Hi,

I went from being able to receive one access point with high packet loss to
receiving more than 20 solid high signal strength access points.

The problem with most wifi receivers is that their interface to your
computer is either pcmcia or usb. In both cases there is a severe limitation
to the height of your antenna.

My solution was to use a Netgear wifi bridge. This product has ethernet out
allowing the device with antenna to be elevated up to 300 feet. In my
application I simply installed the pcb of the bridge into a water proof nema
enclosure and hoisted it up to within 3 feet of the top of my mast. In a
standard ethernet cat 5 cable there are 8 wires and only 4 are used to make
a connection. I used the unused set of four to provide DC power to the
bridge. This therefore means that there is only one cable going to the
elevated box.

To my delight, the first time I powered up the elevated bridge I was able to
receive more than 20 access points.

This solution has worked so well for me that the next time I pull my mast I
plan to mount the nema enclosed wifi bridge perminately to the top of the
mast.

Hope this helps.
David






"Skip Gundlach" skipgundlach sez use my name at earthlink dot fishcatcher
(net) - with apologies for the spamtrap wrote in message
...
I'm looking for experience with external antenna solutions to very flaky
wifi access on the boat. There's every sort of hub range improver (get
your
signal out to others better) but I don't see much, if anything of the
other
way around.

Topsides, the range is only flaky, but at least I can pull and send stuff,
albeit I have to choose my moments. However, the screen is invisible in
anything between dawn and dusk and the keyboard is invisible in the dark,
limiting me severely in timing/scheduling.

So, I'd like to be able to go below, where there's no reception, not to
mention, protection from the elements.

Who's used what (up the mast isn't what I had in mind, though if it made
sense (I can't imagine it would, financially), I'd look at that) in the
line
of plug-in remote antennas?

I've lost the link, but I saw something which was an antenna for those
laptops without wifi, on some unknown length of USB lead; one can buy
"active" USB extensions for not too much, which I assume would make it
feasible for me to put the antenna out the hatch while I'm at the nav, for
example...

Thanks for any real-world experience...

L8R

Skip

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

"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