How To Add An External Antenna To AirPort Base Station

An anonymous reader writes "I came across this article yesterday on how to add an external antenna to an airport base station 2.0 in order to extend its range. Takes about 20-30 mins to complete and with the instructions is very easy."

Comments

Possible for version 1.0, too

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's a tutorial to get external antenna for the first generation Airport Base station:
http://www.wwc.edu/~frohro/Airport/Airpo rt.html

Better tutorial, better pics

[Sillypuddy]

http://www.vonwentzel.net/ABS/ExtendedExtreme/ Also tells you the difference between the modem version and the regular version of the airport extreme -joe

Or you could buy what you need

[littleghoti]

There are two models of the airport extreme base station, and the other model ships with an antenna port. Of course if you want to save money and invalidate your warranty, then thats your business.

Re:Or you could buy what you need

[YouHaveSnail]

Or if you want to extend the range of the AirPort 802.11b base station that you already own, and whose warrantee has very likely already expired, then that too is your business.

It's useful to point out that the performance of any 802.11[abg] base station, Bluetooth node, cell phone, cordless phone, or really any RF device depends an awful lot on the environment in which it operates. Obstacles, reflections, and interference from other devices all play a role. So your AirPort base station may work great when you bring it home, but not so great when you move to a different apartment with different walls. Adding an antenna to your existing unit may improve the performance for a lot less money than adding another base station or replacing your entire network with AirPort Extreme.

Re:Hmm

[Oculus Habent]

The AirPort 802.11b "Snow" as opposed to the "Graphite"

I like the simplicity of the "one name" naming scheme, but it's a PITA to figure things out when someone says, "It's an iMac."

What color?

Blue.

Bondi, Blueberry, or Indigo?

It's a light blue.

Does it have a DVD-ROM drive?

I dunno.

Is it slot-loading?

What does that mean?

It means I'll come over tomorrow.

Next on Slashdot...

[floydigus]

Wiping your backside - a howto with easy to follow diagrams.

I mean - did this really need the photostory treatment?

Re:Next on Slashdot...

[proj_2501]

Here's a great step-by-step procedure for wiping your backside

Already published on /.

[adelayde]

I already had an article I wrote regarding pigtailing the Airport on Slashdot back in April, so why the same story? I notice that there's a bit of repition here, there was another story published on /. recently that was also covered in the same article I wrote.

I'm not trying to say I did it first here and I appreciate that others may have different or better information, but to be honest, I can't see that this article improves over what I wrote before. My article covers pigtailing the airport and the use of a number of different types of home made antennae with the base station, including range tests as well as disecting both the Aiport and Airport Extreme.

Perhaps the editors should check a little harder about previous postings when weighing up whether to publish new ones?

Re:Already published on /.

[hexdcml]

... you're new here aren't you ;)

Re:Hmm

[MalleusEBHC]

Apple used to have an easy solution for this by giving logical names to the different Powermac models such as "Yikes," "Yosemite," and "Sawtooth." However, they abandoned this in favor of non-descript names like "Quicksilver" and "Mirror Drive Door." For the life of me, I can't figure out how people remember model names now.

Re:Why not Dr. Bott?

[gdarklighter]

And that would be all well and good if he was using the upper end Airport Extreme base station. He is using an Airport Base Station 2.0, which does not have an external antenna port.

Re:Be Careful If You Try This! (My Experience)

[Anonymous Coward]

What kind of computer guy emphasizes going INSIDE THE MACHINE.

That's like an plumber who says, "The,n I had to go UNDER THE SINK."

Or an auto mechanic that says, "Then Ford told me I had to go UNDER THE HOOD."

huh?

[commodoresloat]

Which is better, a 5400, a 6300, a 7200, or an 8100? Normal people couldn't figure that mess out.

What part of "more is better" couldn't "normal people" understand?

Re:Hmm

[Phroggy]

Actually Yikes, Yosemite and Sawtooth were internal code-names, never intended to be used by the public. The official public names of Yikes and Sawtooth names are "PowerMac G4 (PCI Graphics)" and "PowerMac G4 (AGP Graphics)" respectively, and the systems are distinguished by the orientation of the headphone and microphone jacks on the back (horizontal or vertical, I forget which is which). And, the code-name "Yikes" actually did make sense - Sawtooth was supposed to be the motherboard they used when the G4 was introduced, but Sawtooth wasn't ready yet, and Steve Jobs wanted to ship, so they quickly figured out how to throw a G4 processor onto a motherboard designed for a G3. Within a few months, they were replaced by Sawtooth systems. If you know anything about Steve Jobs, you'll understand why they'd call it "Yikes!" He has a reputation for throwing things at people when he's not happy.

The decision to ship the G4 early was widely regarded as a mistake, since Motorola wasn't anywhere near ready to supply sufficient quantities. I don't recall the result of Apple's lawsuit against Motorola for that.

Re:Hmm

[dwightk]

What kind of PC do you have?

-uhh... it's greay and has some stickers on the front...

Does it have USB?

-whats that?

Is it a Dell or what?

-I get email on it...

don't really see the difference... sure there is an Inspiron 230000000 and a 2300000001, but what is the difference between the two?