PowerMac G5 Quad WiFi upgrades

[RedCroissant]

I am currently using powerline adapters to connect my Quad to the internet and I am no longer satisfied with this setup. I am also not satisfied with the pricing of the OEM AP/BT module and runway card and am looking for alternatives. I'm sure someone here has probably asked this before and if I have well then I am sorry for repeating this.

Is there a good and reliable PCI-based 802.11n solution to this issue? I would prefer not to be stuck with b/g since that would slow down my network and my wife works from home using the WiFi. SO I would also prefer to connect at the same speed to prevent any other issues. I know that there are 802.11n adapters available for usb, but there are limited USB ports already and I don't want to overload the bus with hubs, and then the demand of the data bandwidth as well.

If anyone has some advice/experience/expertise on this subject I would be very grateful. Thank you very much!

 

[flyproductions]

Is there a good and reliable PCI-based 802.11n solution to this issue?

Can not really help you with the issue. But what you need is PCIe. There are no standard PCI-slots inside the Quad.

 

[Hack5190]

Found a USB card in my old parts box, dropping it in the G5 resulted in 5 additional ports (4 external & 1 internal). Used 1 for a wireless adapter, 1 for bluetooth adapter and have 2 extra (really 3 if you count the one inside the G5).

This USB adapter (www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004AC0L4Y) in my G5 / Leopard works good. It has no disconnects or other quirky behaviour. You do have to use the vendors software and in this thread you will find a script that auto close's that 3rd party wireless software.

As for slowing down your wife, consider setting up multiple access points, I work from home also and have 3 (2 @ 2.4 GHz & 1 @ 5 GHz) in use.

 

[bunnspecial]

A while back, I was in the same dilemma with my Dual Core 2.0, and now with my Quad after I "migrated" everything from the dual core to it.

IMO, the best solution is to get on Ebay and find an Apple mini PCIe WiFi card. I forget what specific part number I used, but I do know I bought two and had issues with the Atheros one while the Broadcom I bought was plug and play under Leopard. In any case, Apple p/ns starting with A are Atheros based, while those starting with B are Broadcom. The card was under $10.

These cards won't fit directly in the Quad but are readily fitted with an inexpensive mini PCIe to PCIe adapter. The one I bought from China was about $5. Basically, the mini PCI-e card mounts to the adapter card. The adapter card I bought was apparently made explicitly for Wifi/Bluetooth cards, as it had two antenna connectors and two coax plugs on the back for standard WiFi antennas. It has worked perfectly and is recognized natively as an Airport Extreme card.

BTW, a standard Airport Extreme will fit the "runway" slot on the Quad and will work, although the antenna connectors in the Quad are not compatible with those on the AE card.

 

[128keaton]

A while back, I was in the same dilemma with my Dual Core 2.0, and now with my Quad after I "migrated" everything from the dual core to it.

IMO, the best solution is to get on Ebay and find an Apple mini PCIe WiFi card. I forget what specific part number I used, but I do know I bought two and had issues with the Atheros one while the Broadcom I bought was plug and play under Leopard. In any case, Apple p/ns starting with A are Atheros based, while those starting with B are Broadcom. The card was under $10.

These cards won't fit directly in the Quad but are readily fitted with an inexpensive mini PCIe to PCIe adapter. The one I bought from China was about $5. Basically, the mini PCI-e card mounts to the adapter card. The adapter card I bought was apparently made explicitly for Wifi/Bluetooth cards, as it had two antenna connectors and two coax plugs on the back for standard WiFi antennas. It has worked perfectly and is recognized natively as an Airport Extreme card.

BTW, a standard Airport Extreme will fit the "runway" slot on the Quad and will work, although the antenna connectors in the Quad are not compatible with those on the AE card.

I think I recommended this to him at one point. Odd thing about the Quad's Wifi..

 

[bunnspecial]

I think I recommended this to him at one point. Odd thing about the Quad's Wifi..

I guess this wouldn't be a great time to mention the three freebie Quads I got with factory AP/BT cards...

(unfortunately, they're not technically "mine" just yet even though they are under my care...)

 

[flyrod]

How hard would it be to run a wire with your setup? If you're at home, this might be easier...

 

[RedCroissant]

Thank you, everyone for commenting!

Yes @128keaton, I think you did mention that and yes @bunnspecial I am very well aware of the Quads that you have and am jealous.

Another reason for wanting to have WiFi capabilities is because I am currently having trouble with Home Sharing from my Quad with my AppleTV3. I can do Airplay through iTunes and that works fine, but actually sharing my iTunes library is not working. So I thought that something viewed as an AP card would make that work; but I might be completely off on that.

I actually have an Airport Express that my Sister-in-Law gave me that she rarely used and finally got it to accept the settings to extend my network and am using that now as my means to connect without using the powerline adapters. It's still not what I want but perhaps I'm hoping for too much at the moment.

And flyrod, it's not diffcult to run a wire, it's just annoying to do so in an apartment with one 50ft ethernet cable branching off of the AP extreme along with it already being connected to my AppleTV, and my PS3. The other problem is that I don't have cable that's the right length and buying one is not in the cards until I actually sell something. I sold my Harman Kardon Soundsticks II a couple of days ago but that money went to food.

 

[weckart]

Just a tip. To ensure you get an Apple WiFi card that is supported under OSX PPC check the pictures on eBay for a date. Atheros or Broadcom from 2006 usually are the safest bets and there are plenty about. Newer ones may not have PPC kexts to support them.