original apple airport wireless card revision

i happen to have been looking around on the net and i found that they made 5 different revisions of the original apple airport card. the thing is that they all look the same. how can you tell which revision is which since the last original airport card the M7600LL/E has airport software 3.0 and 128 bit wep/wpa. what am i to look for when searching for the final revision airport card

Just so we're talking about the same thing...which of these two airport cards are we talking about?

(I'm assuming the first one...but just wanted to be sure):




- Nick

i am talking bout the first one the original airport card. since i think the later revisions are better then the early or middle of the run revisions i wonder how u can tell which revision the card is from looking at the numbers on the back to be able to tell if its an m7600LL/e or whichever

rmx77 said:

i am talking bout the first one the original airport card. since i think the later revisions are better then the early or middle of the run revisions i wonder how u can tell which revision the card is from looking at the numbers on the back to be able to tell if its an m7600LL/e or whichever

Click to expand...

There may actually be different revisions of the original Airport cards...but honestly (as far as I know)...there really isn't a difference in them in terms of quality, performance, or features. They're pretty much all the same.

If you have info that differs significantly than what I have mentioned...I would love to see & learn from it (just post links to the info in this thread).

Thanks,

- Nick

well here is the site i got some info from
Apple AirPort Card Versions

that site tells you what the revisions are but it doesnt tell you how to tell which revision of the card you have

rmx77 said:

well here is the site i got some info from
Apple AirPort Card Versions

that site tells you what the revisions are but it doesnt tell you how to tell which revision of the card you have

Click to expand...

Thanks for that info...pretty interesting.

The way I read the chart in the link...it's not so much about the "physical hardware" of the cards being different...it's the "firmware/software" that the card has been updated to which is important.

In other words...if someone has a "Revision A" Airport card...and downloads the Airport 3.0 software (and runs it)...the Revision A airport card will then be "upgraded" to a Revision E Airport card.

So the "revisions" are software based not a physical hardware difference. And like the link states...it sort of depends on which computer you're installing the Airport card into. Since if the "firmware/software" on the Airport card is too "new" or updated...then it won't work properly in an older computer that may need a revision A B, or C Airport card.

- Nick

p.s. As far as knowing what Airport card revision you have. The Airport card probably needs to be installed in a compatible computer...then it's specs looked up within the computer. You really cannot tell by just looking at the card to know what revision it is...since the card could have been updated by previous owners.

how would u go about updating an airport card since all i see apple doing with the updates to the airport cards are mostly drivers and operating system fixes for the airport cards

rmx77 said:

how would u go about updating an airport card since all i see apple doing with the updates to the airport cards are mostly drivers and operating system fixes for the airport cards

Click to expand...

You have to search the internet for a site that still has these Airport card revisions still available for download. Apple may still have it on their website...and maybe not.

When you're dealing with old computer hardware...you need to have better than average research skills!

- Nikc

true. mostly what i came up with for finding out how to tell what airport card revision you have is gave me that site mostly what i ended up finding was other stuff not related to the original one at all for what i was looking for

rmx77 said:

true. mostly what i came up with for finding out how to tell what airport card revision you have is gave me that site mostly what i ended up finding was other stuff not related to the original one at all for what i was looking for

Click to expand...

Do you currently have one of these Airport cards & are trying to find out what revision it is?. Or are you looking to purchase one & want to know what revision it is before buying it?

- Nick

i also just checked for the firmware for the airport card and all i get is firmware stuff for the airport base stations

i do happen to have one but i wanted to find out how to tell which revision is which so when i go to get another one i can know and then be able to get a better running unit. the one i have isnt running well at all. it seems to run super slow doing updates and end up telling me i am not connected to the net after a while. i have a powermac g4 quickslver 2002 933mhz running leopard 10.5.8.

rmx77 said:

i do happen to have one but i wanted to find out how to tell which revision is which so when i go to get another one i can know and then be able to get a better running unit. the one i have isnt running well at all. it seems to run super slow doing updates and end up telling me i am not connected to the net after a while. i have a powermac g4 quickslver 2002 933mhz running leopard 10.5.8.

Click to expand...

Not sure if you know...but the original Airport cards are "wireless b" only. The Airport Extreme cards are "wireless b/g"...and of course almost (if not all) new computers can use up to "wireless n".

Yeah...I have one of those 933mhz Powermac G4's as well...with an Airport card in it. How far is this Powermac G4 from your wireless router...and how many floors/walls are there between the computer & router? Distance & obstacles both can reduce the wireless signal.

To tell which revision your Airport card is...go to:

- About This Mac
- More Info
- in the next window click on "Airport" from the list on the left

Somewhere in that info it "should" say what revision it is. As far as getting another Airport card (and knowing what revision it is)...I think that this info is going to be VERY hard to come by from a seller of an Airport card!

Just think how hard it has been for you to figure this out!!!

- Nick

the funny thing is that the wireless card isnt that far from the router and my dad had the same issue in his g4 drop outs, running slow etc.

rmx77 said:

the funny thing is that the wireless card isnt that far from the router and my dad had the same issue in his g4 drop outs, running slow etc.

Click to expand...

Are we talking two different computers (your's and your dad's) & two different Airport cards?

If so...maybe it's the router, the cable modem (if you have cable modem service), the ISP's service quality, limited bandwidth, or erratic bandwidth.

- Nick

actually we are talking the same card. so right now my dads computer has an airport compatable wireless g card in it and mine i have running from a dd-wrt router i have setup to cliant strange i cant get either of them to work well with the routers i have. time to find a good apple wireless