On Tue, 1 Apr 2008 18:16:23 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

I am about to raise the new mizzen mast on my old Van de Stadt ketch
and I have been thinking about some other possible uses for the mast
head. Would it make sense to place a wi-fi antenna up there to make
better use of the hot spots that may be available in some communities?

It makes a lot of sense if you do it right. The potential problem is
the long run of cable up the mast which will create a lot of signal
loss even with the very best LMR400 cable. The soulution is to use a
weatherproof wifi bridge at the masthead which supports Power Over
Ethernet (POE) technology. POE allows you to run ethernet cable up
the mast instead of coax cable. Two units that I have been successful
with on my boat are the Senao 3220-EXT and also the Senao/Engenius
EOC-3610S-EXT.

http://tinyurl.com/2efrmf

and

http://tinyurl.com/28qx4n

You will also need a high gain, omni-directional antenna and a "Type N
to RP-SMA" cable adapter:

http://tinyurl.com/38mwak

and

http://tinyurl.com/2j6p29

Of the two bridges, I prefer the EOC-3610S-EXT because of its somewhat
greater power and receive sensitivity. The 3220 is slightly easier to
configure however. You will need a source of 110 volt power for the
POE adapter, best bet is a small sine wave inverter which can also
power your laptop.