Graphite UFO.

[iMac600]

The original base station (known as Graphite) featured a modem and an Ethernet port. It was based on the same Lucent WaveLAN Bronze PC Card as the AirPort Card, and used an embedded 486 processor. It was released July 21, 1999. The Graphite AirPort Base Station is functionally identical to the Lucent RG-1000 wireless base station.

I've just finished completing a software restore to its factory default settings. Seems to be fully operational, works well, it's now replacing my Netgear router. Despite being much older, the network seems to be considerably faster.

Initially it had some problems, being completely inaccessible regardless of whatever I tried, but after installing some extra software for 10.5, making up a new network cable and hooking it all up with specific TCP/IP settings, I was able to successfully flash the software and restore the factory defaults.

Pretty good cosmetically, although it is missing the tip of the Apple in the Apple logo. Nothing major.

Interesting little tidbit I noticed was that Apple stamped their devices as if they were living, breathing beings- the base labelling is marked with "I was made in Taiwan, my Family no is M5757".

:lol:

Photo of my new UFO.

Cheers

- MB

 

[iMac600]

Should also mention while I was partying it up with my friends at UniSA (University of South Australia) for the day, I won a USB disk. It's only a 128mb drive but it's been metal etched with the UniSA logo and serves as a momento to the good times we all had, and hopefully will have to come.

It's a long story. Just take my word for it, it's a nice disk.

Can't wait for the photos of us to be published... that'll be a riot...

 

[iMac600]

Wow, tough crowd.

 

[LCGuy]

Good score. By the way, IIRC a lot of Apple hardware has stuff like that on it...I know the very first slot load iMacs have something like, "I was assembled in wherever" on the bottom.

 

[Mike Richardson]

Most people I know chop the pre-Extreme UFOs in order to get the card out of it. For Graphite base stations, it is a lovely 16-bit WaveLAN PCMCIA Card which I understand will work with default AirPort drivers on pre-AirPort PowerBooks. For Snow base stations, it is a standard AirPort Card that works with standard AirPort slots.

 

[macgreg]

Nice - I have a Graphite UFO as well (thanks macman142).

They are a cool piece of kit.

 

[Temetka]

I love those base stations.

Nice score.

 

[Byrd]

Picked up a snow Airport Base Station for $3 at a garage sale yesterday, sans power adapter. Thought I'd keep it as is, but the sweet hidden Airport card got to me ... and it's kind of hobbled now being only 802.11b.

JB

 

[Bunsen]

So ... who's come up with a use for the Base Station, without the wireless card? I know you can run OpenWRT Linux on them, and they have ethernet and a modem... must be good for something.

 

[z180]

i thought there were also PC(or whatever else) compatible base stations

from 2002-03.They have 2 ethernet ports.Is it possible to convert an old UFO

via flashing the ROM to working with PCs in a network or doing router works

like the MIPS based NSLU2?

This may be a good theme for the "I replaced new Hardware with older"

thread.

 

[Bunsen]

All Airport external hardware is PC compatible AFAIK. And if you can put OpenWRT on it, as I mentioned above, you can presumably do whatever the NSLUG can do, only slower and without USB. I don't recall if the dual ethernet models are the same hardware as the 1st gen.