[Dave B]

Is it possible to use an Airport Express to receive a signal from an existing network,
and then connect a Mac to its ethernet port to connect to the network/internet?

I figured this would be a good way for a friend to get an old iMac connected to an existing
network (provided by landlord upstairs). I'm not sure if it's an Airport base station or another
brand. Will the Airport Express connect to a non-Apple network?

[slpdLoad]

It won't quite work that way. The airport express can either extend a signal using wifi only, or create a network from the ethernet port and broadcast it over wifi. It can't pick up a wireless signal and put it through the ethernet port. Sounds like the job for a USB wireless card to me.
Also, the express will either be very hard to get to connect with a third party network or it won't be able to do it at all.
Cheers

[porieux]

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[slpdLoad]

Well I stand corrected The usefulness of my express just increased, thanks very much for the information!

[onlyone-jc]

Hi.

I wish to do exactly this too with my built-in Airport on my Powerbook.

Basically, I want to receive my connection from my wireless router (Netgear), and then internally give it to the ethernet port, so that it outputs it and gives it to whatever I connect to the other end (i.e. another computer, etc).

How do I this?

I opened up the Airport admin utility, and no base stations show up. I think this is because my wireless router isn't an Apple one.

I went in to Sharing, and enabled internet sharing, sharing the connection from Airport, to the Built-In Ethernet, but then when I connect something to it, it can't detect the network.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
onlyone-jc.

[ghporter]

For less than the cost of the AirPort Express you can get a wireless bridge to dedicate to the old iMac, and thus leave your wireless-equipped Mac free to do other things. Sharing a connection through another computer is never the BEST way to do things, even if it turns out to be the only practical way. In this case, since you sound like you're going to spend money anyway, spend less and get something that won't tie down your computer.

onlyone-jc, this is also the way I would handle your issue (if I understaand it correctly). A wireless bridge is connected through an ethernet cable, so as long as the computer has a network interface you can connect it to a wireless network. And again, it doesn't tie up your other computer at all.

[Dave B]

Thanks for the tip about the wireless bridge. For an Airport Express to work, it would require an
Airport Extreme base station, and both it and the AE would have to be in WDS mode.
Looks like a linksys wireless bridge can be had for $90 (vs $130 for AE).
Anyone know of any other good wireless bridges, especially inexpensive ones?

BTW, I use internet sharing at home with my 22 Kbps dial-up. I have the iMac set
to share both the internet and printer, and for surfing, the Pismo connects at the
same speed––however pathetic––as the iMac.

[chabig]

Wireless bridges tend to be expensive because they aren't produced or purchased in large quantities.

[ghporter]

I just saw two different brands (Buffalo and Linksys) at BestBuy for $79 each. Not bad compared to an AirPort anything. And the Linksys WGA54AG was not only B/G compliant, it had 802.11A as well! (The WGA54G on the shelf next to it and only B/G capable was priced at $99 for some reason!) You can buy the Linksys gaming adapter (really a bridge) for even less online.

[Sherman Homan]

Many of the wireless routers at BestBuy and CompUSA will work as bridges. Buffalo, D-Link, Linksys. None of them do it as easily as the AirPorts, however.

[porieux]

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