Well, I built another one. This one is a little bit more durable, and with a range test I was able to reach a little further than before. It was no scientific test by any means, but I was able to send and receive messages further away through more buildings. It would sometimes not get the acknowledgement packet, but would still be received on the other end. I’m still using the rather crudely built antenna on my radio at the house, but soon hope to rebuild it to be a bit better at least.
Also I do want to experiment with higher powered modules in the future, perhaps design a custom board to accommodate it… ahh, exciting thoughts.