iMac G5's airport extreme card

[Willderbeast]

If anyone in the world is a true genius, they will have the answer to this question (or problem, rather)

I have an iMac G5 with an airport extreme card. I have a PC with an 802.11g wireless card. I have a router (D-Link DI-524) connected to a DSL/Broadband modem. The router (and internet) are supposed to connect wirelessly to both computers.

But.....
The airport card does not pick up any connection whatsoever whereas the PC picks up a strong signal and the PC is further away from the router than the iMac.

The router is 15 metres away from the PC and through 3 walls.
The router is 10m away from the iMac through 1.5 walls (1 wall and 1 window).
The walls are made of wood. The router is in between the iMac and PC making the distance between the two machines 25 metres.

It is on Channel 1. But I've tried it in 6 and 10.

When I move the iMac closer to (about 3 metres from) the router, it picks up a signal of about 50% strength (ie half the bars).

The PC card cost me AU$39 and the airport card AU$119 !!!!!! Thats about US$30 versus US$90! And the airport card is so weak!!!!

Please help me get a signal on my iMac and a strong one at that! Its only 10 metres and 1 wall!

Thank you!



PS. If you can get me back the hair i've lost over this crisis for the past week i will be very grateful!

 

[devilot]

I think you can try opening the back of the iMac and making sure that the Airport card is properly seated. Translation, make sure that bugger is in all the way. If that doesn't turn out to be the issue, I can help you no more.

 

[killmoms]

Also make sure the antenna is attached fully.

 

[pdpfilms]

have you ever gotten signal with the airport card? I was shipped a dead one once, you may have been as well.

If you have gotten signal with the card before, then try checking to see if it's properly connected (as mentioned above), and try it in another mac if you have one. Maybe try moving the iMac as well, see if at any point you recieve any signal.

My guess is it's dead... but due to Apple's wonderful customer service, that can be easily remedied.

 

[FocusAndEarnIt]

maybe try to repair permissions

that could help

 

[devilot]

When I move the iMac closer to (about 3 metres from) the router, it picks up a signal of about 50% strength (ie half the bars).

So it does receive some signal... We should all try reading.

 

[mklos]

Do you have the OS X.4.2 update installed? There was a problem with wireless connections with both OS X.4 and X.4.1.

Also, make sure the airport antenna isn't pinched inside.

You may have an iMac with some bad antenna's. I've had an iBook have the antenna's go bad and I would have to have my iBook like 4ft away or closer to get a signal.

 

[Willderbeast]

I took the computer to DigiLife which is one of the main Apple authorised re-sellers and they said nothing was wrong and charged me $60 just to look at it for 5 minutes.

But yeah. I got home and set it up and then a few hours later was playing around with the router and the Mac and it picked up a VERY weak signal for the place where I want it to be. It doesn't have enough strength to connect despite being 2 bars which is wierd in itself.

So now...

How do I tweak the router settings to get the furthest distance? Its a D-Link DI-524 and it connects in 1 single direction to an iMac. I don't want to have to buy a hi-gain antenna but will.

I just want to change the internal settings of the signal output and I don't mind if the speed in 11mbps or what, i just want internet on my mac!!!

Thank you!

 

[cardiac dave]

If anyone in the world is a true genius, they will have the answer to this question (or problem, rather)

I have an iMac G5 with an airport extreme card. I have a PC with an 802.11g wireless card. I have a router (D-Link DI-524) connected to a DSL/Broadband modem. The router (and internet) are supposed to connect wirelessly to both computers.

But.....
The airport card does not pick up any connection whatsoever whereas the PC picks up a strong signal and the PC is further away from the router than the iMac.

The router is 15 metres away from the PC and through 3 walls.
The router is 10m away from the iMac through 1.5 walls (1 wall and 1 window).
The walls are made of wood. The router is in between the iMac and PC making the distance between the two machines 25 metres.

It is on Channel 1. But I've tried it in 6 and 10.

When I move the iMac closer to (about 3 metres from) the router, it picks up a signal of about 50% strength (ie half the bars).

The PC card cost me AU$39 and the airport card AU$119 !!!!!! Thats about US$30 versus US$90! And the airport card is so weak!!!!

Please help me get a signal on my iMac and a strong one at that! Its only 10 metres and 1 wall!

Thank you!



PS. If you can get me back the hair i've lost over this crisis for the past week i will be very grateful!

I have basically the exact same setup as you... iMac G5, d-link 514 (older model), PC on wireless, iBook on wireless.... All get amazing signals within 50 feet of the router. It's only 802.11b, but for $10... I'm not complaining.

If the iMac is the only one not picking it up, it has to be an issue with your antenna or AP card. Try it with an alternate wireless router? (try hard-wiring the PC and using ICS on it to share it's connection wirelessly)

If the iMac recognizes that it has an AP card, then it's obviously installed correctly. The one thing to look for is to make sure the antenna is fully seated - pushed in all the way until it CLICKs, and make sure it isnt' pinched or broken along it's length.

Nothing to do with the updates... that was an issue with WPA, and affected security, not connectivity.

 

[devilot]

If the iMac recognizes that it has an AP card, then it's obviously installed correctly. The one thing to look for is to make sure the antenna is fully seated - pushed in all the way until it CLICKs, and make sure it isnt' pinched or broken along it's length.

Which is what I said in post #2...

 

[cardiac dave]

Which is what I said in post #2...

Kind of...