AirPort Express

My question is can the AirPort Express bridge with an old AirPort 802.11b
only hub?

[Wirelessly, almost certainly not, since only AirPort Extreme base stations support WDS. If you connect it to your Ethernet network, it will work fine for extending the range. -Adam]

The glaring omission is a remote control. Okay, it's not that glaring considering the way the AirPort Express is being positioned but one of the selling points is to have your music available in another room - but you'll have to go back to your Mac if you don't like what you're listening to.

Options would be to use Salling Clicker and a Bluetooth phone - as long as you're in range - or a third-party infra-red remote.

I'd still buy a Squeezebox for other-room listening.

(If I had a quiet enough Mac that I could hide in a cupboard somewhere that consumed less power).





PaulS

>The glaring omission is a remote control. Okay, it's not that
>glaring considering the way the AirPort Express is being positioned
>but one of the selling points is to have your music available in
>another room - but you'll have to go back to your Mac if you don't
>like what you're listening to.
>
>Options would be to use Salling Clicker and a Bluetooth phone - as
>long as you're in range - or a third-party infra-red remote.
>
>I'd still buy a Squeezebox for other-room listening.
>
>(If I had a quiet enough Mac that I could hide in a cupboard
>somewhere that consumed less power).

With regards to "other-room listening":

Given that iTunes and iPod syncing work on Windows too, and will do
for the forseeable future, you don't have to limit yourself to quiet
Macs either. A quiet PC would do. You wouldn't even need to store the
music on the PC, since PC iTunes supports Rendezvous music sharing
too; and can view the music stored on multiple computers on the
network.

--
Chik chikmac.com

> The glaring omission is a remote control.
>
> I'd still buy a Squeezebox for other-room listening.
>

Ditto's on the remote control, that was my very first thought. How
about an 802.11g remote with an iPod like LCD screen!

I'll wait for this and iPhoto compatibility. The ability to stream to
multiple AirPort Express's either simultaneously or with different
streams would be a a nice addition as well.

Squeezebox? Let's see, for a mere $900, I could outfit each of my
stereo's with a Squeezebox that won't play AAC files purchased in the
iTunes music store, or I could do the same for $390 with the Airport
Express. Actually, they are so small, make it $420 so that I can put
one in my kitchen, no- $550, gotta have one in the garage you know...

Hmmm, now that I think about it, just give me the remote and I'm a
buyer. I'll purchase the iPhoto compatible model when it comes out in
addition to the ones I will already own!

-Jim

I have enough ways to play music through my stereo already. I'm much more interested in the following:

I have a Belkin router, which has 802.11b output, hooked up to a DSL modem. I have my G4 MDD and an 8600 connected via wire to the router. The setup is in my basement office. If I use my TiBook almost directly above the basement setup I can use a wireless connection to the system. Anywhere else above the basement it is impossible to get a connection.

If I plug an Airport Express into a wall socket on the first floor above my 802.11b router, will I be able to use the laptop at reasonable (30 feet) distance away from the "Express"? Or will it simply not work with the Belkin?

[No, the AirPort Express won't help in this situation, because it can't wirelessly extend the range of a network unless it's working with an AirPort Extreme base station (or perhaps a WDS-compatible router like one of the ones from Buffalo). If you extended your wired network upstairs, and plugged the AirPort Extreme into that, I think it would help with your range. Of course, you might want to focus instead on the TiBook with a new card or one of the QuickerTek antennas. -Adam]

> [No, the AirPort Express won't help in this situation, because it can't
> wirelessly extend the range of a network unless it's working with an
> AirPort Extreme base station (or perhaps a WDS-compatible router like one
> of the ones from Buffalo). If you extended your wired network upstairs,
> and plugged the AirPort Extreme into that, I think it would help with
> your range. Of course, you might want to focus instead on the TiBook with
> a new card or one of the QuickerTek antennas. -Adam]

According to the note at the bottom of the AirPort Express page it will
also extend the range of another AirPort Express. Cheaper than buying an
AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express. Might be more flexible than an
AirPort Extreme (and a bit cheaper if you're looking at buying new.)

<http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/>

[Ach, yes, that's true - I wasn't sufficiently complete. You can have multiple AirPort Express base stations too. -Adam]

I'm seriously thinking about getting one of these just for travelling. The
ability to setup wireless in a hotel room with a wire connection only would
be cool (heh, I wonder if the hotel AUP's forbid sharing your personal
wireless connection with everyone around you).

I'd probably have ordered one already if they had included the ability to
charge a PowerBook and/or iPod too (might be possible to charge an iPod via
the USB connector, I'm not sure.)

Kevin

Hi,

I'm wondering about using the Express as a repeater for an AirPort. Can anyone tell me how effective this is?

[Not at the moment, since AirPort Express isn't shipping yet. :-) Keep in mind that it will work only with AirPort Extreme or other AirPort Express base stations when repeating. -Adam]

In particular ... signal strength. Supposing I have an AirPort connected to the Internet and local network and I then place the Express at a distance from the AirPort, where for example, a bronze Powerbook is receiving just one bar signal strength. What connection would I get to the Internet and the network? Would it now effectively 'max-out' at one bar throughtout the range of the Express ... no matter how close I am to it? IOW, is the Express capable of in some way 'boosting' the signal, or does it simply extend the range from its weakest point?

[Basically, the AirPort Express would have a weak signal, though what one bar really translates to is unknown, but clients using the AirPort Express would have a strong signal to it, though their overall throughput would be bottlenecked by the weak signal to the AirPort Express. -Adam]

Grant Symon

Richard Totaro wrote:

> Can the AirPort Express be used as a Wireless->Ethernet hub?
>
> Could I have one plugged into the back of the stereo serving out iTunes
> as well as providing network access for a playstation/xbox/tivo etc.?
> The web pages suggest not as they mention a WAN port but no LAN port.
>
> <http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07695>

In theory, you should be able to connect the unit with either a
crossover cable or a standard cable to an uplink port on an Ethernet
hub or switch.

[Yes, that's true, and if so, it would have to get its connection from an AirPort Extreme or another AirPort Express via WDS. -Adam]

--On Thursday, June 17, 2004 1:08 PM -0700 "Duffey, James R." <JAMES.R.DUFFEYsaic.com> wrote:

[In essence, yes, this should work as long as you have another AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express base station to connect to via WDS. -Adam]

Doesn't really apply to Macs since even old models have Ethernet ports, but can you use the USB port for a computer, or does it just work with printers?

At 11:44 AM -0700 6/17/04, Grant Symon wrote:
>Hi,
>
>I'm wondering about using the Express as a repeater for an AirPort.
>Can anyone tell me how effective this is?
>
>[Not at the moment, since AirPort Express isn't shipping yet. :-)
>Keep in mind that it will work only with AirPort Extreme or other
>AirPort Express base stations when repeating. -Adam]

I live half the year on a ship with Ethernet. I'm used to
jacking in using a wire and have to run it around the room to get
where I want it. I'll use the AirPort Express to establish a local
music server and wireless for my suite on the ship.

I wish it would work with my Linksys wireless router at home as a
repeater, but I guess that's not in the cards yet. I think it's a
mistake for them to limit it to their base stations. A lot more
people might buy this at it's price who wouldn't spring for the more
expensive base station.

[The problem is that the only way for a device to act as a repeater is to use WDS - Wireless Distribution System - which isn't entirely standardized. This isn't something Apple is doing on purpose - it's just how the technology shakes out right now. -Adam]

Bruce

Just a thought: theoretically you could use a Linksys WET11 as a "wireless ethernet cable" to connect an AirPort Express to an older AirPort base station or any other brand wireless access point. I neither have a WET11 or AirPort Express myself, so I cannot say if this will work in practice.

[Oh. Hmm. Yes, that might work. But it's really strange, and I wouldn't bet much money on it. -Adam]

I originally asked some time ago if the Airport Express could bridge from wireless to wired networks, eg provide internet access to a games console.

Looks like if can...

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108038#2

4. Question: Can networkable game consoles and digital video recorders join my network via AirPort Express?

Answer: Yes. If you have the proper network adapters for your devices and have set them up properly, they can connect to AirPort Express either wirelessly or via wire, as applicable. However, they cannot connect via wire if AirPort Express is functioning as the router responsible for sharing your Internet connection. (The reason for this is described in the next question.)

Great!!

Riccto

I have a question. I have a Dell PC upstairs with a Netgear wireless router and my iTunes Library.

1) Will AirPort Express work with this equipment to serve music wirelessly to my stereo?

2) If I have a laptop downstairs will AirPort Express allow me to share the iTunes Library with my PC upstairs. I don't want to have to go upstairs to change songs! It sounded like it does for Macs but what about my systems (I'm running MS XP home)

Thanks!

Brian

On Nov 28, 2005, at 2:46 PM, Bouvier, Brian wrote:
> I have a question. I have a Dell PC upstairs with a Netgear
> wireless router and my iTunes Library.
>
> 1) Will AirPort Express work with this equipment to serve music
> wirelessly to my stereo?
I had success with an Airport Express, a mixed Mac-Windows and wired-
wireless network, with a D-Link wireless access point. (Now we're
all-Mac and all-Airport Express in the network.)
> 2) If I have a laptop downstairs will AirPort Express allow me to
> share the iTunes Library with my PC upstairs. I don't want to have
> to go upstairs to change songs! It sounded like it does for Macs
> but what about my systems (I'm running MS XP home)
It doesn't seem to matter what OS iTunes is running on - all the
sharing seems to happen at the application level. I haven't run an
all-Windows network, though.

Doing what you're talking about, though, will take a lot of network
bandwidth. In my setup, the limiting factor is the uplink from the
home network to the rest of the 'net, so we've got bandwidth to spare
in the home network. Still, things that cause interference (some
cordless phones, microwaves) will probably prevent you from streaming
music that way: in my setup, I can't listen to music while the
microwave is on.

--
Charlton Wilbur
cwilburchromatico.net

With a Netgear router will I need to do anything special or will the AE
interface fine?

[I believe you'll be able to connect the AirPort Express to your NetGear's wireless network as a client, though it will not be able to act as a WDS repeater in that mode. But, I haven't tried this. -Adam]