[slugslugslug]

I'm in a temporary living situation where I have WiFi access for my TiBook (1 GHz), but the reception is spotty even in the best available location for me. So I want to improve the Book's range as cheaply as possible. It seems like the ways to do it are to get a range extender, a CardBus WiFi card, or an external antenna.

The only antenna I've seen advertised to work with the TiBook's built-in card is the QuickerTek Whip antenna. However, I'm wondering if this one (or one of the many similar ones selling for < $20 on eBay) would work as well.

The reason I think it might is that it is described as compatible with Buffalo PCMCIA cards, and QuickerTek offers the Whip in a bundle with a Buffalo card. Also I seem to remember hearing that the original AirPort card is actually a rebranded OEM PCMCIA card with an adapter on the connector..

So anyway, does anyone have any idea whether these cheapo antennae will work w/my AirPort card?

Thanks a bunch.
Y

[ghporter]

In general there are two things to look at when considering an antenna for your wireless system. First is whether or not it is supposed to support the kind of networking you're doing. In all probability, what you're looking at is indeed appropriate for 802.11_ networking.

The second thing to look at is whether or not the connector is compatible with your wireless network device. That's the real kicker in this situation.

The good news is that they state that the antenna is for use with (among others) Orinoco PC cards. That leads me to a question (the answer to which others may have figured out from your post). Is your AirPort card original, or AirPort Extreme? I can't recall whether or not Extreme came out while the TiBook was on the market. If it IS the original AirPort card, then you probably can use the antenna you're looking at, since the original AirPort card was indeed based on the Orinoco card (not exactly the same card, mind you, but close enough for this question).

The only remaining problem is how to get the cable into the computer to connect to the card... I don't know enough about the TiBook to say anything abut that.