[G4] Another Wireless Network Question

[Ronald Steinke]

On 20 June, 2006, at 9:58:55, LeftyZ at aol.com wrote:

> While all three of my laptops work GREAT in my office (where the  
> router is) using the wireless cards, when I go to the backyard  
> (through the house from my office -- about 100 feet from the  
> router), the two cheap PC laptops (each under $1,000) continue to  
> work well for internet access using their cards....yet, my $2,800  
> 17-inch G4 PowerBook gets no signal from the router at all.....
>
> This is frustrating.  Any ideas?  Is the AirPort Card just weaker?

You didn't say whether the PCs have any part of their cards exposed  
outside of their cases. Are the cards being used in the PC laptops  
the PCMCIA variety? Do they have an external portion of the card that  
sticks out of the PCMCIA slot?

It is very probable that those cards have their antennae concealed in  
the portion that protrudes outside the laptop case. In which case,  
they would have the benefit of a more sensitive antenna than the Mac  
laptop.

My PC laptop (used only at work to learn how to run WhineDoze) has an  
internal wireless card and does not get any more signal strength than  
my Pismo with an Apple Airport card installed. My Wallstreet with an  
Orinoco PCMCIA wireless card inserted gets two bars more signal  
strength when I go outside the building.

 From this, I would suggest that your difference in signal strength  
and performance is more dependent on the external antenna that a  
PCMCIA card sticks outside the laptop case.