As someone who knows very little about antennas I was hoping someone could answer this for me, I’ve got one of these antenna from a different project: https://a.co/d/gaT5mWg
Would that be more beneficial then the stock antenna the teams come with the tbeam? I’m in Canada so 915mhz.
I’m mounting in a tree temporarily and wanted to make sure I was using the most effective option for now.
Thanks!
It could be better, just because the kits may have come with an antenna made for 915Mhz but probably not, and there is no way to tell without a network analyzer. I’ve never received a 915MHz antenna with a T-Beam kit that was actually made for 915Mhz. That is because antennas made for other bands are far more prolific and therefore cheaper/easier to stock. The antenna you linked to certainly wont hurt your node. Without a network analyzer the best way to tell if it outperforms your stock antennas is to get out and do a bit of field testing.
Make sure you add a bit of a metal plate to the bottom of that antenna to form a ground plane. I have several of those antennas and they perform better that way. Also pull the magnet out of the base and check the connection. The wire leading to the radiator is super thin and I often find it has twisted off of the end of the radiator after the slightest use.
Something else to keep in mind with the mag mount antenna is that the long coax will put significant attenuation on the signal. As there is very little signal to start with, that could be a very detrimental factor. Exploiting the relatively small signals used by LoRa is all about reducing the length of the feed path, which is why on my CRLRA and CRLPA antenna designs I go to great lengths to reduce the length of coax between the radiator and transceiver…
