On Jul 29, 2010, at 12:07 PM, Jonathon Kuo wrote:
> I'm not quite sure how to ask this question…
>
> I'm trying to get an older iMac ("iLamp" Tiger 10.4.11) to connect to a WPA
> network, but the only options in the wireless connect panel are for WEP, so
> it can't connect. Thinking that the WPA option might have been introduced in
> Leopard, I tried to install Leopard-PPC, but the Leopard installer says the
> machine isn't supported.
>
> So, where exactly does WPA capability reside - on the Airport card or in OSX?
WPA was introduced in 10.3.3, so the problem is not in your OS.
Some G4 iMacs use the original Airport card, some use the Extreme card. Either
should be able to use WPA, but I believe there is a firmware update required to
the original card before this capability exists.
Now, caveat: if you have a model that uses an original Airport card, then
depending on whether your Airport card came with the machine or was added
later, your card may not be capable of running WPA at all. Apple discontinued
the original Airport card prematurely, and scarcity and demand pushed the price
way up for a period. Savvy arbitrageurs figured out that they could buy used
Snow Base Stations for way below this cost, cannibalize them, and resell the
Airport card at a profit. These cards are externally identical (modulo a
serial number code), but not internally, and the biggest difference is that
they won't run WPA at all. See discussion below.
>> You sell part 661-2549 at a $20 premium over part 661-2219, but they are
>> identical. There is no difference in WPA capability between the two cards.
>> The WPA capability is determined solely by whether your OS is pre- or post-
>> 10.3.3.
>>
>> See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2594?viewlocale=en_US
>
> We prefer to think of the lower priced card being sold at a $ 20.00 discount
> as contrasted with the more capable, later version. The original AirPort card
> was equivalent to a WaveLAN Silver card, and supported only 40-bit WEP or
> 64-bit encryption, and did not support WPA.
>
> The original AirPort Base Station which shipped with these cards on board was
> limited to 10 clients, had only a 10BbaseT LAN port, and supported only
> 40-bit WEP. Later cards which looked physically identical, supported 104 bit
> WEP, or 128-bit encryption, as did the AirPort Base Stations which included
> them. This second card, also manufactured initially in the Netherlands for
> Apple by AT&T's Lucent unit—later know as ORiNOCO—was equivalent to the
> WaveLAN Gold card.
>
> In addition, the bulk of the lower cost cards originally shipped with and
> have been sold by us for incorporation into older machines running Mac OS 9.
> That operating system does not support WPA.
>
> Are you certain that you have successfully used an off-the-shelf 661-2219
> M7600LL/A revision A card in a WEP environment?
>> If the cards are physically identical, how do you distinguish between them?
>> Otherwise, I have no way to be certain of any of this.
>>
>> I see 661-2219 as the part number used in G3 iMacs, and 661-2549 as the part
>> used in G4 iMacs, and I am told by Apple that they are identical parts and
>> both run WPA. The service manual for the Graphite AirPort does not call out
>> any part number for the AirPort card, and as I recall, they were not
>> physically identical (no label). The Snow AirPort had a card that was
>> identical to the iMac card but there is no service manual available for it
>> to identify the part number.
>
> The 661-2219 part number is distinguished by the M7600LL/* marketing
> designator screened on the label, as well as engineering revision part number
> 825-4889 and worldwide procurement part number 630-2883. EEE code G3G is
> embedded right-most in the last four characters of each part's serial number.
> *This character is typically A, B or C.
>
> The 661-2569, on the other hand, is distinguished by an M7600LL/D or later
> marketing designator, engineering revision part number 825-5620, the same
> worldwide procurement part number 630-2883 and typically the phrase '128
> bits' along the lower center of the label. EEE codes LH8, M6Y or QAC are
> embedded right-most in the last four characters of each part's serial number.
>
> While a procurement number generally changes when a service part number
> change is made, this product did not, as Lucent remained its sole supplier,
> the 'change' to the card involved different firmware and not a physical
> change to the product, and Apple personnel largely considered them
> equivalent, though they were and are not.
>
> Graphite AirPort base station models initially used the M7600LL/A, B or C
> cards, and was itself designated the M7601LL/A and later, the M7601LL/B. Both
> base stations were also designated as 661-2265 whole unit service replacement
> parts. Every card we've ever seen in a Graphite base station was a 661-2219
> and was marked as described above.
>
> Apple did not adequately document many of these parts and there applications
> at the time they were still in use, and all have disappeared from their
> inventory—except in limited cases—as has much of what existed for
> documentation. Given their personnel changes over the years, it's quite
> likely that no one there now can recall the subtle differences or properly
> identify these products. Once there are designated vintage, then obsolete,
> they drop quickly off of the radar.
--
Macs R We -- Personal Macintosh Service and Support
in the Wickenburg and far Northwest Valley Areas.
http://macsrwe.com
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