Airport/WiFi reception and PowerBooks

[furrina]

I saw mentioned in one of the threads that someone's PB doesn't get as good Airport recept. as the iBook or Imac. I have a friend who had a tiBook and he complains of this all the time, says he was told the titanium gets in the way of the reception somehow? I totally didn't believe this, but is there any truth to it and what about the new al books? Ihave a g3 pismo and I get stellar reception everywhere. I live in NYC where there are wifi networks everywhere but since some are public they aren't as strong. Does the PB get sub-par recpetion compared to previous models? It wouldn'nt be the deciding factor (I'm probably still going get one) but I'm just curious.

[Westside guy]

I believe at least part of the problem with the TiBooks was the orientation of their antennas - they were alongside the keyboard, which meant they were perpendicular to the antennas of most base stations.

I have an 15" AlPB and haven't had any problems with signal strength or range.

[titaniumducky]

I saw mentioned in one of the threads that someone's PB doesn't get as good Airport recept. as the iBook or Imac. I have a friend who had a tiBook and he complains of this all the time, says he was told the titanium gets in the way of the reception somehow? I totally didn't believe this, but is there any truth to it and what about the new al books? Ihave a g3 pismo and I get stellar reception everywhere. I live in NYC where there are wifi networks everywhere but since some are public they aren't as strong. Does the PB get sub-par recpetion compared to previous models? It wouldn'nt be the deciding factor (I'm probably still going get one) but I'm just curious.

I have a TiBook and have NEVER had this problem. It's false, as far as I've seen. I live in Oviedo (not WIFI crowded), but my router does have to broadcast through a wall and a ceiling/floor for a medium distance. Even with this, I get 4 or 5 bars about 95% of the time.

[MacBoyX]

I have a TiBook and have NEVER had this problem. It's false, as far as I've seen. I live in Oviedo (not WIFI crowded), but my router does have to broadcast through a wall and a ceiling/floor for a medium distance. Even with this, I get 4 or 5 bars about 95% of the time.


You must be lucky,
1. my Airport Status bar only has 4 bars.
2. my TiBook SUCKED. I bought a Linksys BOOSTER and although I got a signal of 4 bars in my apartment, If I walked outside, I got ZERO signal.
3. my AlBook 12" is marginally better. If I am in any room BUT the room where the router is, I get 3 bars. I can go out on the deck but if I am not facing the right direction I get 2 or less.

My iBook G4 is WAY better. I can walk to the end of my block and still have a Full Signal. I can go into my neighbor's house and go into her basement and still have a full signal. PowerBooks in general do not have great reception. I mean think about this...if you don't use an external antennae on a G5, you can't get a signal. Metal is a badddddd conductor for wireless.

Just my 0.02 cents.

macboyx

[tdhurst]

PowerBooks in general do not have great reception. I mean think about this...if you don't use an external antennae on a G5, you can't get a signal. Metal is a badddddd conductor for wireless.

Just my 0.02 cents.

macboyx

Bad conductor? Pretty much a wireless BLOCKER. The new pbooks have antennas built into the side of the monitor, so they are a vast improvement over the Tibook. However, being plastic, the iBook's reception was vastly better for me (G3 iBook compared to 17" 1.33ghz pbook).

[rfenik]

It's true. The iBooks have MUCH better reception than the powerbooks. Shouldn't the whole powerbook be an antenna? I mean, it's metal....

[tdhurst]

Not that right kind of metal, unfortunately.

[Coca-Cola]

My 12 inch 867 pb is amazing at picking up signals. I can get signals I am not even supposed to be getting. I didn't know there was so much wireless out there. I even live in a little town. Reception has never been an issue.

[Powerbook G5]

The signal reception on my aluminum PowerBook is about 95% coming from the Linksys router I have and it seems to give me a good 80-90% throughout the apartment.