airport card ??? help

[ayrton senna]

i can see that on my system profile i have an airport card w. firmware ver 9.42. does this mean that i can use my power book for wireless connection?
and how do i use it? what do i need to get a connection? (at home or at hot spots)

i hope you can help me on this 1. i actually started using mac just recently, im beginning to get the feel of it. and with your help i think ill use my mac more often that my pc. our mac was given as a gift by my folks.


AS

[penmanila]

1. you'll need to turn on your airport card (look for the fan-shaped icon on the upper right of your menu bar);
2. if you're anywhere near a wireless source, bars will appear on that icon; the more, the better.
3. click on your browser icon in the dock--voila, you should be wirelessly connected to the internet!

(ps / it's not always that simple, of course, but it often is. you can't get into networks that are closed to others, or which you have to pay for, but there should be many free public wi-fi hotspots where you are.)

[ayrton senna]

how would i know if the network is closed? (would i receive a message?) would i still be able to get signals (bars) if the networks are closed? or is it only if they are free that im able to get a signal?

is it also advisable to leave my airport always open to be able to detect any open network? (other then it drains my battery)

a friend also has a wireless connection at home but he uses a pc, would i be able to use my mac? anything i need to configure on my mac to be able to get a connection or does mac automatically detect if for you?

thanks in advance

[Henjie]

Originally posted by ayrton senna
how would i know if the network is closed? (would i receive a message?) would i still be able to get signals (bars) if the networks are closed? or is it only if they are free that im able to get a signal?

You'll need a password to connect to a closed network. Your AirPort card will still be able to detect the signal but you'll get a login/password screen when you try to connect to the network.

is it also advisable to leave my airport always open to be able to detect any open network? (other then it drains my battery)

I guess it doesn't make any sense to have AirPort on if you're commuting or on the move and won't be using your PowerBook anyway. That's a Power Mac user's point of view though, hehe. I'm sure the mobile warriors here will have their own (more valid) suggestions. ;-)

a friend also has a wireless connection at home but he uses a pc, would i be able to use my mac? anything i need to configure on my mac to be able to get a connection or does mac automatically detect if for you?

Your PowerBook will be able to detect and connect to your friend's wireless network just fine. Same WiFi standards for Macs and PCs anyway. :-) Ask him which wireless router or access point he's using and whether it's set up as a DHCP server or not. That way, we'll be able to give you tips on which AirPort settings to use. You will also need his network's WEP or WPA key (aka password) if he's using encryption to keep out unwanted guests. ;-)


~Henjie

[Edited on 6-3-2004 by Henjie]

[hacksaw]

Your PowerBook will be able to detect and connect to your friend's wireless network just fine. Same WiFi standards for Macs and PCs anyway. :-) Ask him which wireless router or access point he's using and whether it's set up as a DHCP server or not. That way, we'll be able to give you tips on which AirPort settings to use. You will also need his network's WEP or WPA key (aka password) if he's using encryption to keep out unwanted guests. ;-)

Talk about unwanted guests. How do I configure my wireless network to avoid it? I use a Linksys wireless hub/router (WRT54G) which is connected via Destiny and uses DHCP. My network consists of three Macs and three PCs. I am sure once my next door neighbor finds out about my wireless internet they'd "leach" on it.

Kinda OT but my other question is, is it possible for me to assign a permanent IP address on each client and is there an (dis)advantage? Thanks.

~hacksaw

[Henjie]

Originally posted by hacksaw
Talk about unwanted guests. How do I configure my wireless network to avoid it? I use a Linksys wireless hub/router (WRT54G) which is connected via Destiny and uses DHCP. My network consists of three Macs and three PCs. I am sure once my next door neighbor finds out about my wireless internet they'd "leach" on it.

Access your WRT54G's web-based configuration page and check out the bottom portion. Click "Enable" beside "WEP" then click on "Edit WEP Settings". On the next screen, make sure that the default transmit key is set to "1". You can use 64-bit or 128-bit encryption, depending on how long you like your passwords to be, hehe. 10-digit key/password for 64-bit, 26 for 128-bit. Allowable characters are 0 to 9 and A to F, case-sensitive. Yup, I guess so. 64-bit na lang. ;-)

You can have the router generate the WEP keys for you by entering a unique passphrase and clicking on "Generate". Or you can manually enter the WEP keys yourself. I kinda prefer the manual way 'coz I can have WEP keys that I can easily remember. Ex. A9B8C7D6E5, etc. The important key here is key no. 1 'coz your router's default transmit key is set to that key. List the WEP key down, you're gonna need it later. Then click on "Apply".

All your clients will be disconnected the moment you activate WEP encryption on your router. No worries though, just use the WEP key to reconnect to the router (pretty simple, I'm sure you'll get it once you see the connection screens on your Wintel PCs). For your Macs, choose "64-bit, Hexadecimal" or something like that for the key format and add "$" to the WEP key, ex: $A9B8C7D6E5. If you only enter A9B8C7D6E5 for your Macs, they won't be able to connect. Something about the way AirPort cards handle hexadecimal WEP keys.

Also, don't forget to change the router password (admin) if you haven't done so. You can change it by going to the "Security" tab.

Kinda OT but my other question is, is it possible for me to assign a permanent IP address on each client and is there an (dis)advantage? Thanks.

Yup, you can. The advantage is you'll always know which IP address is for which client. Useful for a number of services. The disadvantage is, well, you'll have to remember which IP address is for which client, hahaha. And you'll have to mess with the clients' TCP/IP settings some more.

If the router's DHCP server is still at the default settings (50 DHCP clients, 192.168.1.100 starting IP), then these are the IPs that you can use if you're setting up static IPs for your computers:

192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.99
192.168.1.151 to 192.168.1.254

Make sure that the clients have unique IPs or they'll have trouble connecting.

For your Wintel PCs, go the the TCP/IP properties. Click on "Specify an IP address" instead of "Obtain an IP address automatically". Then enter the IP address you want for that particular PC. Then go the the "Gateway" tab and enter "192.168.1.1" as the default gateway. If you've modified your router's IP address, use that IP as the default gateway instead of the default 192.168.1.1.

Do the same thing for your Macs (System Preferences -> Network -> Airport -> TCP/IP, Configure "Manually" ).

Hope this helps. ;-)


~Henjie

[Edited on 6-3-2004 by Henjie]

[ayrton senna]

wow just listening to how you explain things makes me think its that simple. but its nice to see you're here to help us MAC newbies. its hard to asks other people (even here in canada) things about MAC they know a lot of things about PC but not a thing about MAC. your great man (HENJIE) & hope you never get tired of answering questions from us.

IF I ALREADY HAVE AIRPORT, WHAT IS AIRPORT EXTREME THEN? (WHAT DOES IT DO?)
DO I NEED IT TO HAVE IT? WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE OF HAVING one?

thanks again !!!

AS

[Edited on 6-5-2004 by ayrton senna]

[hacksaw]

Thanks a lot Henjie! You are better than the manual that came with my Linksys.

~hacksaw

[Arel]

That's an understatement, HACKSAW!

HENJ always blows us away w/ his well-thought-of & very knowledgeable posts!

& he's been doing this on a consistent basis for years, regardless of the subject matter!

Galing, HENJ! Idol!

Originally posted by hacksaw
Thanks a lot Henjie! You are better than the manual that came with my Linksys.

~hacksaw

[Edited on 6-7-2004 by Arel]

[Henjie]

Originally posted by ayrton senna
IF I ALREADY HAVE AIRPORT, WHAT IS AIRPORT EXTREME THEN? (WHAT DOES IT DO?)
DO I NEED IT TO HAVE IT? WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE OF HAVING one?

If you have an AlBook, then you already have AirPort Extreme. Airport is an 802.11b card, max throughput of 11Mbps. AirPort Extreme uses the newer and faster 802.11g standard, max throughput of 54Mbps.

An AirPort Extreme advantage is that wireless networking and file transfers are faster than what AirPort's capable of. Not an issue with internet access though as most ISPs (especially local ISPs) can't even provide enough speed to saturate half the available bandwidth. ;-)


AREL: thanks for the kind words. :-) Always happy to help whenever I can.


~Henjie