It's kind of too late for this season, but for future reference
http://www.aircable.net/ sells cables that can communicate at up to 30 ft wirelessly. One side has to be plugged into a wall, but the other can be attached just like a normal serial cable with no extra battery drain. They don't require any special configuration of the software either.

I don't actually have them, so I can't verify that they are a legitimate company, but just in case anyone wants to give it a try.
