LF: 802.11g Capable Card for PowerMac G4

[MikeB]

Hello,

This card cannot be an Airport card since the computer is a PowerMac G4 (PCI Graphics) 400Mhz.
If anybody has a wireless card that can work with this or knows where I can get one that would be great thanks.

Mike

[Dan Millar]

Hi Mike,

It would be easier to find a used card or old stock somewhere, than to find a currently available card that will work in you PCI G4. The Belkin F5D7000, D-Link WDA-1320 or the Linksys WMP54G might work, though none of these mention Mac/OS X compatibility on their site - you are using OS X I hope? Belkin had a beta driver for their card - see: http://www.belkin.com/support/article/?lid=en&aid=6001 , look for version 7. Plug-and-pray, anyone?

You run into a problem with USB adaptors because wireless-G requires a USB 2.0 connection. Most wireless-G adaptors, cards included, require a +500MHz processor. You could add a USB 2.0 card and plug a USB wireless-G dongle into it.... both are pretty cheap these days...

Since most Macs have had Airport built-in for the last several years (except the Mac Pro - it's a BTO option), the people who make these cards seem to have dropped Mac support - surprising to me as Belkin, at least, used to be a VERY Mac-friendly company, but not too surprising if you consider how many Mac customers they must have now - near-zero. Good luck with your hunt, and...

Happy Mac'ing!

Dan

[geastman]

Converting a linksys wireless-g router to a wireless bridge (cheaper, more available than an actual bridge) should be relatively inexpensive, and compatible with your PowerMac and pretty well anything else with an ethernet port. The downside is that it is external. Here is one description: http://www.dvrplayground.com/article/12254/Converting-a-Linksys-WRT54G-GS-Into-An-Ethernet-Bridge/

[Dan Millar]

I second the above recommendation - it may seem a bit complicated, but it works, and the routers are about the same price as the USB2/dongle combo, and about ten dollars more than an adaptor, and you won't be pushing your hardware to do things it just wasn't built for.

Dan

[MikeB]

Well, I will see what works best, I may just turn it into a Server since it is slow but my most easily upgradable mac. Until then, thanks for all the support I will post how it works later on when i actually get what I need.

Thanks for your time,
Mike