PowerBook AirPort Reception Fix

As we've noted previously on Macs Only!, our PowerBook 2000 (FireWire) or "Pismo" has not experienced the same good AirPort reception that our iBook (original) and iMac DV SE SL enjoy, even after we upgraded to AirPort 1.3. Many people are experiencing the same issue with regard to their new PowerBook G4 Titanium. Our Pismo would get 3 green dots with constant fluctuations from 2-4 dots in our favorite working location where both our iBook and iMac get a solid 5. In fact, the iBook and iMac get 5 dots almost anywhere in the building. Changing the Base Station's channel from the default channel 1 to channel 8 fixed the problem. We now get 5 solid green dots on our Pismo. However, we tried channels 3, 4 and 6 with no improvement before channel 8. We suggest trying out the 10 different Base Station channels if you are having similar AirPort reception problems with channel 1.

Yesterday (actually Sunday night), we also posted a temporary fix for the problem where a PowerBook G4 shuts off for no apparent reason when moved. [Update: Here is a web page with photos and a video clip that provides an alternative fix. (MacFixIt)]