Older Airport Express and MacBook Air pairing....

Question

Here's the story:
I have a MacBookAir (very nice) which I use in a place without a wired / telephone line / broadband internet access. So, I use a Vodaphone wireless broadband connection using a USB dongle. Works well. That, of course, uses up the only available USB port on the MacBookAir, which means I am not able to easily plug in my small portable printer, which also requires USB, unless I disconnect the Vodaphone dongle, unplug it, plug in the computer, printer, then reestablish the Vodaphone connection....you see the hassle !
I have an older Airport Express (not sure if it is a, b, g ?) probably 3 years old. I had thought that I could use it to create a wireless network with my MacBookAir to use for printing.
The configuration I envisaged was as follows: Airport Express in to plug socket; USB connection from AE to printer. No physical connection between AE or printer to MacBookAir.
Using Airport Utility I try to discover the AE but scanning comes up with nothing. The AE in the meantime when first plugged in shows solid green, then a solid amber, then after about 15 seconds goes to flashing amber. Evidently, the AE, Airport Utility and my MacBookAir are not finding each other.
So: is it that the older AE and the new MacBookAir are not compatible, using different versions of the 802.11 ? Or have I got the set up completely wrong ? - ie. does the AE not speak wirelessly to the computer ? - does it need another base station to create the wireless network eg. Time Capsule or Airport Express Base Station ? I thought an AE would create its own little wireless network.
Thoughts, suggestions, help all appreciated ! Thanks.

Answer 1

So: is it that the older AE and the new MacBookAir are not compatible, using different versions of the 802.11 ?
Yes, they are compatible. The older AirPort Express Base Station (AX) is a 802.11b/g-capable device, which the new MacBook Air also supports.
The MacBook Air should also have the latest version of the AirPort Utility already installed so it should just be a matter of setting up the AX for what you need. There are several way to configure the AX to share a USB printer. The two most common ways is either a "stand-alone" wireless network or to "join" it to an existing one. Since you don't appear to have the latter, here's the set up steps for a stand-alone configuration.
Perform a "factory default" reset of the AX
o (ref: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108044)
Either connect to the AX's wireless network, or temporarily, connect directly (using an Ethernet cable) to the Ethernet port of the AX, and then, using the AirPort Utility (in Manual Setup), configure the following settings:
AirPort - Base Station
o Base Station Name: <whatever you wish or use the default>
o Base Station Password: <enter the desired base station administrator password>
o Verify Password: <re-enter the base station administrator password>
o Remember this password in my keychain: (optional)
o Set time automatically: (optional)
o Allow configuration over Ethernet WAN port: checked
AirPort - Base Station - Base Station Options
o Contact: (optional)
o Location: (optional)
o Status Light: Always On (Default)
AirPort - Wireless
o Wireless Mode: Create a wireless network
o Network Name: <enter name or leave default>
o Radio Mode: 802.11b/g compatible
o Channel: Automatic
o Wireless Security: None
AirPort - Wireless - Wireless Options
o Multicast Rate: 2 Mbps
o Transmit Power: 100%
o Create a closed network: unchecked
o Use interference robustness: unchecked
AirPort - Access Control
o MAC Address Access Control: Not Enabled
Internet - Internet Connection
o Connect Using: Ethernet
o Configure IPv4: Using DHCP
o DNS Server(s): (optional)
o Domain Name: (optional)
o DHCP Client ID: (optional)
o Ethernet WAN Port: Automatic (Default)
o Connection Sharing: Share a public IP address
Internet - DHCP
o DHCP Range: 10.0.1.x
o DHCP Beginning Address: 10.0.1.2
o DHCP Ending Address: 10.0.1.200
o DHCP Lease: 4 hours
o DHCP Message: (optional)
o LDAP Server: (optional)
Internet - NAT
o Enable default at: unchecked
o Enable NAT Port Mapping Protocol: checked
Once you verified that you can get Internet access for all of your computers, you should secure your wireless network. To do so, I suggest that you make these changes:
AirPort > Wireless
o Wireless Security: WPA/WPA2 Personal
o Wireless Password: <enter your desired wireless network security password>
o Verify Password: <re-enter the wireless password>
o Click on "Update" to save the settings to the AX.