Hi...

I'm aware of POE - but I want to avoid connection to my computer - wifi,
after all, isn't cat5 - and, for the length of the run involved, cat5 would
have a great voltage drop, so I was going to directly power it, as needed,
with the appropriate guage (marine) line.

However, taking my laptop off to the beach, or to another boat, would prompt
an unreasonably long cord :{))

As it is, I use an active cable extension for USB to connect my inside
desktop-designed Hawking directional antenna which works satisfactorily
aboard, on the hard. It won't suffice at anchor, let alone swinging,
however...

L8R

Skip

--
Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2 The vessel as Tehamana, as we bought her

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore.
Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

wrote in message
oups.com...
Skip,

Since you are going to need power at the top of your mast anyway, why
not run ethernet cable up there and use Power Over Ethernet (POE)
technology to provide power and signal path in one cable? I saw a unit
advertised the other day which was set up to do exactly that:

http://www.sputnik.com/products/aps/ap250.html

If you do a google search for things like... POE wifi bridge etc., you
will find other options and products with similar capabilities.

Based on my own experience, power is important. I'm using a long range
USB adapter (Netgear RangeMax), about 20 feet above water. It can
frequently hear remote access points over a mile away but can not
connect with them due to low output power. I routinely connect to
outdoor APs over 1/2 mile away however if they have a decent antenna.