Skip,

I plan to fabricate a custom enclosure with the same footprint as my
existing mast top cap. All of the existing lights and transducers currently
mounted up there with the addition of the wifi antenna will then be mounted
a little higher and on top of the enclosure assembly. It will be designed
light weight and such that access to the wifi pcb, if necessary, can be
achieved without moving anything else I mount on the enclosure.

Let me know what you finally do for your application as it sounds like yours
will be permanently mounted before my system is complete.

David



"Skip Gundlach" skipgundlach sez use my name at earthlink dot fishcatcher
(net) - with apologies for the spamtrap wrote in message
...
Hi, David, and group(s),

If I understand your intentions, you plan to install a high gain mast top
802.11g antenna and locate the bridge or access point down below. You

No...

I'm thinking in terms of mounting the bridge in a NEMA enclosure, feeding
it
voltage from below, and using it to feed a 1' or less coax attached to the
antenna.

( As much as might be achieved, I'm even, now, considering doing
up-the-mast
with a cat5 (or any other 12V) feed to a bridge in a waterproof (NEMA)
box,
thence to an external antenna

http://www.keenansystems.com/store/c...1401cfa1d316d4

and


http://www.keenansystems.com/store/c...1401cfa1d316d4
an 8.5 dB gain antenna atop the mast just above the box.
)

Just where to mount the antenna is still up in the air (so to speak), as
the
specs call for a 2" mast; I'd originally thought to put it on the NEMA box
top, keeping the coax inside, too.

However, it may be that a flush mount base isn't possible, in which case
I'd
have to consider other means. A 2" pole on the side of the mast isn't an
attractive thought, let alone an attractive sight!

therefore will be forced to use a coax cable at least 60 feet in length
and
will therefore experience significant signal losses. These cable losses

Yah, I know, which is why I don't want to do that...

The thought (maybe as unattainable as perpetual motion) was to provide
much
greater reception on the boat, and have a repeater as a side benefit.
OTOH,
still researching, thus not knowing the answer, if my laptop can't see the
up-the-mast antenna/repeater from the deck or below, I'm still stuck with
getting a signal below, somehow.

However, with all that gain, perhaps the narrow broadcast width would be
moot and my built-in wifi would pick it up. More research is required...

L8R

Skip


--
Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2

"Believe me, my young friend, there is *nothing*-absolutely
nothing-half so much worth doing as simply messing,
messing-about-in-boats; messing about in boats-or *with* boats. In or
out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that's
the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether
you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or
whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you
never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always
something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much
better not."