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External Antenna for iBook airport?
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Tasmania, Australia
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Has anyone found a way to add an external aiport antenna to an iBook? (I've got a clamshell model).
I'm living very close to an airport network for which I am registered, but I need a larger antenna (preferably roof mounted) than the one built into the iBook.
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Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Mar 2001
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My guess on this would be that you amy not be in need fof a better antenna, but rather a stronger signal. Airport is only rated to 50 meters within buildings and 100 without barriers. These are MAX, so unless youre living real close to the neighbor you may be out of luck.
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Tasmania, Australia
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Originally posted by TAZ:
My guess on this would be that you amy not be in need fof a better antenna, but rather a stronger signal. Airport is only rated to 50 meters within buildings and 100 without barriers. These are MAX, so unless youre living real close to the neighbor you may be out of luck.
Apple's "Airport" base stations may only have that small rating, but the huge Antenna on top of my workplace (not Apple's aiport, but the same standard on which aiport is based) is rated at up to several kilometres (according to our network admin). And my new house is going to be less than 2 kilometres away.
So I just need an external antenna for the iBook to be mounted on the roof to get in line of sight (apparently). Then I need to figure out how on earth to connect it to the iBook's internal airport card.
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Senior User
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Planet Earth
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Maybe you could try some sort of repeater set up. Like something mentioned here . I think it would be messy hooking up an external attena to the iBook. But if that is the way you want to go just need the fancy connector that connects to the airport card and connect a long wire to it. Then disconnect the internal connector and connect the new one.
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---I'm on a low Microsoft diet.
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Dec 2002
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Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2001
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Tasmania, Australia
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Originally posted by Tom N:
Ther are plenty of third party add on antennas for use with 802.11b/g equipment, including airport. Do a google search.
You can start here as well:
http://www.hyperlinktech.com/index.html
Tom N.
Maybe, but I've not yet found a way of attaching one directly to the internal airport card in an iBook. I don't want to have to buy a base station just for this.
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Senior User
Join Date: Nov 2002
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The airport card uses the same antennae pigtail connector as the lucent cards. The actual connection of an antennae should not be too difficult. It would be the routing of the cable from the inside of the iBook to the outside that would be a chore. Then of course, if you want to be mobile, you have to take the whole thing apart again. One alternative to this is to somehow splice in a cable to the built in antennae cable and route it to the exterior of the case with a flush mount connector built for whatever antennae you had found. All in all a very major hack, but it still may be done. Have you considered a wireless repeater?
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Senior User
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Planet Earth
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Originally posted by Tomster:
The airport card uses the same antennae pigtail connector as the lucent cards. The actual connection of an antennae should not be too difficult. It would be the routing of the cable from the inside of the iBook to the outside that would be a chore.
On the iBook, I don't think it would be to bad as the airport card is easily accessible right under the keyboard. Just pop the keyboard, run the wire and put the keyboard back. The keyboard almost certainly wont reattach all the way on both sides.
Still, I think a repeater would be a better solution.
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---I'm on a low Microsoft diet.
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Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2001
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You don't need to buy an airport base station. Adding an external antenna to your iBook is just a matter of selecting an extyernal antenna with the proper connector on it. In this case a airport card uses an MCCard connector. I would suggest a patch style antenna that can easily be attached to your iBooks lid. You would then run the antenna into the iBook and make the connection to the airport card. You would need to find away into the iBook. On a Tibook or Pismo, many people cut a notch in the battery compartment cover. Others thread the antenna in through the expansion card slot. I've not worked on an iBook, so you will need to find your own way into the case.
connectors are available seperately at:
http://www.hyperlinktech.com/web/con...s_mc_card.html
Though I don't recomend trying to attch these connectors yourself, they are very small and require special crimping tools.
An Antenna like this one:
http://www.hyperlinktech.com/web/hg2409p.php
can be mounted to the iBook lid easily, just call them and ask for the cable to be terminated with a connector for the airport card.
Tom N.
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