[X4U] Problems with wireless connection

[Richard H Stoddard]

I am having problems with my wireless connection. I'm using a MacBook 
(late 2007) with AirPort Extreme. I know the AirPort is working because 
we have two iPhones, and both of them remain connected, but my MacBook 
keeps dropping the connection. I can restore it using diagnostics, but 
it will drop the connection again after awhile - anywhere from a few 
minutes to a few hours. This has been happening since the upgrade to 
10.5.6; I can't prove that's the cause, but it never happened before.

I went to the Apple store this week for tech support, and while it 
appeared to be okay when I left, it continues to drop the connection. 
They did say it was possible it's an antenna or other hardware problem, 
but I hate to spend the bucks  to send it in if it's a software issue. 
There are several reasons I believe it's software=related:

- Not all apps will lose the connection at the same time. Safari may 
not be able to connect, but dashboard widgets requiring a connection 
will continue to function, and I can continue to receive mail on my 
.Mac account (IMAP), although my Comcast POP account will not connect. 
(I use GyazMail, although I doubt that makes a difference,) I also 
launched FireFox a couple of times after Safari was unable to make a 
connection, and it connected to sites fine for awhile.

- This has been going on since the upgrade, and I've used diagnostics 
to restore the connection well over 100 times. Sometimes it requires me 
to enter my AirPort password, sometimes not, but in all cases the 
connection is instantly restored. It seems to me that it the problem is 
hardware-related, there would be times when it doesn't restore it.

Is anyone else having this issue? Any advice on how to resolve it?

Thanks, Rick