Help with AirPort cards

[EvieSigma]

I don't really know anything about AirPort cards. Can someone tell me what kind of AirPort card I need for a G4 Quicksilver and what kind of AirPort card I need for a PCI-X G5?

 

[omidimo]

G4 QS will need an 802.11b AirPort Card, like this one.

G5 PCI-X will need a 802.11b/g AirPort Extreme, like this one.

The good news is that they are in plentiful supply still, but the bad news is most modern WiFi access points might not talk to them. If you have an old AirPort (Extreme) Base Station, that should take care of it. 

 

[Unknown_K]

The G5 PCIX towers need an antenna that plugs into the back of the case.

 

[EvieSigma]

I had no idea, I've literally never seen one of those antennas before.

I have one of the old white Airport base stations so that's not a problem.

 

[MOS8_030]

Those G5 antennas are rare like hens teeth. I paid a fair amount for both the AP and Bluetooth antennas when I added wifi to my G5.

Years back you could get wifi upgrade kits for the Minis pretty cheap then use the cards in the desktops but they didn't come with the external antennas.

The AP "Extreme" card supports G wireless and should work with any Wifi base station. The earlier AP cards only support B wireless.

You can also use a PCI wireless card that uses the Broadcom chip. I have a "generic" PCI wifi card in my G4 "Sawtooth" that I got from Best Buy several years ago.

 

[Unknown_K]

I had no idea, I've literally never seen one of those antennas before.

I have one of the old white Airport base stations so that's not a problem.

You need a different one for the bluetooth option on those machines as well. I have one of each.

The real rarity for wireless is on the G5  PCIE towers. While those units have built in antennas you need a very rare card to plug into the machine.

 

[EvieSigma]

Where exactly do these antennas plug into?

 

[omidimo]

There are two ports in the back:

A cheap alternative is this one.

 

[EvieSigma]

Thanks for the picture and the cheaper alternative!