The airport utility on my iMac 10,1 Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X 10.6.8, is not recognizing my airport Extreme Base Station.

My internet works but I have this constant flashing light on my base station and when I open airport utility to try and resolve the problem, it keeps telling me there is no device recognized. I have the power cord plugged in and a blue ethernet cable that runs from my airport to my computer. Thats all the cords I have. I also have a cable modem in my basement that runs into my house and is also hooked up to my telephone which is Ooma, the phone that uses your internet to make calls. This is all so confusing to me because I dont know what the settings are supposed to be when I open the utility that shows your proxy settings, ethernet, airport, etc.. This base has not always flashed, it just started recently, not sure why. Any help is appreciated!