iMac g3 wifi?

[chris]

I just gave an iMac g3 to a friend and she's put it downstairs in her house.

Her house only has wired ethernet upstairs, however they have a wifi network as well.

What's the best(ie cheapest) way to connect this iMac to the wifi network? Original AirPort cards are out, looked at eBay and they're reaaally expensive. A specific-brand (non-apple) USB dongle would be good, but I don't know what brands work with OS9/X (she uses both)

Thanks!

 

[igor_av]

I just gave an iMac g3 to a friend and she's put it downstairs in her house.
Her house only has wired ethernet upstairs, however they have a wifi network as well.

What's the best(ie cheapest) way to connect this iMac to the wifi network? Original AirPort cards are out, looked at eBay and they're reaaally expensive. A specific-brand (non-apple) USB dongle would be good, but I don't know what brands work with OS9/X (she uses both)

Thanks!

I had a D-Link DWL-122 usb adapter. The drivers had some issues on Tiger. Basically, I couldn't put my iBook to sleep or disconnect the adapter while the computer was turned on, but it was way cheaper than an airport card.

On the other hand, your friend could buy a wifi-ethernet bridge...

 

[tomlee59]

If the imac has the wifi socket adapter, then you an fit an Orinoco (silver or gold is fine) or a truemobile 1150 (same guts) in there. [There are some other equivalents, too, but these are the most common, probably.] Just remove the shell. The card will then flex enough to fit in the space provided.

The Orinoco will be recognized natively as an Airport card, so you won't have any compatibility issues.

 

[benjgvps]

You still have to have the carrier card to fit in the iMacs. I am going to get my iMac online and I'm going to use an access point from http://www.ibuydirect.ca . I would rather use a built in solution but over $200 for the card and carrier is too much.

 

[tomlee59]

You still have to have the carrier card to fit in the iMacs.

That's what I was referring to when I said that he needed the socket adapter. Sometimes you can find the adapter/carrier in dead imacs that are being thrown away (that's how I got mine).

 

[shu82]

I would say the easiest way would be do drill a hole though the floor.

 

[chris]

Haha, no way that one's happening... They have hardwood floors all over the house and would never put a hole in them.

I'm mainly looking for USB dongles (brand/model) that will work with (preferably both) OS9 and OSX. I'm trying to stay below about $40 on this one.

 

[wood_e]

USB wifi withOUT USB2? Ewwwww!!! I would try to find an airport card! - well I guess 12mbps would work for internet...

 

[benjgvps]

I looked into USB Wifi a few weeks ago and I came up with almost no answers (For Mac OS 9 at least), I think you should look around for a bridge or access point, much cheaper. Though if you do find a cheap OS 9 capable USB dongle, call me.

 

[tomlee59]

Yes, OS9-compatible usb WiFi is hard to find. I have a Netgear MA101 (I think that's the model) that works. I can't remember the details anymore, but I believe I had to use hacked drivers for it. There's also a Belkin equivalent that works. But those were the only ones I could find a few years ago.

 

[TheNixer]

I ran into this same problem about a year ago while working on an iMac Snow and my advice is to save the cash and buy an Airport card, which is what I ended up doing. I tried several different USB devices and the drivers were either non-existant or homemade and unstable. I think I still have one in the closet I wasn't able to take back.

If you watch the auctions you can get one for around $65, but you will need the slot adapter.

 

[benjgvps]

An access point is much cheaper and faster if you look around, plus when your not using the iMac you could hook one up to a non-wifi game console or other computer with little or no effort.