thanks Joe, great analysis, before I dive in, this is the air radar for the desktop if it matters:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/17/screenshot20120530at948.jpg/

Ok,
don't I understand the gist of what you are doing, but don't know/ understand some things. I just remember walking through the set up and extending the extreme over to express
One can choose all these things?

There is a 2.4GHz band to choose and a channel selection. Is that for Extreme/ express or both I'm choosing for?

rename the 5GHz -- is that different than the 2.4 you just mentioned?

I have a 4 year old white laptop, does it get 5gz?

Still odd air radar showing three, I maybe can understand two because one might be the reading of extreme as if express did not exist -- which would be about 30? but why three?

And how are you sure it's getting the 70%. Even air radar could not coherently explain or make me certain...