iMac G5 wireless antenna = poor????

[Rantipole]

I just installed a new Airport Extreme card in my G5 1.8 iMac. I want to use it for Airtunes, and so am trying for it to "connect" with an Airport Express, also just purchased.

Currently, the Airport Express is about 45 feet away WITHIN DIRECT LINE OF SIGHT OF MY COMPUTER!!!! And still my connections are super-weak to non-existant!!!! I have reset the card and made sure the antenna is all-the-way plugged into the card.

I have run MacStumbler, and generally, when it connects, the signal is, at most, a weak "26".

Is this just a really poor product by Apple, which I should cut my losses on and return, or am I missing something really obvious?

 

[BlizzardBomb]

Something doesn't sound right here. I've used AirTunes from around 30m through walls and it's worked perfectly. Have you checked the "Transmitter Power" setting in the Airport Admin Utility?

 

[TheMonarch]

Try a different channel.

 

[Rantipole]

Something doesn't sound right here.

I agree!

Have you checked the "Transmitter Power" setting in the Airport Admin Utility?

It's at 100%.

My channel selection is on "Automatic".

 

[TheMonarch]

Automatic selection isn't all that great. Try one of the various channels to see which one works best for you.



Also, under the Airport icon, switch on 'interference robustness' to see if it helps.

 

[Rantipole]

Update: I did manually select a couple channels. The signal is a bit stronger now, but no where near as strong as I think it should be. (Macstumbler readings no higher than the mid-30s.)

As mentioned, the Airport Express is currently within the line of sight of my computer. Part of this distance is a hallway. When I am walking, even briefly, through the hallway, the signal drops out.

This is very disappointing. In addition to all the time I spent troubleshooting this problem, now I have to disassemble everything and pack it up for refund. This experience is not why I pay a premium for Apple products.

 

[Rantipole]

User error.

It turns out, even though I double-checked, I had NOT pushed the antenna all the way in.

The support line had said to make sure there were two clicks. Well, what does "click" mean? I had experienced a "click" and then a "thwump". After the thwump, the antenna seemed fairly firmly in place.

While I was taking apart my comp one last time so I could return the Extreme card, I said, "What the heck" and really fiddled with and pushed in the antenna some more. And, sure enough, there was indeed another "click".

Now I'm getting a good signal. I'm posting this info, so that if anyone does a search, this thread will come up. Although I said "user error", I do think Apple's support, and the installation instructions, could have been a little clearer about how to make sure that antenna was fully "in" the card.