The rule says you can use the conductors. So this device from Adafruit ID: 435
would work and be acceptable. I've used this at events to be able to remotely power a switch that is not near an outlet.
This device is from the Open Mesh, it puts power onto the Ethernet Cable. It lets you feed any power voltage.
If you look at the connections on the switch, there are two ports.
So in theory you should be able to use the Open Mesh POE insertion device, power it like you would the radio directly. Plug the other end of the ethernet cable into the POE-18-24V plug.
My question would be does the Open Mesh Insertion device qualify as a way to use the extra wires in the ethernet cable? I would think so, since it's supported by Open Mesh. But you would need to submit it as a Q&A question.
@Daniel_LaFleur We've had ethernet connections on the robot for years. Most people put strain relief near the ends to keep an errant game part from taking the connection out.
I've seen/heard of teams that had problems, in every case the tab on the connector has been broken. The connector has decent metal to metal connections so as long as it's plugged in it should be good. While we all love a screwed in connection, can you talk more about connectors actually coming apart?