PowerMac G5 AirPort card installation

[osxoverwin]

Hello all,
I am soon ordering a PM G5 from eBay but it turns out that not all of the G5s have AirPort built in. After looking through eBay for compatible AirPorts )) and Googling for them, etc. I'm very sonfused as to what exactly I need to make the G5 AirPort compatible. Also, I watched this>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=-kPZjE9mMHw video and I saw that the guy has a Bluetooth antenna and there was a port for a WiFi antenna. So.... how EXACTLY do I install AirPort? Just the card? Or do I also need a plug thingy to go in the back? Also, what AirPort cards are PM G5 compatible, and do they give me Bluetooth as well, or do I need another antenna for that?

Thx all very much!

 

[Intell]

You'll need the card. The antenna is highly recommended. Without one, you won't see any networks.

 

[osxoverwin]

More PowerMac specs

I forgot to add specs,
the one I'm looking at is the 1.8GHz DP configuration (late 2003, I believe? )

Do they come with AirPort (for sure), or do I need to add it, and HOW!?

Thx all again!

 

[mike457]

They do not come with Air Port unless the original purchaser/previous owner bought it with one or added it. The antenna can be tricky to find, and can be expensive. In any event, the wireless is only wireless G. If you want wireless N, you will need a USB dongle. This method is both cheaper and takes no work!

 

[reddrag0n]

You will need an airport extreme card and Airport Extreme antenna. Same card used in some MDD G4's and iMac G5's.

Remove the side panel to reveal the insides, remove the plastic baffle, remove the two front inlet fans to the processor. Now look under the front PCI fan with the speaker. Right under it and right in front of where the front inlet fans sit, you will notice a hole. The airport card fits in there. As for the antenna wire, that is sitting just in front of the PCI fan. It has an angle connector on it. That plugs into the airport card. As for the rear antenna itself, you will need it for reception.
Picture it like this, can you listen to your car radio without the external antenna?

This is for the Uniprocessor 1.8 GHz g5, but you get the idea.
AirPort Extreme Card Replacement Instruction

 

[osxoverwin]

They do not come with Air Port unless the original purchaser/previous owner bought it with one or added it. The antenna can be tricky to find, and can be expensive. In any event, the wireless is only wireless G. If you want wireless N, you will need a USB dongle. This method is both cheaper and takes no work!

Exactly what I was thinking about! Problem is, do you know any WiFi USB dongles which would work with the G5? Maybe some Bluetooth ones as well?

Thx dude!

 

[mike457]

There's this one from the folks at OWC and NewerTech. I've used it with an early Intel iMac, and it worked fine; it should with the G5 as well (I think! ) I have installed this one with my G5 and have both a Magic Mouse and a current model Apple wireless keyboard running off it, both working fine for the last couple of months. Both of these gadgets are cheap, which is a bonus!

 

[osxoverwin]

There's this one from the folks at OWC and NewerTech. I've used it with an early Intel iMac, and it worked fine; it should with the G5 as well (I think! ) I have installed this one with my G5 and have both a Magic Mouse and a current model Apple wireless keyboard running off it, both working fine for the last couple of months. Both of these gadgets are cheap, which is a bonus!

Thx man! They're both cheap and it looks like they'll work. The Bluetooth one should work, and the WiFi one is compatible with anything past 10.3.9, which is PPC only for all I know, so it should work. Once again, thx dude!