Wiggle Wireless

Looks like my good old PowerBook is finally falling appart. I can connect to the Wifi network at home, but only when I screw open the PowerBook and wiggle the connection to the airport card just right. The Titanium PowerBook (a 550Mhz in my case) was never well known for good wifi connections. But my Ti is now 4 years old, I have carried it halfway across Europe and on daily commute back in Switzerland. The material wear is just showing, the Airport antenna connection seems to be on the definitive way out too now (the connection to the screen is already halfway gone)...

Today after I came home (see pic in the last post for the current weather in Athens) instead of relaxing I tried one more time to fix the wifi. I unscrewed the PB using my good old cybertool (swiss army knife, what we swiss call a "swiss *pocket* knife"), which has just the right torx screwdriver. In closed state the reception is down to zero, when I open it up and operate it upside down the reception is perfect. Sometimes it needs a little wiggle even then.

I can operate it open and upright too, but only when I push on the connector to the airport card. Attempts to fix the connector in place and reassemble the 'Book did not lead to success. So, hints and ideas welcome. One of those external antennas would likely do the trick, but it's not that they are easily available in Greece. Another trick would be to find a hardware hacker to fit a pigtail to hook up an antenna, even self built.