[kymikai]

Hi,
Been reading this forum for a while, it seems the iBook in general has better reception, is there anythinh one can do to make the pb recption better? Like putting something near the airport card?
Thanks

[yzeater]

You could put the airport base station close to the card

[rambo47]

Since both the PowerBook and iBook use the exact same AirPort card the reception difference is clearly due to the placement of the AirPort card in the laptop and the material of the laptop. Unfortunately, short of physically modifying the TiBook (read: cutting holes in the metal case) there is not much to do. What is possible but not very elegant is to remove the AirPort card and instead use an aftermarket pcmcia card in the side pc slot. Cisco's Aironet 350 card, Orinoco's WaveLAN cards, and several others will all work. Clearly this is a half-assed solution, and no one wants to go from streamline internal wireless to something ugly sticking out of the side of what is arguably the sexiest computer ever made.

Some people have attacked the problem from the Base Station side of the equation. They've cut holes in the ABS and added external antennae ala the "rabbit ears" of old black and white TVs in the 1950s. Still others have abandoned Apple's AirPort Base Station in favor of something like the Linksys
Wireless Access Point. It's pretty well known that Apple's ABS had the weakest signal of any AP out there. Do a search of the MacNN Message Boards and you'll get lots of info on Linksys. They seem like the most popular wireless solution for Macs. I personally use the AirPort Base Station and get excellent reception of both an iBook and TiBook throughout my small house. Not many obstructions to the signal since it's an old house, but your milage may vary.

With each revision of the TiBook the first question I see is, "Did they improve the AirPort reception ?" Looks like with the current (4th) version of the TiBook Apple is well aware of the less-than-stellar reception, but has chosed form over function in this respect as there has been no improvement from the original Ti. Performance is teriffic in all other aspects IMHO so I guess I can forgive them this one slip up.

[Tomster]

Which powerbook do you have? There is an improvement between the first generation TiBooks and the current 1 Ghz books. I have both side by side now. 2 bars vs 5 bars. The new ones still lack the range of an iBook though. If you have a first generation TiBook, some have reported improvement by pressing the antennae against the side. This is done by removing the battery and pushing the antennae outward. There should be some threads out there covering this. Hope it helps.

[photoeditor]

For most people, a correctly functioning Powerbook is not going to crimp wireless reception. Even at only 75 feet range through walls, that still covers the vast majority of homes and offices in the US.

Actually, the best way to improve reception is to get a base station with an external antenna rather than using Apple's Airport Base Station. The Airport Station, I think, has been designed with large workgroups and schools in mind -- lots of people working in large open spaces with few or no walls separating them from the Base Station. An AirPort Base Station in a large lecture theater with a bunch of design students on PowerBooks is, I suspect, going to work very well, but I haven't tried that one out personally. The ABS is also one of the very few routers on the market with telephone modem support -- a consideration for school districts, individuals or small businesses in rural areas that don't have broadband access.

But it costs $300, and there are broadband-only, cross-platform, web browser configurable routers out there that cost much less and have much greater signal range due to having external antennas. I have been very happy with my single-external-antenna Netgear MR814 router ($110, plus tax equals $119, minus $50 rebate equals a final price of $69), and I get four bars with my Powerbook everywhere in my apartment. And there are other third party routers with considerably greater range than the MR814. I understand there's a LinkSys router with two antennas that effectively doubles or triples range.

Apple is in a more difficult position with improving the range from the computer end. To have a pro-level widescreen laptop come in at a reasonable weight, it has to be thin. To be thin, it has have a very thin casing around the LCD. To have a thin casing around the LCD, that part has to be metal. Wave bye-bye to the best place to put a big antenna. The only remaining part of the computer that is strong enough and thick enough to allow antenna windows to breach it is either side of the keyboard. And in that position, the antenna on the Powerbook cannot be as large or as well positioned as the iBook.

But a good, powerful, third-party base station ought to solve most wireless problems. Make sure you follow instructions carefully and activate the security key though (not as intuitive on a third party router as it is on an Airport Base Station); because all that extra signal means more opportunities for neighbors or passers-by to have a go at logging into your network. You have to activate security both on the control panel in the computer, and on the router through your web browser.

[craigthomas]

Originally posted by rambo47:
there has been no improvement from the original Ti (AirPort)

Actually the DVI models do have better reception than the original. I own both and there is at least a bar better if not two.

To answer the orginal question, I have found that raising the AirPort basestation up increases reception. I have mine about 6-7 feet from the floor. Also, if you have the original silver basestation, make sure that you face the front or back towards the general areas where you like to work. The sides of the basestation have less coverage. The newer white basestations are supposed to have more coverage on the sides. Also, position it so that it doesn't have to go through too many obsticals. Recently I wanted to hide it, and put it in my bedroom closet. It had to go through many items on the shelf to get to my PB. Well, it's back in a highly visible area on my wall again - gota have that reception!