need help with better reception for airport extreme card

[jvcajita]

i just recently bought an airport extreme card for my g5 to connect with my other pcs. unfortunately, the signal is rather significantly low and sometimes loses connectivity. ive tried making sure no magnetic barriers are in its way connecting to my linksys wireless-g router. any suggestions? are there any antennas available in market that i could use for the g5? any help would be great! thank you!

[kc0arf]

Hello,

I do not have an Apple Extreme card, but can give you some thoughts on it.

Wireless communications happen in the 2.4 GHz range, where a number of other devices transmit and receive, such as a cordless phone, and perhaps wireless remote controls like garage door openers, and maybe pet tracking devices.

A radio signal is an EMF (electro-magnentic field) transmission, so yes, having the magnets out of the way is a good idea. But there are other things to consider too, such as steel, large electric fields like a big electric space heater, thick walls, cement / brick walls, perhaps special flooring. Large monitors nearby can also raise the "noise floor" causing garbled communications. I know, for example, that my garage door opener interferes with one of my ham radio units.

You did not mention if you were in a home environment, or an office. Perhaps you are in a hospital in the X-RAY department with lots of lead in the walls.

Think of your wireless card like a walkie-talkie. You would like a clear-as-possible shot between your computer and the access point.

If you can give us the model number of the unit, we might be able to help you research externnal antenna options.

Christian