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Author Topic:   ibook airport range
ilovemydualg4
Highlie

Posts: 532
From: *GASP* THE 3RD DIMMENSION
Registered: Mar 2002

posted July 30, 2002 15:24     Click Here to See the Profile for ilovemydualg4   Click Here to Email ilovemydualg4     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
ok, so engrbohn's reaction to this was manufacturing variance, but i'm hoping that it is kinda something else, somethign i could change, so here we are:

i have an ibook, and my sister has one too. We have an airport base station, which serves a few other laptops too, as well as those two, each with airport cards.

one will work in all of the rooms of the house (hers of course), and mine works in a lot less of it. yes, the antenna is connected in both. they are both the 128bit versions, and they both have the latest software. i've considered swapping the two ibooks when she wasn't looking, but my hard drive is bigger, i have a combo for her cd, it wouldn't work out... bah, another evil scheme foiled...
any ideas?

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my geek code
�Water outside boat good. Water inside boat bad. Water in air bad� - �Tim�

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MacManKrisK
Super Geek

Posts: 236
From: Southwest Lower Michigan, USA
Registered: Oct 2001

posted July 30, 2002 16:20     Click Here to See the Profile for MacManKrisK   Click Here to Email MacManKrisK     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Try swapping the AirPort cards in the machines and see if that does anyhting. But, I'm just grabbing at straws here.

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ilovemydualg4
Highlie

Posts: 532
From: *GASP* THE 3RD DIMMENSION
Registered: Mar 2002

posted July 30, 2002 16:24     Click Here to See the Profile for ilovemydualg4   Click Here to Email ilovemydualg4     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by MacManKrisK:
Try swapping the AirPort cards in the machines and see if that does anyhting. But, I'm just grabbing at straws here.

ok. i'll test that out tommorow. how do you think that could make a difference though?

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my geek code
�Water outside boat good. Water inside boat bad. Water in air bad� - �Tim�

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EngrBohn
Uber Geek

Posts: 878
From: United States
Registered: Jul 2000

posted July 31, 2002 10:42     Click Here to See the Profile for EngrBohn   Click Here to Email EngrBohn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If it turns out not to be the Airport cards, another possible explanation would be the extra components (or the arrangement of the components) in your DVD/CD-RW combo that your sister's CD-ROM doesn't have.

An interesting experiment would be to see how orientation affects your range. For example, holding your iBook, walk away from the base station until you lose the signal. Turn around, using the iBook as the axis of rotation. If you're now in range again, walk backwards until you're out of range. If you're not in range, walk forwards (toward the base station) until you are in range.

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cb
Oooh! What does this button do!?

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ilovemydualg4
Highlie

Posts: 532
From: *GASP* THE 3RD DIMMENSION
Registered: Mar 2002

posted July 31, 2002 11:03     Click Here to See the Profile for ilovemydualg4   Click Here to Email ilovemydualg4     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
i have allready realized that orientation effects it, and i've actually gotten her ibook to work, closed the lid, put mine on top, and slid hers out. mine still doesn't work. in both instances though, the cd drive is not spun up, so I don't see how it makes a difference (my combo drive seemed like a good idea, but now i barely use it)

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�Water outside boat good. Water inside boat bad. Water in air bad� - �Tim�

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Bregalad
Alpha Geek

Posts: 347
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Registered: Jan 2002

posted July 31, 2002 15:54     Click Here to See the Profile for Bregalad   Click Here to Email Bregalad     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I think the antenna is the most likely cause. Somewhere your iBook has a poor connection, either on the cable that hooks up to the AirPort card or the antenna cable itself. My car radio has terrible reception and I tried to fix it by cleaning the contact between the antenna cable and the car stereo, but it didn't help. Somewhere inside the body of the car there is some corrosion or a broken wire causing the signal to get degraded. Given that your iBook is too new to be corroded, it's probably a manufacturing defect. I've seen reports on the web of PowerBook G4 owners who were so frustrated with poor AirPort range that they took their 'Books apart and re-soldered the antenna connections. Apparently that works in some cases, but it's certainly not recommended if you value your warranty.

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ilovemydualg4
Highlie

Posts: 532
From: *GASP* THE 3RD DIMMENSION
Registered: Mar 2002

posted August 01, 2002 03:13     Click Here to See the Profile for ilovemydualg4   Click Here to Email ilovemydualg4     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
well i'll just hold up till the waranty runs out then

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�Water outside boat good. Water inside boat bad. Water in air bad� - �Tim�

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EngrBohn
Uber Geek

Posts: 878
From: United States
Registered: Jul 2000

posted August 01, 2002 03:58     Click Here to See the Profile for EngrBohn   Click Here to Email EngrBohn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
- ilovemydualg4 -
the cd drive is not spun up, so I don't see how it makes a difference

The reason it might make a difference is the effect conductors have near antennae -- whether the drive is spun up or not isn't the issue, but whether the the antenna's radiation pattern is getting unfavorably shaped.

Nonetheless, I still suspect a manufacturing problem, or by now there'd surely be reports of the effect the combo drive has on Airport range.

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cb
Oooh! What does this button do!?

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