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blindemboss · Oct 10, 2005, 01:57 PM

Picked up an old Airport B card for my iBook G3 500...and the reception to my D-Link "B" router is pretty weak.

But the same signal to my Powerbook an Airport Extreme "g" card is really strong.

Now I know there's a difference between extreme vs. regular, but I always thought the iBook had traditionally a better antennae reception.

Or maybe the operating system makes a difference. I'm on Panther with my PB ...but only on Jaguar on the iBook.

Voch · Oct 10, 2005, 02:46 PM

Did you plug in the antenna connector into the card? That's about all I can think of except discrepencies in the two operating systems.

Voch

ghporter · Oct 10, 2005, 03:41 PM

The antenna cable goes in a LONG way-if it isn't in all the way the typical symptom is poor reception. Open 'er up and make sure that connector is as deep as it will go.

seanc · Oct 10, 2005, 03:51 PM

It *could* be that the antenna cable has been damaged in the hinge.
Have you ever replaced the screen cable or opened it up?
If you still get a weak signal after checking everything else then it may be worth your while checking.

GSixZero · Oct 10, 2005, 05:14 PM

Make sure the antenna is plugged ALL THE WAY into the card. Sometimes it takes a bunch of oomph to get it in there. It will definitely snap in, all the way up to the shoulder of the antenna connector. If it's only in there half way, you'll get crappy reception.

Macpilot · 10:29 PM

B mode is three times more range than G. The card is probably not seated.

Macpilot · Oct 15, 2005, 10:34 PM

I have heard that in 10.4.2, the Airport menu bar icon has been changed to indicate not the Airport signal strength, but the signal QUALITY. Can anybody confirm this?

ghporter · Oct 16, 2005, 06:03 AM

The AirPort indicator has always shown a relative quality indication. It's based on a combination of signal level and signal-to-noise ratio, plus the data error rate. It's been tweaked for 10.4.2, but it's been tweaked in every AirPort software release.

Macpilot · Oct 16, 2005, 11:30 AM

Originally Posted by ghporter

The AirPort indicator has always shown a relative quality indication. It's based on a combination of signal level and signal-to-noise ratio, plus the data error rate. It's been tweaked for 10.4.2, but it's been tweaked in every AirPort software release.

Would you mind telling me where you got this info? Thanks!

ghporter · Oct 16, 2005, 04:37 PM

The basic hardware for all wireless cards generates something that's usually called a "figure of merit," which is to say a composit quality indication. I have tested a number of wireless cards, including AirPort Express cards, and pure signal strength does not account for the indications any of them produce.

I can't give you a single source for background on this-I've developed this understanding over a couple of years. But I can say that as far as tech data and component data sheets goes, all chipsets appear to have a number of quality indicators internally, though every implementation has only a single quality indication for the user. On top of that, before you load the next AirPort update, do a little scientific analysis of your laptop's wireless performance; record the number of bars the AirPort indicator shows at a variety of distances from your base station, then introduce a variety of interference factors at each previously measured location-people in the way, changes in height above the floor, etc. Then load the update and repeat. In many cases you'll see a noticable variation in what your laptop indicates as your connection quality, and the only change is that the firmware and (maybe) driver were changed.

I'd love to say "look here, here and here, and you'll understand why I said all this, but I can't. It's an observation of how the various products' firmwares have been written to give users some kind of indication, and the writers don't publish their code for us to evaluate.

Macpilot · Oct 16, 2005, 06:04 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

The basic hardware for all wireless cards generates something that's usually called a "figure of merit," which is to say a composit quality indication. I have tested a number of wireless cards, including AirPort Express cards, and pure signal strength does not account for the indications any of them produce.

I can't give you a single source for background on this-I've developed this understanding over a couple of years. But I can say that as far as tech data and component data sheets goes, all chipsets appear to have a number of quality indicators internally, though every implementation has only a single quality indication for the user. On top of that, before you load the next AirPort update, do a little scientific analysis of your laptop's wireless performance; record the number of bars the AirPort indicator shows at a variety of distances from your base station, then introduce a variety of interference factors at each previously measured location-people in the way, changes in height above the floor, etc. Then load the update and repeat. In many cases you'll see a noticable variation in what your laptop indicates as your connection quality, and the only change is that the firmware and (maybe) driver were changed.

I'd love to say "look here, here and here, and you'll understand why I said all this, but I can't. It's an observation of how the various products' firmwares have been written to give users some kind of indication, and the writers don't publish their code for us to evaluate.

Thanks! I appreciate the info.