Airport alternative

[machobson]

Hi,
I was wondering, I have an original airport card in my iBook and the airport base station is looking a little too expensive right now. So I was wondering if there was other wireless routers you could use with an original airport card. If so is there any you would recommend? Will this also work with an airport extreme card? Thanks

 

[hhlee]

Hi,
I was wondering, I have an original airport card in my iBook and the airport base station is looking a little too expensive right now. So I was wondering if there was other wireless routers you could use with an original airport card. If so is there any you would recommend? Will this also work with an airport extreme card? Thanks

hmm.... well i don't know much in terms of whether airport cards are restricted only for use on airport base stations. it would make sense to me that any wireless router would work. if that's the case, try the Linksys 54Mbps Router

It is a great general router with both wired and wireless options...its cheap... and I think its very hackable (I mean, you can hack it yourself for various options, not that hackers can easily hack it).

I've definitely used an airport extreme card on the Linksys router. Airport Base Station = wow way too expensive IMHO.

 

[strider42]

hmm.... well i don't know much in terms of whether airport cards are restricted only for use on airport base stations. it would make sense to me that any wireless router would work..

any wirelss router will work. chekc out places like dealmac.com and dealnews.com you can get wireless routers for 20 bucks or less sometimes. I got my netgear router for like 25 bucks after rebate. works great. I've used linksys routers of various kinds with great sucess in the past.

Basically, unless you need some of the extra features of airport extreme or express, you are MUCH better off with a cheaper third party router.

 

[Porchland]

Airport Express 2

If you're in the market for a wireless router, and can wait a few weeks, wait. Airport Express is overdue for an update, and there's a good chance we might see one at whatever media event is supposed to happen in the next two weeks.

I had hoped we'd see one at WWDC, but then it turned out to be all about Intel.

 

[machobson]

Thanks for all of your advice!
ADD: Do you guys know of any third party routers with a dial-up modem built in?

 

[mxpiazza]

i swear by the netgear WGR614... works perfectly with my setup..

 

[wiseguy27]

Linksys is always good. Netgear and D-Link are also recommended by many on MR. I myself have a Belkin 54Mbps (got it for $15 after rebates) and I don't recommend it - too many dropped connections!!! I have tried every trick in the book - maybe I'm doomed to deal with interference or poor quality, but wireless is anything but great if the signal keeps dropping!

Most good models of 802.11g (54Mbps) wireless routers cost around US$40 or less when there are good deals. Don't skimp too much on the cost - choose quality and your wireless experience will be extremely satisfying (otherwise it'll be downright frustrating).

For use with the Internet, the throughput really doesn't matter much - anything that provides more than 5Mbps would be sufficient. But if you have a wireless network within your home (maybe printers, computers and audio systems all connected wirelessly), then higher throughput would help. Nevertheless, pay more attention to the quality.

I haven't seen any wireless routers come with a dial-up modem. There are models that come with a DSL modem, but those would only serve DSL connections, not dial-up. I guess you'd have to purchase a separate external dial-up modem for that.

 

[bodeh6]

I have the D-Link DI-624 I believe and it is great. Strong signal strength all over house and even the deck.