Getting PowerBook G4 to accept AirPort Express card

[spgsose]

Hi there. I'm not even sure if this is the right forum for this, but I'm having a lot of trouble here trying to get this PowerBook G4 15" FW800 I got a while ago from a friend to even acknowledge the existence of an AirPort Extreme card. Maybe someone can point a finger in the right direction.

I've been using an Orinoco WiFi ethernet card up until this point but it's not very good; the signal dies easily through walls. I've tried two different used AirPort Extreme cards now, and the laptop refuses to even notice either one, even though I tried updating the AirPort software, and even reinstalling the OS and upgrading it to 10.4.11 again. Apparently when I go into the Network pane in System Preferences it should just say "card found", like it does with the ethernet connection, but it doesn't.

After a lot of no success, I thought it might be a hardware issue, so I took the laptop apart and snapped this pic of the area around the AirPort card slot. I have no evidence the slot in question ever worked, by the way.

Can anyone tell from that pic or anything else what the problem might be? Feel free to request a different pic with more parts removed or whatever if that will help.

[lafinfil]

Hi and welcome to the forum

From your description it sounds like a hardware problem to me, but you would need to confirm
that the two different cards you tried were good to begin with using a different computer.

Not sure about the Orinoco card though. Have you retried it since the APE cards were tested?

[spgsose]

Hi, thanks for responding. The cards came from separate Ebay suppliers and I can't be absolutely sure they actually work as I don't have another Mac to test them with.

I have tried the Orinoco since and it does still work, yes.

[Ken Sp.]

Welcome!!
The natives are friendly.

Stupid question by me---but, Did you make sure the antenna was plugged into the internal cards?

Here is what the antenna lead looks like
http://s1.guide-images.ifixit.com/igi/pW...jOEe.large

Try iFixit
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Browse/PowerBook

[davester]

That particular model is prone to failure of the logic board's airport card connectors. It happened to me so I ended up using an aftermarket card in the pc card slot. Also note that the logic board problem can also cause booting problems if there is a card attached to it.

[mrlynn]

spgsose wrote:
Hi there. I'm not even sure if this is the right forum for this. . .

A reasonable doubt, considering the growing proportion of non-Mac to Mac topics on this ostensibly Mac board. But I come often for help with arcane Mac (and Windoze) problems, and find there is still a pool of real expertise underneath the froth of trivia (for which I am as guilty as any).

I looked on Everymac.com to see if the FW 800 PowerBooks supported Airport Extreme, and they do. So if you've got everything connected properly, and if you still can't see the card in the Network Settings, then it's either the card or the motherboard. Did the friend use it with an Airport card?

/Mr Lynn

[Yoyodyne ArtWorks]

I use a Motorola PC card on my G4 400 TiBook, works great. Make sure to get one with the Broadcom chipset (same as Airport Extreme), won't need any kind of software add-ons to the computer that way.

[Winston]

If you want to try another PC Card this might be an option. It was posted on the forum a few weeks ago:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400071130596#ht_2926wt_1164
This is an 802.11g card. The 802.11g cards with a Broadcom chip are the ones which your Mac should recognize the same as an AirPort card.

There are also 802.11n PC Cards, but they require a driver. OWC carries one:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Edimax/EW7708PN/


Good luck.

- Winston

[spgsose]

Accidentally previewed post and then thought I was finished and closed window, so had to retype it, blah...

Anyway. Lotsa replies! Thanks. Despite some attempts with compressed air on the logic board connectors and a good deal of tightening connections, still no luck.

Any idea if it could be the AirPort Express card itself? Maybe that particular model (A1026) doesn't mesh will with my model of laptop (PowerBook G4 15" FW800).

By the way, does anyone know where I can find a labeled diagram of the internals of an aluminum PowerBook G4? Despite a good deal of searching I haven't turned up anything. I'm not entirely sure what's where, only having messed around the insides of PCs before.

Individual replies:

Ken Sp.: Yep, the antenna is connected.

davester: As with the situation you had, it's probably a better idea for me to get a better PC Card than try replacing internal components, mostly because it seems there are a few things it could be and the components aren't cheap.

mrlynn: Nope, he only ever used the PC Card.

Yoyodyne ArtWorks & Winston: I'll check out those cards in my search for a PC Card replacement, since it looks like the AirPort Express attempt is doomed. These are good cards that can play streaming video well and receive signals through walls and at fair distances, right? That's my current PC Card's problem.

[Winston]

spgsose wrote:
Yoyodyne ArtWorks & Winston: I'll check out those cards in my search for a PC Card replacement, since it looks like the AirPort Express attempt is doomed. These are good cards that can play streaming video well and receive signals through walls and at fair distances, right? That's my current PC Card's problem.

A PC Card (aka CardBus card) should have better reception than the internal card in your PowerBook, primarily because the antenna is outside of the computer's case. That's certainly the case for my TiBook, but TiBooks have notoriously bad internal antennas.

All sorts of things can affect WiFi reception:
- signal from the wireless access point/router. Some routers have better antennas or stronger signals. Some can have their firmware changed (see dd-wrt or tomato) and then be able to boost the power of the signal. There are also ways to focus the signal in a given direction.
- interference from other devices using the same frequencies. Cordless phones on the 2.4 MHz band are the biggest culprits, but other WiFi routers using the same or adjacent channels, baby monitors, etc. can be a problem. Turning on "use interference robustness" if you have an AirPort base station can help. Using the 5 GHz band if you have "n" can also help, as there is less interference on that band.
- blockage of signal by different materials. For example, WiFi won't go through a refrigerator. It works on line of site, so if there is something which blocks radio in the path, you won't get as good a signal.
- type of WiFi being used. While I have not seen a direct comparison, my sense is that WiFi range, from shortest to longest is:
802.11g
802.11b
802.11n

Note that this does not match the speed. "g" is faster than "b", but at the expense of shorter range. "n" is both faster and should match or exceed the "b" range.

Some PC Cards have a jack for an external antenna. The old Lucent WaveLAN Silver (upgraded to Gold) PC Card I use with my TiBook has an antenna jack, for example. I actually have an antenna I can plug into it, but I've never really needed it. Range with my card is as good as our old iBooks, which were among the best Macs for WiFi range - at least until the "n" WiFi cards came out.

What kind of Orinoco card are you using now?


- Winston