On Mon, 4 Mar 2002 15:49:51 -0600 "Austad, Jay" <austad at marketwatch.com> wrote: > Most likely, it's because the coax is sheilded much more than standard > cat-5. Or, it's also possible that this cable is used elsewhere on the > shuttle, and having a spare part that can replace multiple things > reduces the amount of crap they need to bring up with them. It also > eliminates the need for a switch or hub, which is extra weight and just > another piece of equipment that could fail. I would also suspect that mechanical fragility comes into play.. RJ-45 connectors (male & female) are really easy to mess up, break the little tab off etc, whereas a BNC is metallic and tough.. I bet the coax cables are capable of greater tensile loads as well, nice when your magneti-boots fault and you go floating into space clutching only your thinkpad ;-) -.bill.layer.- .-frogtown.mn.usa.-