can I use Airport Express this way?

[Calhoun]

I have a Linksys WAP/router, the 802.11b kind. I have two notebooks, a Toshiba Satellite with an old wi-fi Compaq card I bought surplus. The Satellite's wi-fi can't reach the router when I'm in my room, but my tangerine clamshell iBook can. And at not bad speeds mind you.

But I still want to browse in my room using the Toshiba, especially during these hot months. I can't move the router since it's in the middle of the house so my brother can also access it.

If I buy an Airport Express, can I plug it into my room, plug my Toshiba's ethernet cable into it, and receive internet via the wireless connection? Can you imagine what I'm trying to do? It may sound like a roundabout connection but I'm wondering if it works.

Thanks!

[Edited on 5-11-2005 by Calhoun]

[nes]

if your brother is using pc laptop you can borrow his wifi card and try it on your toshiba laptop.

[PatrickGaerlan]

The more important question would be is if you will be able to get the Airport Express to "talk" to your Linksys router. Apple officially supports the Airport Express as a repeater only with their own Airport Extreme Base Station. The following might help you out though:

1. Airport Express and Linksys... from MacOSX.com.
2. Using Airport Express as a range extender/repeater for Linksys Cable/DSL router WRT54G from Inderjeet Singh's Blog.
3. AirPort Express - It's an 802.11g bridge from Ars Technica.

They have a lot of information on getting the Airport Express to extend the range of the Linksys WRT54G router. If you do get it to work, you wouldn't even have to plug in your Satellite into the Airport Express, just connect via Wi-Fi.

[Sabonis]

Check your old Compaq wifi card if it is A or B compatible. If it's G then I suppose that it should be compatible with both. Chances are it's A.

[PatrickGaerlan]

Originally posted by Sabonis
Check your old Compaq wifi card if it is A or B compatible. If it's G then I suppose that it should be compatible with both. Chances are it's A.

Hmmm, isn't it more likely to be 802.11b if it's old? b and g are compatible, not a (although some manufacturers build devices with both a and g compatibility built-in).

[Sabonis]

Originally posted by PatrickGaerlan

Originally posted by Sabonis
Check your old Compaq wifi card if it is A or B compatible. If it's G then I suppose that it should be compatible with both. Chances are it's A.

Hmmm, isn't it more likely to be 802.11b if it's old? b and g are compatible, not a (although some manufacturers build devices with both a and g compatibility built-in).

I stand corrected, the Airport Express is a G product which is compatible to both B and G products. Thanks for that PatrickGaerlan.

[Dave_D]

I've been able to get the Airport Express to act as a repeater successfully using other various access points like the linksys WRT54G as well as the MSI residential wireless gateway.

As long as your non-Appple access point has WDS (Wireless Distribution System), it should work.

[retinasurgeon]

The ethernet port on the airport express is for connection with the cable/dsl modem. It can act as a wireliess router. You can make use of the airport as a range extender, just make sure you modify the settings for your airport express using the airport admin utility, making sure you place the correct MAC address of our Linksys. I tried my airport express as a router on my home ( can even reach the dining room, ground floor, when the airport is located at the second floor ), and even as a range extender at our clinic (using a Linksys 2.4 ghz broadband router in the second floor, reaching our examination rooms on the first floor). Hope this helps..

[Calhoun]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm using the older Linksys cable/dsl 802.11B router, not G. Will I still be able to use Airport Express as a repeater?