[Mac Pro] Airport Extreme Card - which of the 3 wires to connect?

[lushforlife]

I ordered my Mac with the bluetooth card from the factory so it was already hooked up. The numbered wires (1, 2, and 3) go to the bluetooth card as you may know.

There is also a cable labeled BT. There is an additional cable with no label on it at all. My last post involved the BT and unlabeled wires only.

I did see the numbered wires hooked up to the bluetooth card which sits just above the Airport card. I don't recall the sequence but I believe it's discussed earlier in this thread.

Yes, the connectors are a tad difficult. I guess that is why it's recommeded as a factory or tech install.

You need to be very careful and make sure the plug(s) are seated properly before you put any pressure on them. Don't tug on the wires too much. They should already reach the areas they need to be. Plus make sure your grounded.

Either with an ESD strap or keep one of your hands touching the chassis. You don't want to zap anything sensitive.

Be advised I'm new to Macs but I was a flight computer tech in the military so I am familiar with these kinds of connections and ciruit boards. I've also worked on several of my old PCs. I'd highly recommend you ask more experienced people on this site.

Good luck and good tweaking!

 

[lary b]

airport card

hi there , i have been looking for the airport card and bluetooth module for my mac pro , but have been unable to locate one . where did you find them ?
thank you .lary b

 

[ratmice]

hi there , i have been looking for the airport card and bluetooth module for my mac pro , but have been unable to locate one . where did you find them ?
thank you .lary b

1. FastMac.com
2. Sonnet Technlogies
3. Apple Store (if you're lucky!)

 

[Picasosz]

Aetheros Card

I installed my Gigabyte ABG (aetheros Card) to my 2008 2.8 mac pro fired it up and is working BT card came pre installed, I used wire 2 and 3 all is good but what is wire 1 for, BT is labeled BT does the new N card have 3 connectors?

 

[revisionA]

hahahaha

I just got mine and dumb-installed the airport card.

Couldn't find any antennae cabling and borrowed the BT antenna for the Airport card... i have net.

Of course, I probably don't have bluetooth...

I wonder if there is a different in the antennae, because I get way better reception than with my airport extreme fitted powerbook.

Why didnt they include a teeny screwdriver is beyond me... you need an eyeglass repair kit for those screws.

$

 

[vlj9r]

I have a manual for the intel quadcore mac pro and this is straight of the manual.

Replacement Note: To replace the AirPort Extreme card, do the following:
Connect the antenna wires to the card.
Important: Be sure to connect the wires that are marked 1 and 3 to the card; the antenna wire that is marked 2 should be taped out of the way.
Insert the card into its logic board connector at an angle, as illustrated.
Lower the screw end of the card down to the standoffs on the logic board and replace the two mounting screws

 

[BIG Yack]

Manuals

Hello!

On last Friday, I have bought a Mac Pro - this years model, which started selling in March 2009. In my order, I forogt to include the card, so I bought it separately today.
Can somobody reffer me to a How-To or an official manual for setting up this card in the new models? I found two tutorials: in the first images are not clear and the second is outdated. The official "documentation" that came with the card states that a maual is available trough the AppleCare Service Source.

Thank you.

Best regards,
BIG_Yack

 

[Goba]

TO BIG Yack:

On last Friday, I have bought a Mac Pro - this years model, which started selling in March 2009. In my order, I forogt to include the card, so I bought it separately today.
Can somobody reffer me to a How-To or an official manual for setting up this card in the new models? I found two tutorials: in the first images are not clear and the second is outdated. The official "documentation" that came with the card states that a maual is available trough the AppleCare Service Source.

Thank you.

Best regards,
BIG_Yack[/QUOTE]

 

[Goba]

TO BIG Yack:

Use any wires combination.(It is all antenna wires) One keep for reserve. I used #2 and #3, #1 keeping free. Everything works fine!







On last Friday, I have bought a Mac Pro - this years model, which started selling in March 2009. In my order, I forogt to include the card, so I bought it separately today.
Can somobody reffer me to a How-To or an official manual for setting up this card in the new models? I found two tutorials: in the first images are not clear and the second is outdated. The official "documentation" that came with the card states that a maual is available trough the AppleCare Service Source.

Thank you.

Best regards,
BIG_Yack[/QUOTE]

 

[adamkeyes]

Pay attention!

I read a million posts trying to figure this out, and here's what trial and error taught me...

The generation and model of your Mac Pro apparently has EVERYTHING to do w/ how you do this. The placement of the Airport card in my Mac Pro (8 core, Intel Xeon, model 4,1) is behind the Ram / CPU block. But the big difference is the 3 wires. I read SO MUCH about these wires, but I guess nobody had the same Mac Pro as me. In mine, the 3 wires are the same length, and only labeled 1, 2, and 3. I literally tried every combination, top and bottom, and my result is clearly that 1 and 2 are the right ones, and it seems in either order. 1 on top or 2 on top, doesn't seem to matter. I tried 2,3 3,2 1,3 and 3,1 also, and the results were awful. Low signal and transmit rates of 1-18. Now with 2,1 connected, transmit rate is 54 (same as my MBP sitting right next to me).
Again, EACH MAC PRO IS DIFFERENT, so figure out which one YOU have, and then find the right blog/thread to help you.

 

[Piercarlo1962]

2018, december 1st - Just a little update about the question on wires, as experimented by myself this morning (in Italy) on my Mac Pro.

First of all there are TWO kind of airport card, that differs just for having TWO or THREE inputs for antenna's wires. The one with three inputs is the ONLY that require the connection of "BT" wire (which is not part of antenna bunch of wires but come from the rear of Mac Pro case and, i suppose, act as a sort of "antenna reflector"), that should be connected to the "0" input.

Of the remaining three wires, those that are really part of inner antenna (located under the motherboard, near the speaker unit), the longest is for Bluetooth card (if present; if not is to be left unconnected and insulated for protection from accidental contacts) and the two shorter are for the two inputs (or the REMAINING two if the third "0" is present) of airport card; the shorter of the two wires (number 2) should be connected to the nearest input it can reach (number 2 again), while the other to the only remaining free (number 3, if labeled)

In the case of using only the two input of airport card, without any bluetooth card, the wires that should be left unconnected are two: 1) the "BT" and 2) the longest of the remaining three (the bluetooth wire, that usually is without label).

Little hint for an easier mount: remove, other than the two bay disk nearer the front of case, also the cover of processors heathsink and the cage of frontal fans, so having more space for handling. In sequence (and avoiding any forcing!): 1) Remove the two from front hard disk bays; 2) Remove video card and any other PCIe cards if present; 3) Remove the two memory risers: 4) Remove the plastic guide that separe, in the memory cage, the space of memory risers and the space of processors-heathsink; 5) Remove the heathsinks cover; 6) Unscrew the front-fan block (is just one screw!) and remove (lift-up) it; 7) Do the job of installing airport card (and even the blutooth card if you want) and connect the antennas; 8) Roll back the way from point 6 to point 1; 9) Enjoy!

 

[EugW]

I had started a thread on this here but I figure it's probably better posting in this thread.

1) If I get the Bluetooth module, will a Bluetooth keyboard be recognized at boot up, so I can use the OPTION key to select boot drives and T key for target mode? If not, I can simply just continue to use my USB Bluetooth dongle which works. The mouse only gets recognized after the OS has loaded, but that's fine since I don't need it otherwise.

2) What size is the screw? I read somewhere it was M2 x 3mm, but I think that's wrong. Somewhere else it said a T6 screw would fit, and that has a diameter of 1.7 mm I believe. I also tried these MacBook screws and they fit in terms of the thread, although they seem too short (although I haven't gotten the BT and WiFi boards in hand to try yet). What is the size of the screw below, M1.6 x 2 mm? If so, perhaps 1.6-1.7 mm and 3 mm long is the right size.

3) In terms of cable length, it seems what makes the most sense as some have described here is that #1 goes to BT, #2 goes to the WiFi connector closer to the BT module, and #3 goes to the other WiFi connector. I also have a that longer cable, but it is not unlabelled. It has the BT label on it, and is connected to the back of the MB.

 

[EugW]

2) What size is the screw? I read somewhere it was M2 x 3mm, but I think that's wrong. Somewhere else it said a T6 screw would fit, and that has a diameter of 1.7 mm I believe. I also tried these MacBook screws and they fit in terms of the thread, although they seem too short (although I haven't gotten the BT and WiFi boards in hand to try yet). What is the size of the screw below, M1.6 x 2 mm? If so, perhaps 1.6-1.7 mm and 3 mm long is the right size.

This post has the measured specs of the screws:

Anybody know what size are the screw's to… - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com

I purchased an Apple MB988ZM/A Airport Extreme Wireless Upgrade Kit for my 2.93GHz 8-Core 2009 Nehalem Mac Pro a couple of months ago.

The kit includes 2 screws inside a transparent pack. The description on the pack reads:
"HH111009 603-9823-A Assembly Screws China".

The screws are approximately 4.5mm in overall length, of which about 3mm is the thread.

The thread appears to be fine, and the round head of the screw takes a Philips 00 screwdriver tip.

I have checked one of the screws with my "screw gauge" (I am a very keen DIYer!), and its diameter measures 1.5mm.

So, I think they're M1.6/M1.7.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

I had started a thread on this here but I figure it's probably better posting in this thread.

3) In terms of cable length, it seems what makes the most sense as some have described here is that #1 goes to BT, #2 goes to the WiFi connector closer to the BT module, and #3 goes to the other WiFi connector. I also have a that longer cable, but it is not unlabelled. It has the BT label on it, and is connected to the back of the MB.

I disassemble my MP1,1 last week for a thorough cleaning.
There are 3 antenna heads to connect from the wifi mPCIE card to the antenna located at the bottom of the case, these are marked 1,2 and 3.
There are 1 antenna head to connect to the Bluetooth unit located at the back of the case. This is mark "BT"
Depending on how many antenna head your Airport Express card may have, or is it included with BT function (newer cards tend to have BT integrated) or not, you have 4 antenna heads to use any way.

 

[EugW]

That was quick. I ordered my Bluetooth module off Amazon yesterday, and it arrived this afternoon. Less than US$10, brand new!

I'll answer some of my own questions.

1) If I get the Bluetooth module, will a Bluetooth keyboard be recognized at boot up, so I can use the OPTION key to select boot drives and T key for target mode? If not, I can simply just continue to use my USB Bluetooth dongle which works. The mouse only gets recognized after the OS has loaded, but that's fine since I don't need it otherwise.

With my dongle (Broadcom chipset), I couldn't get to the boot drive selector screen at bootup by holding down the OPTION key on my Bluetooth Magic Keyboard (the old one that uses AA batteries). I tried it a few times but it just didn't work.

So, I unpaired the keyboard and mouse, installed the module the Bluetooth module, and paired the keyboard and mouse again. Now, during the bootup sequence, if I hold down OPTION on the Bluetooth keyboard, it takes me to the boot drive selector screen. Yay! No need to pull out a wired keyboard just to select a different boot drive.

The other bonus is it frees up a USB 2 port.

2) What size is the screw? I read somewhere it was M2 x 3mm, but I think that's wrong. Somewhere else it said a T6 screw would fit, and that has a diameter of 1.7 mm I believe. I also tried these MacBook screws and they fit in terms of the thread, although they seem too short (although I haven't gotten the BT and WiFi boards in hand to try yet). What is the size of the screw below, M1.6 x 2 mm? If so, perhaps 1.6-1.7 mm and 3 mm long is the right size.

Judging again by the pictures, the screws appear to be M1.6 x 2.5 mm. Because the Bluetooth module's circuit board is so thin, I tried these screws and they worked fine. It doesn't seem like they have a huge amount of thread in the nut, but it's secure.

I haven't received the WiFi module yet so I can't comment on that yet. I don't know if its board is significantly thicker or not.

3) In terms of cable length, it seems what makes the most sense as some have described here is that #1 goes to BT, #2 goes to the WiFi connector closer to the BT module, and #3 goes to the other WiFi connector. I also have a that longer cable, but it is not unlabelled. It has the BT label on it, and is connected to the back of the MB.

I connected the Bluetooth module to #1, which makes the most sense as it reaches perfectly to it. Wires #2 and #3 are shorter, as mentioned.

The unit is a Cambridge Silicon Radio module and range seems good. I took my mouse about 15 feet away and it controlled the computer no problem. This is the original Magic Mouse (which also uses AA batteries).

 

[EugW]

Judging again by the pictures, the screws appear to be M1.6 x 2.5 mm. Because the Bluetooth module's circuit board is so thin, I tried these screws and they worked fine. It doesn't seem like they have a huge amount of thread in the nut, but it's secure.

I haven't received the WiFi module yet so I can't comment on that yet. I don't know if its board is significantly thicker or not.

Those M1.6 x 2.5 mm screws worked for the WiFi module too. The seller had sent one of these, as well as a M1.6 x 6 mm. The latter was way too long.

These are screws that are used in some MacBooks/MacBook Pros.

However...

I connected the Bluetooth module to #1, which makes the most sense as it reaches perfectly to it. Wires #2 and #3 are shorter, as mentioned.

The unit is a Cambridge Silicon Radio module and range seems good. I took my mouse about 15 feet away and it controlled the computer no problem. This is the original Magic Mouse (which also uses AA batteries).

As mentioned, #1 was attached to the Bluetooth module. I attached #3 and #2 to the WiFi module. It was an Apple OEM 2006 BCM94321MC WiFi module with 802.11n support, and within the same room as my AirPort Extreme 802.11ac.

For downloads it was OK and I was getting about 35-75 Mbps down. However, for uploads, it was a total disaster. Short small file uploads that took a second or two were fine, but when I tried to transfer a several GB disk image over WiFi, either I'd get severe stuttering with my Bluetooth Magic Mouse or else the Magic Mouse would disconnect completely. Basically the mouse was completely unusable during big uploads.

I thought it was likely because the #1 wire is parallel to the #2 and #3 wires. OTOH, the cable labelled "BT" comes from a different location of the other wires, and never runs parallel to them.

I disconnected #1 wire from the Bluetooth module and attached the BT wire to it, and all the interference problems with WiFi disappeared.

With this setup, I was able to get about 40-80 Mbps upload speeds with perfectly smooth Bluetooth mouse support, including with large file uploads. No interference whatsoever. So, my recommendation:

If you have a wire labelled "BT", try using the BT wire for Bluetooth first since it runs separate from the others.