Airport Extender?

September 26, 2005 4:37 PM

WiFilter: I have an Airport base station set up as a WDS, and an AirportExpress set up to extend the wireless network to an outbuilding. Some days the signal in the outbuilding is pretty good, but other days…

…I can't connect. The computer in the outbuilding is a G3 iMac with a standard Airport card. I've looked at this previous thread, but it doesn't seem obvious that something like a cantenna will work with my configuration, as the Airport base station is the farthest away from the outbuilding (and the whole house is in between). Anyone have luck boosting/extending their Airport network? OS X.3.9. Thanks!

posted by al_fresco to computers & internet (5 comments total)

Where's the Airport Express located? If it's plugged into a socket, then it might be worth buying this stand from Griffin, which makes it easier to place it somewhere higher up.
posted by holgate at 6:44 PM on September 26, 2005

Does unplugging the AirPort Express and then plugging it back in restore connectivity?

When you have no signal in the outbuilding, is the light on the Express solid green or blinking orange?

Try pinging the IP address of the AirPort Express from a computer that has a stable wireless connection. Use `ping -f 10.0.1.240` (filling in the actual IP) if you have access to a Unix superuser account on the computer. (If you use `ping -f`, stop it after 10 seconds or so with Ctrl-C.) How many lost packets?
posted by qslack at 6:44 PM on September 26, 2005

One of the most common problems with wireless signals going outdoors is humidity and condensation. Moist air blocks signals. It sounds like to fix this problem you might have to bite the bullet and get another airport express and set it up in your WDS in a spatial midpoint. obtwfpfm.
posted by Mr T at 6:54 PM on September 26, 2005

holgate: I'll look around and see if I can find some reviews. That could be promising, as it would allow me to place the APEx closer to the door, hence a better signal.

qslack: The light on the APEx is certainly green. This is at my boss's house, so I'll have to try the ping trick next time I go over.

Mr T: This is probably a good guess. It was dampish this afternoon as I was doing the setup and updating the firmware, and performance was better over the summer when it was drier. I was hoping to avoid telling the boss to shell out for another APEx. If all else fails, this might be the way they'll have to go.
posted by al_fresco at 9:48 PM on September 26, 2005

Here's a good 'expected it to suck, but it doesn't' review of the AirBase.
posted by holgate at 10:18 PM on September 26, 2005