Aiport connecting to LynkSys?

[grimmace]

Has anyone here ever used a wireless modem other than apples base station? I have a LynkSys wireless router because unforntunately my girlfriend has a PC laptop for work. I am using the LynkSys router to connect to a comcast modem.

I cant get my airport card to connect with the LynkSys router. Has anyone else tried to use airport with something other than apple?

 

[Eniregnat]

It should work.

DHCP

 

[frescies]

Yeah it should work

I have one of those piece of crap SMC Seaspanks, or whatever they are called. If you use DHCP and tinker with it a bit it should work. Does the airport card even detect a signal from the router in the airport menu?

Also... Have you plugged into the thing with an ethernet cable first to set your 128 bit password and everything? You will have to do that before you can actually connect to it, most likely. just connect to the thing with an ethernet cable (or your girlfriend's laptop) and then open up your web browser and type in 192.168.1.1 and find out what the Hex string is for the WEP key. Then go to your airport and connect with the password as HEX.

 

[MacBoyX]

Re: Aiport connecting to LynkSys?

Originally posted by grimmace
Has anyone here ever used a wireless modem other than apples base station? I have a LynkSys wireless router because unforntunately my girlfriend has a PC laptop for work. I am using the LynkSys router to connect to a comcast modem.

I cant get my airport card to connect with the LynkSys router. Has anyone else tried to use airport with something other than apple?

I have the exact same set up. Comcast cable to a Linksys combo Router/WAP and 2 iBooks connected via AirPort cards and a ThinkPad hooked up via a Linksys wireless card.

Airport only cares there is a 802.11 station available. If it's broadcasting it's SSID (not a great idea, but the default for the WAP) the AirPort cards will just pick it up.

If you want to talk about securing it...then let me know that's a much longer conversation.

MacBoyX

 

[grimmace]

Thanks. The Pbook is seeing the airport card and shows the LynkSys on the airport menu. When I try to use it, it says that the signal for the Router may be weak and it doesnt ever connect. This is with the laptop right next to the router. Since the LynkSys didnt come with Mac software I cant just install it. The airport seems to try to see the Router but it doesnt.

Since you have the exact same setup, I know it should work. I have already connected through the router via ethernet port and it works that way. I just have to get the wireless going. I'll give it another try.

 

[MacBoyX]

Originally posted by grimmace
Thanks. The Pbook is seeing the airport card and shows the LynkSys on the airport menu. When I try to use it, it says that the signal for the Router may be weak and it doesnt ever connect. This is with the laptop right next to the router. Since the LynkSys didnt come with Mac software I cant just install it. The airport seems to try to see the Router but it doesnt.

Since you have the exact same setup, I know it should work. I have already connected through the router via ethernet port and it works that way. I just have to get the wireless going. I'll give it another try.

Is it a newer combo piece of equipment or an older one? If it's newer all the config is done via the browser interface.

If you want we could chat over iChat or something and I could lend a hand

MacBoyX

 

[Taft]

Not that this helps the original poster, but I highly recommend AGAINST Linksys home routers.

I had one, and it had a lot of problems. It would "stick" and would need to be reset. And occasionally on the reset, it would lose configuration information and need to be reconfigured. Not to mention when resets wouldn't do it and it would need to be unplugged for a while to get it up again. Firmware updates didn'thelp either.

And if you look on consumer sites about public response to their home routers, its abismal. For every person with a successful setup there is at least one person who can't get things to work right.

When I accidentally fried my router (wrong power adapter=that burning electronics smell=useless router), I wasn't really sad. That piece of crap never worked right anyway.

I got myself a NetGear router and haven't looked back. 3 months of flawless use and counting.

Taft

 

[MacBoyX]

Originally posted by Taft
Not that this helps the original poster, but I highly recommend AGAINST Linksys home routers.

I had one, and it had a lot of problems. It would "stick" and would need to be reset. And occasionally on the reset, it would lose configuration information and need to be reconfigured. Not to mention when resets wouldn't do it and it would need to be unplugged for a while to get it up again. Firmware updates didn'thelp either.

And if you look on consumer sites about public response to their home routers, its abismal. For every person with a successful setup there is at least one person who can't get things to work right.

When I accidentally fried my router (wrong power adapter=that burning electronics smell=useless router), I wasn't really sad. That piece of crap never worked right anyway.

I got myself a NetGear router and haven't looked back. 3 months of flawless use and counting.

Taft

Taft,

I guess this can be said of just about anything. I originally bought a D-Link and it was too hard to configure, took it back bought the Netgear...it never worked. Took it back got another one...it was DOA. Bought the Linksys and it worked great right out the box. I actually have a Linksys cable modem, 4 port router, 4 port router/wireless access point, signal booster and wireless card for my thinkpad.

I have always recommended them and no one I have recommended them too has ever had a problem. Hmmm I guess every product has it's fans and critics...

MacBoyX

 

[Apple][Forever]

Look for preamble settings on the router's wireless config page. switch it from long to short or vice versa. Can't remember which one it is off the top of my head. Every time I've had a problem with 2 different brands of 802.11 stuff this has solved it.

 

[Powerbook G5]

My Linksys router is working wonders, as well. I had one before it that had a faulty ethernet port which I had to replace, but the replacement was free and it has worked without a single flaw. I love it since it's 1/3 the price and has good performance, so I don't see where you could go wrong with that. Techniclly Linksys doesn't support Apple hardware, but I doubt the router even realizes that it's being used with my PowerBook.

By the way, I doubt the software that comes with the Linksys router is even useful...I have it connected to my PowerBook, my sister's Compaq, my other sister's Toshiba laptop, and the family Dell and I never once even took the CD out of its packaging. If there is a good use for the install CD, I sure haven't found one for it.

 

[grimmace]

I agree. I have already got it to work for both my PC and Mac but only through the ethernet. When I get home from work I will try it all again connected to the router by ethernet and then hopefully the airport will see it when I restart it. I would think that this would be automatic. It doesn show the LynkSys as the type of modem so I know it sees it. It tries to scan but the signal is weak. it could be the router itself but I dont think so.

Thanks for all this info.

 

[dxp4acu]

I have a wireless router other than Apple's, and it works great with airport. I have airport extreme. I could never get my 12" to work on it, then I changed one setting, and it worked perfectly.

The router was not compatible with 802.11g. only 802.11b. But it had some sort of 802.11+, that allowed a 22mbps connection, but 802.11b is only 11 mbps.

so change that setting.