end.

For anyone who wants to repair their base station - the symptom is all red lights, continuing to power cycle, and perhaps even a faint hissing noise coming from the failed capacitors - I recommend Radio Shack 35V 220uF electrolytics (272-1029). They're small enough that the base station doesn't have to be modified (the hardest part of some of the suggested replacements), and seem to work fine. I've replaced a few with these now, and they've all been working like a charm.