Setting up Airport With USB internet.

[^^ CoolMacLover]

Ok -w00t first post-

Im thinking of setting up a AirPort Express or Extreme, unsure which i gonna buy, anyway, i thought id come here and post before going to shops and getting it (due to there isnt a apple shop within 4 hours drive )

I have my internet running through a USB wireless thingy (Sorry)

^ I thought a pic may help ^

and i was wondering how/ if i could set it up running through that. Thxs lots to all the post and even read

 

[richard.mac]

your USB dongle uses the 3G wireless wide area network to connect to the Internet it doesnt need a wireless router like the Airport Extreme/Express.

DSL or cable Internet is a wide area network (wired) that your modem picks up and the Airport Extreme (or any router) would feed it to different computers by ethernet or WiFi your local area network.

the 3G dongle is a modem itself and doesnt need a router. you could if you wanted share your 3G connection to other computers and your Mac would act as a router itself but would chew up your data.

 

[^^ CoolMacLover]

Ok.. lol had to read that 5 times to try and understand XDDD Ok.. my 1st question, say i dont want to chew up my data am i able to get it running through airport Ext/Exp?

2. when i have it going through mac, my things like ipod touch wont connect to the net. or my laptop... <--( thats want i want to do, sorrry if that wasnt clear)

Thxs Im a pain and new to macs sorry

 

[richard.mac]

sorry for the late reply. i think that the Airport extreme/express cannot even see your 3G dongle as its just a modem getting a wireless internet signal from cellular towers nearby in contrast to a regular DSL modem that connects to the internet via a phone line and then connect devices to the internet via a router e.g. Airport Extreme.

if you want to share your wireless 3G signal to your Touch just click on the Airport icon on your Mac and select Create Network and then connect to it from your Touch. what i mean by "chewing up your data" is using a wireless 3G modem on multiple devices will go thru data caps easier, assuming there are caps in where you are.

 

[^^ CoolMacLover]

ok thanks anyway *sigh*

 

[riciad]

We originally shared our USB modem's internet through an Airport Extreme (older version) Network, however our 3G signal wasn't great so we could only get reception at one particular window in the room where an iMac G4 is situated.

The G4 didn't have an airport card installed so we had to use a USB wireless dongle to connect the G4 to the Airport Network to share the cannection. This didn't work great as my daughter was inclined to shut down the G4, go to bed and leave the rest of us with no internet until she'd stumble out of bed in the morning (or afternoon, if she'd had a late night).

To solve all our problems I got a Dovado UMR router http://www.dovado.com/UMR.html into which the USB modem connects directly. We now have this positioned on a wall and the modem situated outside, using an USB extension, in a waterproof enclosure.

This set-up works brilliantly for us as the 3G signal improved, from being barely there and reverting to 2G frequently, to a steady 35% to 45%.

We now have the G4 connected by Ethernet and a MBP, Intel iMac, 2 iPod Touches and an iPhone connected wirelessly.

Our limit is 10GB which we manage alright on as none of us download movies or use torrents but you can track your usage with the Dovado and even get it to send text messages to your phone at pre-determined intervals alerting you to your data usage.