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Tuning in the wireless
#4409 09/27/09 08:16 PM
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I don’t think there’s anyplace to put this but the Lounge.

I just spent two full days setting up a new wireless modem/router in a household network which includes an old beige G3 that has the sole function of sustaining a SCSI-connected scanner, a G5 PowerMac which is used for work and is maintained to the highest possible spec (10.5.8, maximum RAM), and a fairly new MacBook, which has wi-fi capabilities.

The G3 and G5 had been hard-wired to a Netgear modem/router, but I wanted to take advantage of the MacBook’s wi-fi. (What the heck does wi-fi even mean? Wireless fidelity doesn’t sound right.) Anyway, I decided that the easiest route for me to take was to buy another Netgear product. The Airport Extreme priced itself out of my reach and I just wanted one box to do everything.

I compounded my degree of difficulty by deciding that as long as I was in town, I should go to the Apple Store and buy the Snow Leopard upgrade disk and install that as well.

To start, I moved the MacBook into the same room as the two “mainframes” and plugged in the ethernet cables from the DGN2000 to the desktop computers. It was easy to log into my ADSL broadband account and the router immediately assigned IP addresses to the two computers. I switched on the wi-fi button on the modem and my laptop was immediately connected! I ran a speed test and was impressed: the laptop was achieving the same speeds as the cable-connected Macs. It all went downhill after that.

I thought as this was so easy, I’d now install Snow Leopard. This also went without a hitch, but now I could not connect to the wi-fi. I stuck in an ethernet cable and internet connection was restored, but I couldn’t get wi-fi back.

Lesson One. Don’t make too many modifications at the same time.

The SL update was made as an update to a previous 10.5.8 install. I decided to erase the hard disk and do a clean install. (What the heck, I’ve got a lot of free time on my hands.) Again, it went as smoothly as possible. But, I still couldn’t access the wi-fi.

I reset the DGN2000 and started from scratch. I finally made a connection with the MacBook. However, when I moved the MacBook from the office to the other side of the house, problems resurfaced. I found that as well as picking up my modem, I was also picking up the wi-fi from the pub next door! The irony was, I was getting a better signal from the pub!

As disturbed as I was by my lack of signal, I was more disturbed by the fact that I was running an unsecured network. This caused me the biggest headache, time-wise.

I took my laptop to the pub. I could get 6.2 Mb/s access to my broadband from the pub, but so could everybody else! I had to make my connection secure.

Netgear’s instructions were confusing. To me. I found that googling my problem provided the best solutions. Clearly, I was not the only one to have trouble sorting this out. I don’t want this story to take as long as it took to sort my problem, so I’ll try to cut this short.

I was offered too many options by the Netgear router help section. I didn’t know if I should use WEP 40, 64 or 128 encryption. Or any of the other four encryption possibilities. I tried them all. I tried so many variables and reset the DGN2000 so many times, I was afraid I’d broken it.

I’m a Mac user that has had to learn as I go to maintain my own computers. I enjoy it. But, I also cannot afford to hire anyone else to do it for me, which is the bottom line. I don’t really know any more than what I learned solving the problems that I have had to sort myself. Does that make any sense?

After two days of trial and error, I now have a network that is running perfectly, instantly and at maximum speed. And, it is secure. Well, it shows a padlock on it, anyway.

So, why this letter? I mean I don’t need any more help.

I supposed it is because I owe so much to MFI.

I was made redundant and had to go freelance during the recession of the 80’s. I bought my G3 and a Jaz drive and went freelance. I very quickly found MacFixIt and spent many, many hours here (there) – learning how to do it myself.

I would really like FTM to do well, but when I was searching for answers to my questions, this site was not much help, frankly. I think it is because you have lost the database. I think it is because this site is too immature. There are a core of top people here who are willing to help, but FTM does not pop up on google searches.

I don’t know about how to get hits on search engines, but I wonder if FTM was to make a FAQ section a priority might not be a good idea?

Anyway, wireless is fantastic! I have set my G5 to share my iTunes library and I have my MacBook plugged into my hi-fi in the living room. No drop outs, fantastic sound. Internet streaming is also super. I can’t believe I’ve had the MacBook for six months without using all it’s benefits.

I wonder how many other people are out there who could use a tutorial or two?

Cheers.


iMac (19,1, 3.1 GHz i5, 12.7.4, 40 Gb RAM); MacBook Air (1.8 Ghz, 8 Gb RAM, 10.14.6, 256 Gb SSD) Vodafone router and Devolo Wi-Fi Extender, Canon TS8351 printer/scanner.
Re: Tuning in the wireless
freelance #4412 09/27/09 08:31 PM
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Soooo, now that you're doing your freelance work from the pub, do you have to get up and walk next door to scan something? grin


...JER (-: >
Re: Tuning in the wireless
freelance #4413 09/27/09 08:33 PM
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Originally Posted By: freelance
(What the heck does wi-fi even mean? Wireless fidelity doesn’t sound right.)
I didn't know either so a Google search turned up this Webopedia article which ends with
Originally Posted By: Webopedia
A common misconception is that the term Wi-Fi is short for "wireless fidelity," however this is not the case. Wi-Fi is simply a trademarked term meaning IEEE 802.11x.

Originally Posted By: freelance
I wonder how many other people are out there who could use a tutorial or two?
Someday, hopefully sooner rather than later.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Tuning in the wireless
...JER #4415 09/27/09 09:04 PM
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Originally Posted By: ...JER
Soooo, now that you're doing your freelance work from the pub, do you have to get up and walk next door to scan something? grin

Don't laugh. I did, for a short time (was that really almost seven years ago?), try to get my scanner to work from my G5 via the G3. Maybe I should open a thread to see if it's possible?

Even if I could work my scanner from the pub, I'd still have to walk home to place something on the glass. grin


iMac (19,1, 3.1 GHz i5, 12.7.4, 40 Gb RAM); MacBook Air (1.8 Ghz, 8 Gb RAM, 10.14.6, 256 Gb SSD) Vodafone router and Devolo Wi-Fi Extender, Canon TS8351 printer/scanner.
Re: Tuning in the wireless
freelance #4416 09/27/09 09:05 PM
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Let me say first off that I'm glad you've got everything sorted to your satisfaction. While hindsight may be 20/20, getting there is a different thing altogether. And once there it may be an attractive proposition to record one's experience into a FAQ others might be able to use to their advantage when confronted with similar tasks.

If you're contemplating to contribute a tutorial or two, that would be greatly appreciated! The thing to do then would be to start the requisite number of threads in the Mac FAQ Discussion forum and post your tutorials there. That way you'll have the benefit of comments and editing suggestions of this community to fine tune your contributions.

We are still working on the current batch of troubleshooting FAQ entries in Mac FAQ Discussion and hope to open a new forum featuring them soon. You're not the only one looking forward to that, and we're (aw)fully aware of the growing impatience out there. Hang in there!

In this context I take your reference to us losing the old database to mean that the presence of the (now once again searchable) archived MFI Forums database at CNet rather than here at FineTunedMac isn't helping FTM. If so I agree, and worry about the moment that CNet shuts down access to that archive. We're working on that too. tongue


alternaut moderator
Re: Tuning in the wireless
alternaut #4418 09/27/09 09:36 PM
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Originally Posted By: alternaut
... it may be an attractive proposition to record one's experience into a FAQ ...

I'm more qualified to write about dogged determination than I am about installing modem/routers. tongue


iMac (19,1, 3.1 GHz i5, 12.7.4, 40 Gb RAM); MacBook Air (1.8 Ghz, 8 Gb RAM, 10.14.6, 256 Gb SSD) Vodafone router and Devolo Wi-Fi Extender, Canon TS8351 printer/scanner.
Re: Tuning in the wireless
freelance #4419 09/27/09 09:50 PM
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I'll take your word for that, but at the same time you're our resident expert on your own setup, and hence the best person to get at least a description of it started. Assuming that's something you want to get involved in. smirk

The underlying idea is that once a description of a particular setup and its idiosyncrasies is available there is a basis to develop a more general one, and therein lies the value of such a contribution. cool


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Re: Tuning in the wireless
alternaut #4431 09/28/09 08:31 AM
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> We are still working on the current batch of troubleshooting FAQ entries in Mac FAQ Discussion and hope to open a new forum featuring them soon. You're not the only one looking forward to that, and we're (aw)fully aware of the growing impatience out there. Hang in there!

I've always considered one of my most important functions as an attentive bartender to be ensuring that customers who are waiting on me are aware that I'm on the job and will be with them shortly before they get on my case to be served; I think the lesson would be well-learned at FTM!

Your "still working" comment intrigues me... Does that mean that what I and, apparently, everybody else who's read it consider to be a finalized FAQ is not what I'll see when "Apple Battery Advisory!" --> "Mac battery care: Using power brick, not battery" finally sees the light of day (and that, of course, goes for the other FAQs that, along with mine, are ready for and languishing, awaiting publication)?


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Tuning in the wireless
freelance #4432 09/28/09 08:34 AM
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> I'm more qualified to write about dogged determination than I am about installing modem/routers. tongue

If you could incorporate common-sense into a FAQ about dogged determination you'd probably turn out the most useful piece of writing we're likely to see. grin


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Tuning in the wireless
freelance #4434 09/28/09 08:54 AM
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It would be great to have a FAQ story about setting up WiFi. Internet is full of calls for help in this domain. I would also like an explanation and a remedy for a frequent problem related to that sometimes, when one has 4 bars on Airport, and other diagnostics are OK, there is no connection. This is one of the most nagging issues because a lot of people, me included, feel really helpless and stupid (yes).
These issues could be integrated into one thread or different ones.


Alex
3.1 GHz 13" MacBook Pro 2015, 8 GB RAM, OS 10.11.2, Office 2011, TimeWarner Cable
2.8 GHz Xeon Mac Pro 2010, 16 GB RAM, OS 10.11.2, Office 2011, LAN
Re: Tuning in the wireless
artie505 #4437 09/28/09 09:52 AM
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Originally Posted By: artie505
If you could incorporate common-sense into a FAQ about dogged determination you'd probably turn out the most useful piece of writing we're likely to see. grin

Bartender, huh? Next to nurses, you're my favorite people. I could belly up to the bar, tell you all about my dogged determination, which is necessary because of my impetuosity and reliance on (not always very good) intuition. I could bend your ear for a while and you could write the FAQ. wink

I get there in the end, but it would make for convoluted telling. I tried that DGN2000 in three locations before settling on one. Netgear supply a 1 meter cable, but tell you to place the modem in an elevated position. Now the thing is finally working (and did I say working really well?) I'm almost afraid to walk in the room for fear of unsettling the airwaves!

BTW, does Wi-Fiâ„¢ cause cancer? grin


iMac (19,1, 3.1 GHz i5, 12.7.4, 40 Gb RAM); MacBook Air (1.8 Ghz, 8 Gb RAM, 10.14.6, 256 Gb SSD) Vodafone router and Devolo Wi-Fi Extender, Canon TS8351 printer/scanner.
Re: Tuning in the wireless
macnerd10 #4438 09/28/09 10:12 AM
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Originally Posted By: macnerd10
... I would also like an explanation and a remedy for a frequent problem related to that sometimes, when one has 4 bars on Airport, and other diagnostics are OK, there is no connection. ...

I don't know if this is the same as the problem you describe, but...

I kept getting a problem where the router would assign an IP address to AirPort, but would not connect to the internet. I think the number assigned was "out of range". I kept resetting the DGN2000 hoping that it would assign a working number, but no luck. I finally resorted to "Using DHCP with manual address". 192.168.0.x (x being a number not assigned to the two other Macs on the network.) The subnet and router numbers were the same as the other computers. That did the trick.

Because I'm a bit of a masochist, I may go back into the system and see about setting up WEP with 128-bit encryption. Once I got the hang of beast (did I say two days?) I reset the modem and it took five minutes from scratch to type in the correct numbers for logging on to the internet and setting up the security.


iMac (19,1, 3.1 GHz i5, 12.7.4, 40 Gb RAM); MacBook Air (1.8 Ghz, 8 Gb RAM, 10.14.6, 256 Gb SSD) Vodafone router and Devolo Wi-Fi Extender, Canon TS8351 printer/scanner.
Re: Tuning in the wireless
freelance #4440 09/28/09 01:12 PM
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Quote:
BTW, does Wi-Fiâ„¢ cause cancer?
Only in laboratory rats. laugh


...JER (-: >
Re: Tuning in the wireless
...JER #4441 09/28/09 01:16 PM
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Laboratory rats are not being used anymore. Scientists are using lawyers instead and for three reasons:

1. There are more of them.
2. The researchers don't get nearly as attached to them.
3. There are some things that rats just won't do.
grin

Note: You may substitute your personal bète noir for lawyers. Suggestions are politicians, bureaucrats and lobbyists.

Last edited by jchuzi; 09/28/09 04:12 PM.

Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365
Re: Tuning in the wireless
freelance #4447 09/28/09 05:11 PM
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I guess in your case, the 4 bars on the Airport icon were present, right? I was talking about "normal" IP address, not out of range. In this case one can do a lot of logical tricks like resetting the router (hard and soft), resetting the modem, restarting the computer, and then something suddenly did the trick. But no real advice, like do this and it will start working. I also noticed that my clever Belkin router would show "not connected" with no obvious reason, while the MBP comfortably said that it was connected, with the right IP address and the same 4 bars on Airport. In this case, no connection was there, obviously, verified by Internet diagnostics utility. What is happening in those moments, beats me. A router restart, a modem restart, both restarts would suddenly make it work. I wonder why the TCP/IP does not sense losing connection.
BTW, manual IP never worked for me over several OS renditions.


Alex
3.1 GHz 13" MacBook Pro 2015, 8 GB RAM, OS 10.11.2, Office 2011, TimeWarner Cable
2.8 GHz Xeon Mac Pro 2010, 16 GB RAM, OS 10.11.2, Office 2011, LAN
Re: Tuning in the wireless
macnerd10 #4449 09/28/09 06:51 PM
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Originally Posted By: macnerd10
I guess in your case, the 4 bars on the Airport icon were present, right? I was talking about "normal" IP address, not out of range. In this case one can do a lot of logical tricks like resetting the router (hard and soft), resetting the modem, restarting the computer, and then something suddenly did the trick. But no real advice, like do this and it will start working. I also noticed that my clever Belkin router would show "not connected" with no obvious reason, while the MBP comfortably said that it was connected, with the right IP address and the same 4 bars on Airport. In this case, no connection was there, obviously, verified by Internet diagnostics utility. What is happening in those moments, beats me. A router restart, a modem restart, both restarts would suddenly make it work. I wonder why the TCP/IP does not sense losing connection.
BTW, manual IP never worked for me over several OS renditions.

Yeah, four bars.

This reminds me of the "Unexplained Scientific Principles" discussion they're having over on the other channel. confused

Just push the buttons and pray! grin

Works for me!


iMac (19,1, 3.1 GHz i5, 12.7.4, 40 Gb RAM); MacBook Air (1.8 Ghz, 8 Gb RAM, 10.14.6, 256 Gb SSD) Vodafone router and Devolo Wi-Fi Extender, Canon TS8351 printer/scanner.
Re: Tuning in the wireless
freelance #4450 09/28/09 06:59 PM
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Agree!


Alex
3.1 GHz 13" MacBook Pro 2015, 8 GB RAM, OS 10.11.2, Office 2011, TimeWarner Cable
2.8 GHz Xeon Mac Pro 2010, 16 GB RAM, OS 10.11.2, Office 2011, LAN
Re: Tuning in the wireless
freelance #4451 09/28/09 08:15 PM
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Originally Posted By: freelance

Yeah, four bars.

This reminds me of the "Unexplained Scientific Principles" discussion they're having over on the other channel. confused

Just push the buttons and pray! grin

Works for me!


Better to go with four pubs, in my estimation.


---

The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth. - Niels Bohr
Re: Tuning in the wireless
freelance #4452 09/28/09 08:31 PM
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The last sentence should be the epigraph to the whole FAQ section!


Alex
3.1 GHz 13" MacBook Pro 2015, 8 GB RAM, OS 10.11.2, Office 2011, TimeWarner Cable
2.8 GHz Xeon Mac Pro 2010, 16 GB RAM, OS 10.11.2, Office 2011, LAN
Re: Tuning in the wireless
macnerd10 #4453 09/28/09 10:06 PM
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nice avatar, Alex!


MacBook 2.4 Ghz · 4 Gb ram · 10.7.5
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Re: Tuning in the wireless
jchuzi #4469 09/29/09 07:31 AM
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> Laboratory rats are not being used anymore. Scientists are using lawyers instead [....]

The difference between rats and lawyers being...?


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Tuning in the wireless
artie505 #4472 09/29/09 12:33 PM
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Originally Posted By: artie505
> Laboratory rats are not being used anymore. Scientists are using lawyers instead [....]

The difference between rats and lawyers being...?

see message #4441


...JER (-: >

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