Ultimate WiFi
Ubiqiti makes a 2.4 GHz wifi device in the form of an 18 dB gain parabolic dish about a foot and a half across, with the WiFi hardware in the middle, waterproof, with its own power-over-Ethernet adapter which uses two of the conductors (rather than the more complex standard power-over-Ethernet). It is called the PowerBeam M2 400 and costs about $100.
I was thinking of using this to get the TM to connect to nearby WiFi devices. It can go on the roof and be pointed. It outputs Ethernet which you can then connect to a small access point in the TM.
I tried the Ubiquiti AirOS software and it didn't do scanning without a Java application that didn't seem to be set up to run without the Internet. I then installed OpenWRT (an Open Source WiFi firmware) and that scans correctly.
Mounted outdoors, it finds a lot of WiFi access points that my other devices can't see.
I haven't worked out how to make the PoE work on 12 Volts, but I'll probably be able to do that. All of my home networking hardware has been converted to 12 Volts, and stays up when the power drops. Even the server!
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