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Buck_W · Nov 5, 2003, 12:10 AM

In the recent issue of Macworld there is an article that says that putting an AirPort card into a Cube will turn it into an AirPort Base Station.

Can someone explain to me how this works? I already have an AirPort Card in my PowerBook, but haven't been able to purchase a Base Station.

Is it really possible to put another AirPort Card in my Cube and have that serve as the Base Station? If so, $79.00 is a lot cheaper than $199.00

Any insight would be appreciated - thanks!

Landos Mustache · Nov 5, 2003, 12:14 AM

yes you can but it is not worth it. YOu have to leave the cube on and not in sleep mode. Also the reception is lower then a regular base station.

Best bet is to buy a 3rd part base station/router from D-Link or Netgear. You can find them for under $79 and it will work 10x better.

Buck_W · Nov 5, 2003, 10:37 AM

Originally posted by Landos Mustache:
yes you can but it is not worth it. YOu have to leave the cube on and not in sleep mode. Also the reception is lower then a regular base station.

Best bet is to buy a 3rd part base station/router from D-Link or Netgear. You can find them for under $79 and it will work 10x better.

Thanks for the suggestion. I've checked out both websites and that does appear the route to go. Since I am completely new to this, does anyone think that one of the companies has an edge on the other? The router advertised by D-Link seems to have twice the range as the one by Netgear.

One other question, I have a 15" TiBook, so my AirPort card is the older one (as opposed to the newer AirPort Extreme cards). Am I looking for a router that is compatible with 802.11b?

aaanorton · Nov 5, 2003, 01:16 PM

I like the Netgear MR814. It has EXCELLENT reception, better than any of the others I've tried. Plus, you can pick one up for 30 bucks.

Immortal K-Mart Employee · Nov 5, 2003, 02:10 PM

Originally posted by aaanorton:
I like the Netgear MR814. It has EXCELLENT reception, better than any of the others I've tried. Plus, you can pick one up for 30 bucks.

What he said. And it will work with any wireless network and is made for your "older card".

murbot · Nov 5, 2003, 04:13 PM

Have you been able to set up WEP with that router? I have an older MR314, and I'll be damned if I can get the freaking thing password protected.

aaanorton · Nov 5, 2003, 04:18 PM

I can use 128 bit WEP on my MR814v2. I also have MAC address filtering and no SSID broadcasting enabled.

Immortal K-Mart Employee · Nov 5, 2003, 04:49 PM

Originally posted by murbot:
Have you been able to set up WEP with that router? I have an older MR314, and I'll be damned if I can get the freaking thing password protected.

You have to put $$ or something before that password in your mac I think.

Eug Wanker · Nov 5, 2003, 10:11 PM

Send me your Cube and I will buy you a brand spankin' new Airport Extreme base station and pay for shipping.

Anyways, I paid $35 for a refurb wireless router (SMC). Was a bit finicky for initial setup and the range is mediocre, but it works everywhere I need it and has 128-bit WEP support and MAC address filtering, so I'm not complaining (for $35).

Landos Mustache · Nov 5, 2003, 11:32 PM

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
Send me your Cube and I will buy you a brand spankin' new Airport Extreme base station and pay for shipping.

Anyways, I paid $35 for a refurb wireless router (SMC). Was a bit finicky for initial setup and the range is mediocre, but it works everywhere I need it and has 128-bit WEP support and MAC address filtering, so I'm not complaining (for $35).

Does it have a webbased setup or crappy PC software. You can get a GOOD netgear one for about the same price so I don't think it is worth it.

Oh, and forget about getting your mitts on my cube!

Eug Wanker · 12:23 AM

Originally posted by Landos Mustache:
Does it have a webbased setup or crappy PC software. You can get a GOOD netgear one for about the same price so I don't think it is worth it.

Oh, and forget about getting your mitts on my cube!

Yeah, my refurb SMC has very good web-based setup, although it seems to prefer Camino/IE over Safari. It's on 24/7 and works seamlessly with my TiBook.

My old Netgear wireless access point is now in my office. I leave it unplugged but whenever I need it I just plug it in anywhere and as a bridge it Just Works� with the TiBook. Great little (relatively) portable gadget. This old Netgear originally had to be set with Windows though. (Works with VPC though.)

I'm surprised that companies don't market even smaller portable WAPs. Instead, everyone sells these bulky and more complex wireless routers.