AirPort Blog

A couple of antenna-related announcements for Mac users in the last few days. MacWireless introduced its three 11g antenna booster models which work with three kinds of antennas they already sell. The booster increases gain further, which pushes the range of the antennas. They don't work with Dr. Bott's two antennas, only with models sold by MacWireless. MacWireless continues to expand its comprehensive line of Mac-oriented Wi-Fi products, filling many gaps for older and newer Macs alike through a combination of drivers and hardware. I note on their site that their trade-in for an old AirPort card is now $60, which is a pretty decent price. They sell on eBay for that much or more, and this removes that hassle of an auction transaction. QuickerTek also continues to provide oodles of options for Mac owners focusing on the antenna side. Their announcement today is for a $100 5.5 dBi whip antenna to extend the range of AirPort Extreme Cards in 15-inch and 17-inch aluminum PowerBooks. I find the range on my 15-inch Au to be quite good, but 5.5 dBi is a large upgrade and could allow you to use a PowerBook over a larger area in a home, office, or hotspot. The site says the antenna upgrade is possible for ordinary users, too, but doesn't provide the installation guide for examination on their Web site.