Powermac G5 wi-fi issues

[cook.675]

I have a G5 dual 2.0 GHZ running 10.5.8

The wifi signal is being unreliable, and at times not working completely. Sometimes it will show 1 or 2 bars, other times none. Occasionally it will show all 5 bars but this is rare. As of late it's been crapping out completely. I have the latest airport install from apple. My router is probably 10-15 feet away, and when I use my macbook from the same location I have full 5 bars and no problems. It's an internal wi-fi (airport?) card that came stock with the computer. Is it dying?

SECOND ISSUE:

I installed a wireless keyboard (works now) and apple magic mouse. The mouse is recognized fine, has brand new batteries, and I installed the software 1.0 from apple website. However, when I use it, it lags, is slow, and not entirely responsive to moving the pointer (although its clear its connected). Is this a problem with the internal bluetooth antennae?

 

[MacHamster68]

first things first , is the AirPort Extreme connected with 2 small wire to the Antenna ports at the back ot the G5 ? one port is for the WIFI antenna the other for the bluetooth antenna

here how the antennas looks like

airport antenna

(and sometimes it helps up to 3 more bars if you rotate the antenna a bit)

bluetooth antenna

and no antennas at the back means weak signal if you are lucky to get one at all

mine shows without the antennas a extremely weak wifi signal and it will change form about 2 bars to 4 bars if i rotate the antenna , but i prefer ethernet as i am not a huge fan of anything wireless

 

[cook.675]

No I don't have either of those external antennae devices.

 

[Nameci]

If you have the dual processor powermacs you should have the antennas in order for the wifi and bt to work...

 

[cook.675]

Right.

Instead of purchasing these anteanne which I didn't know I needed or were even part of the system, would it be more practical to get one of these wi-fi/bluetooth USB dongles?

EDIT: after looking at the prices it looks like these antennaes will cost upwards of $50; will these USB adapters do the same thing because they're definatley cheaper and less bulky.

 

[MacHamster68]

Right.

Instead of purchasing these anteanne which I didn't know I needed or were even part of the system, would it be more practical to get one of these wi-fi/bluetooth USB dongles?

EDIT: after looking at the prices it looks like these antennaes will cost upwards of $50; will these USB adapters do the same thing because they're definatley cheaper and less bulky.

only if they work under Leopard and not all usb wifi /bluetooth dongles do

to the antennas , they had been included with every system that came with Airport and bluetooth , but often G5's gone to a corporate environment and used ethernet and usb keyboards and mice (cheaper) , and the antennas went missing all to often in some drawers of the admin guys , or people keep them to sell separate like the missing original install disc's or the OS disc's to which they upgraded . especially since the prices for G5 PowerMac's dropped significantly in the last year , some sell their G5 Powermac's mainly 1.6 and 1.8 single CPU but even 1.8 ghz and 2.0 ghz dual processors go for a BIN lower then what others get for their G4 mini's ..its a thing of today ,smaller is in and people willing to pay more to receive less

personally i would try to get the antennas to keep the PowerMac G5 original ! it will pay off later

just for example:
i would pay more for a 1.6ghz single core PowerMac that comes with all parts like it shipped from Apple incl. keyboard and mouse , the antennas and all OS'disc's (original OS and upgraded OS, means if it comes with Leo i want that disc too )
then i would for a 2.5 ghz Quadcore that comes without anything and only a OS preinstalled but no disc's , as for me thats a incomplete Mac , like a iMac with a broken display ....

 

[cook.675]

Yes I see where you're coming from.

However, this computer will die with me, and I don't care all that much for re-sale value/originality.

That being said, can anyone reccomend a 2-1 USB bluetooth/wi-fi adapter that will work for the powermac G5?

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

This works great as an antenna too

The Airport antennas pop up on eBay for <$20 all the time too.

 

[phyrexia]

Here's a thought, and what I did with my PowerMac until we ran cable through the house:

Buy a Linksys WRT54G for $20 on Craigslist, spend an hour or so reading DDWRT forums, and turn the router into a wireless access point. Actually you should read the DDWRT website a little bit first to make sure you get the right revision of WRT54G.

Anyway, then you will have a versatile little device. I have several of the things, and they are configured in various fashions depending on what I want them to do throughout the house.

 

[philipt42]

I had this issue to the point where I switched permanently to ethernet. It sucks.

 

[Jethryn Freyman]

I have this problem too, and I have a foot long antenna connected. Sometimes I can't even connect to the internet, yet I can connect to the local network, and every other Snow Leopard equipped Mac of fine can reach the internet fine. I'm just about ready to switch to a USB wireless card, since Ethernet is not an option...