mmm....this appears to be the only way I can do it....
Run '%COMSPEC% /e:1024 /c pingout.bat ' + $routerip
and pingout.bat is
start /MAX ping -t %1
Oh well....works for me 
Thnx 4 ur help.
PS. The bit I had missed out in all my testing was the /e:1024 to get some extra environment space ! :rolleyes:
Although according to XP (cmd /?) the /E flag is either ON or OFF for command extensions !?
_________________________
AndyD
England, UK.
