Unusual uses for Airport Express

[bomadian]

I recently bought an Apple TV which has rendered my Air Port Express redundant (as far as I can see), because the ATV now does all my music streaming. Are there any cool ideas I can still put it to use for? I tried installing it on my mother in laws network but her windows setup was not finding it. Selling on ebay doesn’t seem worth it ($50 to $60) and I don’t have another AV setup in another room to do multi-room music streaming. By the way, I already have a Time Capsule for wireless printing. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[YouArentJ]

If you have Wireless-N laptops, and a Wireless-N basestation, you can use the APExpress to extend your network as a B/G network and use your APExreme on N. That's what I did with mine.

 

[Benjamindaines]

If you travel, you can use it to make a wireless network in your hotel room.

 

[waw74]

You could
- put it in another room, have it join the wireless network, and have music in another room. don't really need a full setup, just a $50 set of powed speakers. Or even make a little setup where you could take it outside (or around the house) and plug it in when needed (speakers, and express all in one box with one power cord coming out of it)

-hard wire it in, and use it as a second access point for your existing network, if you have a big house.

-or as YouArentJ said, just make a second network, one N, one B/G so the G things doesn't slow the N down.

 

[jturn2]

Other uses for the Airport Express

Instead of speakers I have the airport express sound signal going to a Pianodisc 128 piano player. This way I can control the playing of my piano from the IPAD in the living room. Works wonderfully.

 

[logandzwon]

Mine has seen years of service in multiple roles.

In the beginning it was just a print server
Then it was a music streamer to my stereo
At one point it was a WiFi to Ethernet bridge
Then it was my mobile companion for hotels

Today it is connected to my AirPort Extreme (set as 5Ghz) servers as (a 2.4Ghz) b/g WiFi AP as well as AirPlay streamer to a pair of powered speakers in the kitchen.

 

[MrWups]

Other Uses: Question for jturn2

Slightly off thread, but I want to use Airport Express to get midi files to my pianodisc grand piano from the iPhone just like jturn2 is doing from his iPad.

I am using Remote App in the iPhone to access and catalogue iTunes music files. Getting raw data piano midi's into iTunes is not easy, but I have converted some and iTunes recognises them as mpeg audio files.

Airport Express works beautifully for playing mp3 and other recorded music files thru my home stereo, but when I attempt to play a raw data midis, (whereby the squarks and blips should be evident from the same speakers), the iPhone or Mac actually synthesises them, and switches output from the Airport Express RCA outlets to my home stereo speakers – to give me synthesised music playing out of the computer speakers. The squarks and blips of the raw midi data playing out of the Airport Express RCAs is what is required to drive the pianodisc grand piano.

I do get raw data midi signal thru airport express directly out of my Mac Computer, but would like to get it also from the iPhone.

I was hoping the iPhone would work like the iPad to control the remote selection of tracks for the Pianodisc. Can anyone advise, please?