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Airport Express…what I have learned

This little thing stressed me out...but finally works.

Well after a couple of days FIGHTING with my new Airport Express I have learned a few things.

I submit my struggles and some hints.

  • Don’t try to install multiple network devices at the SAME TIME. 
  • Firmware updates are hairy business…be sure things are hard lined and secure. 
  • Forums can be your best friend.
  • Search Google and just dig when you get lost. 
The Airport Express has some pretty impressive features. I am going to list the standard ones from Apple’s site but then some little known hidden facts as well as some tips and tricks as well. What you can gleam from the Apple packaging and their website is below.
  • AirTunes functionality (this allows you to play your iTunes music through your sound system)
  • Wireless Printing (you can plug up your USB printer and print through your wireless network)
  • Internet Sharing on-the-go (if you are on the road, at a friends house, or in a wireless-less coffeshop you can bring this little guy with you to quickly setup a wireless network)
  • Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n (for the geeks out there…this little package offers draft N support which provides speeds of 108Mbps versus the average Wireless G is 54Mbps)
  • Mac & PC compatible (well for those still trudging through the PC world…it works)
So those are the basics…how bout some other cool stuff that you can do with it.
  • Wireless Ethernet Client: Say in my case I have a Tivo and a sound system in the living room. I don’t want to loose the wired connection for the Tivo considering it cost $50 or more to get a proprietary USB wireless adapter. So I thought I would have to have my main Wireless Router (which will soon be replaced by the Time Capsule). It turns out that when you setup the Airport Express to “Allow Ethernet Clients”. This allows the WAN port to be used as a piggy-back ethernet port for other devices. So for me I can hook up the Tivo by hardline into the Airport Express and the Airport Express connects by 802.11n to the Time Capsule to get it’s network connection.
  • Airfoil: So the Airport Express is fine and dandy if you want to play your iTunes library through your sound system, but what if you are looking to play things like Pandora or your online XM or Sirius Radio? Can’t do it straight out the box but with a program called Airfoil you can play any audio from your computer that you want (it also allows you to setup other computers with “AirTunes” like capabilities…pretty sweet). The system is simple and the software doesn’t cost that much. Totally worth it.
  • UPDATE: THIS WAS A MISUNDERSTANDING. You can not share drives with the Express. Built in NAS: Every wanted to use that old external hard drive as some extra household storage. Welcome to Airport Disks! Hook up any USB formatted hard drive and you are good to go. You Macs (and your PCs with a little massaging) will detect and can use the drive for online storage. This is really useful for file swapping or just as an extra place to keep your information.
  • Advertise Globally: I know many people will never use this functionality but say you are at the office and REALLY REALLY need to print a document at home. Normally you have to email it to yourself then send it out to a significant other, etc, etc. Well you can actually print and access your Airport disks remotely if you setup your Airport Express to Advertise Globally with Bonjour. Check the manuals and the forums for more info on setting this one up.
  • USB Hub: You can connect a USB hub to the Airport Express to allow to hook up a USB printer, USB hard drive, and things like the Keyspan Express Remote.
There you go…just some initial tinkerings with the Airport Express and I will update the article if anyone sends me some NEW features. Tell me what you think about your Airport Express or what you use yours for.
Thanks,
Daniel

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 24th, 2008 at 2:33 am and is filed under apple, Cool, Misc, Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Comments

  1. jamie orillion | May 25th, 2008 | 11:59 am

    I didn’t realize I could do all of that with mine! I def need to set it up to print remotly. I’d use that all the time!

  2. Corey | May 27th, 2008 | 9:32 am

    All really cool stuff, I only wish that I could use it with a usb drive and time machine. Unfortunately that will not work.

  3. Kyle LeBoeuf | June 16th, 2008 | 8:18 pm

    You can actually stream other things too with a piece of software called “Airfoil”

  4. Kyle LeBoeuf | June 16th, 2008 | 8:20 pm

    Oops, didn’t it already on there…lol

  5. Daniel | June 16th, 2008 | 8:35 pm

    I am learning a lot more about this little powerhouse of wireless activity. I will try to post some update later. Thanks for the comments everyone.

    @Jamie: You should setup Airfoil so you can use that fancy new online radio you found.

    @Corey: I think they will try to milk that feature on the Airport Extreme and Time Capsule for all it is worth. Don’t hold your breath on that one.

    @Kyle: No problem. I really think I am just going to drop the money on the Airfoil program. Pretty sweet!

    - Daniel

  6. Inbal | July 21st, 2008 | 10:54 pm

    Hi,
    I was very excited about hooking up my speakers to the airport express and getting my music of my hard drive but every other forum that I’ve read (including apple specs) say that only the airport extreme or time capsule can hook up to an external hard drive. any advise on how I can set this up?

  7. Inbal | July 21st, 2008 | 10:55 pm

    I forgot to say thank you!

  8. Philippe | December 3rd, 2008 | 6:27 am

    The Airport Express cannot share a Drive, only the Airport Extreme and Time Capsule can.

    The Express can share 1 Printer and have one Keyspan remote.

    The Extreme and Time Capsule can share one or many Hard drive and one or many printers.

    p.

  9. Mark | December 21st, 2008 | 1:38 am

    Phillippe, you are wrong.

  10. ASK | December 28th, 2008 | 4:29 pm

    Mark,
    did you really manage to connect an usb drive to airport express and connect with the mac? In all other forums it is stated that this does not work with airport express…

  11. Chief | December 30th, 2008 | 7:00 am

    Can anybody explain how to connect my HD to my Airport Express? I can’t seem to get it work.
    verbekejef@telenet.be

    Thnx

  12. Daniel | December 30th, 2008 | 5:42 pm

    @inbal @phillipe @ask @chief: It appears that I was speaking out of what I read in the manual. Which I read a forum post that said it was a typo.

    @mark: Have you gotten it to work successfully?

  13. matt | January 31st, 2009 | 3:11 pm

    Mark, how did you setup the HD through the airport express?

  14. TEEBS | February 11th, 2009 | 4:10 am

    MATT, Mark is incorrect. I’ve had both .g and .n expresses. Neither can connect to a Hard Drive, just a network printer.

    I am only referring to it’s original settings. No crazy modifications.

  15. Tamas | February 11th, 2009 | 11:00 am

    can u really connect a hard drive (any kind) to the airport express?

    i just bought one, would be neat to know about how you did it! thanks

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