My second AirPort Express died.  But, a quick search suggested that the problem might be as simple as a dead power supply.  This sounds simple, but like most Apple products, the AirPort Express is not easy to open.  After a long struggle, the AirPort was open and it was clear that the power supply was dead.

According to this site, the AirPort Express requires +5 VDC and +3.3 VDC.  Not surprisingly, a standard ATX power supply provides 3.3, 5 and 12 VDC.  If you think you may have already read something like this, you have.

This time I didn’t use the power supply from the PIII I pulled from the garbage, but the power supply in the P4 ‘Trash Server‘ (that I pulled from the garbage).  The original reason I wanted to use this AirPort Express was that the wifi card in Trash Server hasn’t been very reliable, and there is no easy way to run a cable to the server.  So, Trash Server had a conveniently unused power cable with +5VDC, +3.3VDC and ground.   In less time than it took to open the AirPort Express, I spliced the power cable from the old power supply into Trash Server’s power supply, added a zip tie, and had a working network again.

Trash Server in its element.  I chose to attach the AirPort Express to the outside of the server to increase wifi range.  But, you’d have to agree that it does look nice.  Right?  Anyway, an external antenna could be easily added to the AirPort Express; I just don’t happen to have any extras around.  One AirPort Express easily covers our entire house, so I don’t think I’ll be adding any antennas anytime soon.

If you have a dead AirPort Express and don’t happen to have your own Trash Server, you can power a dead AirPort Express from many sources including USB, or a spare power brick.  See 2 Ways to “Fix” an Airport Express for more details.