with my latest addition of the imac i7 in the household all my macs are now "n" band capable.

i have a airport extreme base station (flying saucer) that is a/b/g but not n.

there is one machine in my suite of rooms that barely-at best-gets the airport signal, the mac pro.

now the antenna which resides in the mac pro is notorious for its poor performance. when my macbook pro sits next to the mac pro, the mbp can pick up the signal, its functional but not wonderful.

the room where the mac pro is located is separated from the airport extreme base station by several plaster walls.

i'm wondering if i swap the current dual band airport extreme base station (n-$129/refurb) with the flying saucer, would i see an increase in the reach of the airport n signal?

all guesses and thoughts are appreciated.

be well

rob

N is a more robust signal, and as long as you get the simultaneous dual band model, you will get N.

There is also a setting to send the end over 5Ghz rather than 2.4 Ghz which may saturate better.

If your walls are really plaster, and not sheet rock, you are likely to always have wifi issues, since under neath is checken wire which essentially makes a faraday cage.

Another solution is ethernet over your power lines. They used to be marginal, but I have installed them twice with GREAT results.

[www.amazon.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/02/2010 06:04PM by Ken Sp..

ken-

i appreciate the thoughtful suggestion.

the apartment is actually two apartments combined.

there are several original plaster walls and several sheet rock walls when we combined the two spaces.

the dsl is located in our original apartment and the mac pro is located in what was originally the 2nd apartment.

we have two electric bills thus the electric wiring is indeed separate.

would ethernet over power lines be an option under these circumstances?

again, thanks for sharing.

be well

rob

From what I have read, yes, this is possible for anyone that is "on your side of the transformer" (usually 4-8) homes, since they are all wired together, with the meter just measuring what passes it.

I am not certain of this, but heard this a long time ago.

You might buy locally with a store that offers no surcharge returns.

I was impressed how far these have come.

Maybe AVS forums or somewhere else has more info.

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Ken Sp.
N is a more robust signal, and as long as you get the simultaneous dual band model, you will get N.

Actually, all four of the flat rectangular Airport Extremes are N capable. 10/100 model, gigabit model, simultaneous dual band model, faster simultaneous dual band model, any will work for you, but the newest model has the best range.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/02/2010 07:00PM by silvarios.

Is it possible to hardwire any of this stuff into the router?

You will obviously experience the best network performance, for those machines that aren't portable, with hard wired connections.

Jeff

...checken wire...???



My 120 year old house originally had plaster walls. Not over chicken wire but over wood lath strips. Any upgrade work is changed over to sheetrock but, there are still a few original plaster walls left.

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silvarios

Quote
Ken Sp.
N is a more robust signal, and as long as you get the simultaneous dual band model, you will get N.

Actually, all four of the flat rectangular Airport Extremes are N capable. 10/100 model, gigabit model, simultaneous dual band model, faster simultaneous dual band model, any will work for you, but the newest model has the best range.

Nice catch--My mistake---I meant to say that it would STAY on N and not downgrade to G if a G device is present.

I think you'd be better off with a buffalo HP model router.

dual band routers will put n on the 5Ghz band which has many benefits but extended range isn't one of them.

---

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testcase
...checken wire...???



My 120 year old house originally had plaster walls. Not over chicken wire but over wood lath strips. Any upgrade work is changed over to sheetrock but, there are still a few original plaster walls left.

I think it's a west coast thing. First place I saw it anyway.
Growing up with chicken farms all around it was a bit comical to see it in a house for people the first time, but it sure seems to save a bit of labor and wood.

Does your current Extreme have the antenna connection? Also, if you get a new Extreme, you could use your current one to extend the network.

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mattkime
I think you'd be better off with a buffalo HP model router.

dual band routers will put n on the 5Ghz band which has many benefits but extended range isn't one of them.

matt-

if n will not extend the range, do u think/believe/know if the current apple extreme has an extended range capabilities beyond my flying saucer model?

tia

be well

rob

The new Extreme should have better range than the UFO models.