Hi, This is a great video!! I just got EU868 miners and i was wondering if there is a difference in antennas for the US and EU??? How about cables? Please advise!!! Thank you.
Hi Darius. There is a difference. The antennas would need to be "resonant" in a particular frequency. Some are what we call, wideband or broadband, and then they'll work well over a much larger band and would easily cover from EU to US and beyond frequencies. However, the lower cost solutions are often narrowband, and only works really well in the one or the other. Best would be to look for the datasheet and see if they have it covered. Good antennas should cover both, but there was talk for quite a while in the Helium community on going EU or US specific, and in that case the designers have the ability to zoom in and sacrifice performance outside the band to ensure optimal performance inside the band. Again...best to check the datasheets. Cables are fairly universal, so what works in US will work well (if not marginally better) in EU.
Good question, and something that is almost worth a whole video to debate. I think the devil is in the detail and one will need to have a close look at measured antenna radiation patterns. Not sure what we will see but that would explain who is telling the perfect truth and who is bending the results their way. Honest opinion, something is fishy
Finally got my helium miner, just curious as there are external antennas at 900 and 915 mhz both labeled for varius helium miners, are these interchangeable or if the miner says 915 specifically does it need a 915 mhz antenna?
Alex, good question. There's probably no "blanket" answer here, but I can tell you what I would do in my case. Normally, antennas are reasonably wide band, and the term 900MHz and 915MHz gets used from one to the other, often referring tot the same antenna. The best would be to look at the datasheet if there is one to make sure the antenna in question can cover 900MHz to 930MHz...which will get you a working solution in the US915, AU915 and AS923 bands. If you look at an antenna that also does 868MHz (i.e. the European bands) you need to look closely whether it's 'only' an EU antenna or could do EU and US bands...as both are possible. However, if you look for an antenna that say 900MHz and / or 915MHz the changes of it being OK for US / AU / AS operation is very high.
I live in a town house, I installed my antenna in the attic, does that mean that since my altitude in Florida is 10' above sea level and my antenna is approx 25 feet off the ground??? Does that mean I list it at 35feet?
This gets quite tricky since there are a lot of technologies involved now. I would look at antennas that can do all frequencies (i.e. LoRaWAN and 5G), so that would mean any of our 5G antennas. Looking at the Poynting XPOL-2 for a directional solution (it does 915MHz and also 5G) will work well, or otherwise an outdoor omni (also from Poynting) if you want a general antenna.
Fantastic content mate, really good stuff. I also have a RU-vid channel and Facebook community over here in Australia, I will ensure that you are promoted.
Hi, I'm from Brazil and have a question: Can I start mining with a 2.3dbi antena and after somedays change it for a 8dbi ? Is there a step by step or any tip?
Very tricky question. The whole path loss calculation involves the radio performance as well...as you would need to know the transmit power and also receiver sensitivity. At 900MHz (this LoraWAN band) up to 100km is possible
Amazing video! Some feedback: Please jump right into the content and then tell us about the awesome shop later. I’m in the states and almost clicked off because I thought the store wouldn’t be useful.
Andy, thanks for the feedback. It’s a fine line, I know. I need to keep the quick intro short but letbpeople in Oz know about me / us before I get into it. Pethaps I’ll try and cover it off in a much shorter time-frame 😊👍🏻
Thank you! Phenomial video! Heading to your websight right now. I have a question: I live in a 2 story house, the plan is to put my antenna outside. I want to use a pole, attach the antenna to the top, approx 25'... I will need to use a 30' wire (planning on the LMR400 wire).... the question is... is this wire to long? Will I lose to much in the transfer? Thanks again for your help!
hello. I live in the UK I wish to buy an antenna like these for helium mining , could you tell me if there are certain brands I should look for please? if not brands then anything in particular I should be looking for , many thanks
Great video to explain the key concepts. It is to be noted that Helium has now adopted PcCv11 which tech note outlines "In some regions, transmit power will be reduced to comply with local limits" our limit is 30dBm under the ACMA class license. As an example in Australia the class license requires the EIRP of the Helium miner to be limited to 1 Watt (30 dBm). So for extended runs as long as you are using good cable (LL400/LMR400) and quality connections it wouldn’t be necessary to go above a 5.8dBi antenna for cable runs less than 20 meters. Ie height is more important than EIRP as the transmitter could be power limited to comply with the Class license. This excludes some of the directionality issues raised in the video.
Yes, PoCv11 and the 30dBm puts a limit on the Tx side of the system, but antenna gain and reduced transmit power combined can be software set to limit to 30dBm but the Rx sensitivity will still be positively influenced by a higher gain antenna. I'm working on a video on this topic and will upload it this coming weekend...explaining how this works and is in-fact a great opportunity. The problem, I noticed, is that the focus is on the transmission side of the link, the receive side of the same link (which is *always* equally relevant) needs to get the same level of attention.
@@RFShop cheers, Can all miners be manually power limited to 30dBm, I though some didnt have that functionality; but I could be mistaken I also might have to dig a bit more into the reward algorithm to better understand who would benefit in that circumstance; I think it would be the Rx side. I look forward to your next video.
This is an outstanding video covering not only antennas but cables as well. You eventually said it, but line of sight is a great term to use. The visual examples created from 9:30 to 12:00 were outstanding! At 17:00 - antenna mounting - I have battle with finding “wife approved” locations 😂😂 Can you comment on attic mounting and attenuation? For future videos topics like mounts, lightning arrestor, grounding, poles, outdoor enclosures, Poe powering miner are all interesting.
Yeah im stumped on what antenna to buy. Im on the highest hill in all of Seattle (sunrise heights neighborhood) right now ive got the stock one sitting on window sill, and getting . 5 rewards, planning on moving it to the roof when I get necessary gear. The thing that makes it difficilt is directly east, southeast of my house is a giant prehistoric tree, not sure if i should pretend its not there, or if there's some way to compensate, because I can only mount on the one side of house. I was gonna get either a 4.5, 5.8, or 6dbi antenna. Would love if ya could steer me tge right way
Thank you. I've really 'gained' a lot from your videos. Could you please do a video on the when and why you would use a colinear attenna (vs omni or single directional)?
What are your thoughts... 1) Antenna placed outside my 2 story house window frame, 2) Antenna placed inside my 2 story house in the attic... Attic is much higher but does not have open windows / windows to have it placed outdoors.
That's a good curve ball question. I would test both. I can see the clear advantage of the attic, and it probably has better visibility to the rear of the building as well? But having the antenna outside is good, but you may suffer too much to the rear. I put my money on the attic, but I would recommend you test the window as well.
Hi David. Thanks for the info. I mounted my antenna using a 6 meter galvanized steel pole. It wobbles due to wind. Does the wobbling have an effect on the signal? Thanks!
Hi Ruben. Although the wobble is not ideal, it does depend on your antenna gain. If it’s a 9 dBi antenna it could be a bit sensitive to movement, but a 3 or 6dBi should still be OK and can tolerate the swing.
Hi...Finnaly a video with good reviews...Can you help me with tip...Around me there is no close spots...I have clear terain view from my House, but places without spot/miners begin at about 30 to 40 km air distance…I will get MNTD(RakMiner, EU868 version) through few days. So What Outdoor Antena can i use or it's best fo this situation?? Whitch cable to miner (it's gonna be about 10 meters long)??.Please Help...Thank You…
Sorry for the late response...a good mid-gain antenna (6dBi) should work well. Problem in EU is the low transmit power so getting the antenna selection right is crucial
Appreciate the video. Antenna question for you. I in the suburbs mainly 1/2 two story houses around with some trees every block or so. There are miners in nearby hexes. There is also a major city about 20 miles from me. I plan on getting the antenna up on the roof eventually but right now my 4dbi is in the attic. Should I go 6 or 8 dbi?
Hi Matthew. My personal opinion and from what I've been learning about results over the last 6 months I would focus on some height and clearance from the attic, but don't go overboard on antenna gain. 6dBi does seem to hit the sweet spot for the vast majority of users.
Hi I live in tall building and I can install the antena on the roof( 9 floors building ~26m from the ground) and my building is the tallest in the neighborhood. Which antena can you recommend me to install 3dB?
You are right it's an important topic with so many videos online talking rubbish. I would add that your diagrams of gain and directivity might be misleading to some.. I'd recommend explaining they are the 3db beamwidth. Also, wrt to propagation on your building, IoT in 868mhz band are very narrowband low datarate tech. As a result, the receive sensitivity is very high, and as a consequence the building penetration is different from usual cellular like 2g or 4g
So true on all your points. I have indeed learned that the diagrams are misleading and need to fix that. Also 100% agree that the m8ner sensitivity is actually incredibly good. On my own hotspot I can indeed see through multiple layers of concrete
Hi! I live in Amsterdam, in the heart of the City centre and i live on the top Floor (17meter). I have a clear 5-7km clear sight and i can place my antenne 3 meters above all the others buildings around me. What antenne do you prefer?
Hi Floor. Here in Australia the most popular antenna is the 6dBi gain antennas. I would say that's a very good option, but given the density of A'dam a good outdoor 3dBi omni might be a sensible choice. In your setup it's not so much about the reach, but more being able to receive from all angles, in particular thinking about IoT devices (eventually) that are very close to you. Met vriendelijke groet, David
Great content and extremely helpful... if you have a discord, please share the link. Also, do you guys to global shipping and video consultation? I have a peculiar problem with respect to witnesses for which I need an Antenna experts advice. Do let me know. Keep up the great work. Im sure the helium community members appreciate this content.
@RFShop, Hi there can i mount my Helium Miner antenna on the same pole as my Optus B818 External Antenna Pole? Can i mount all 3 on my TV Antenna? Would that be a problem or better to separate? My TV Antenna is really high, was trying to avoid installing more poles around the house if possible.
Dean, I love this question. It's one of my pet peeves and you now gave me the reason to do a conversation about this on RU-vid. I'll record it in the coming week or so. Basically, Tx is the limit to send but it's always possible to reduce the power and keep the antenna gain plus Tx power within legal limits. Many people choose a lower gain antenna because they think the antenna is where the limit needs to be . However, if you have a higher gain antenna your Rx immediately improves by that same value, with no penalty and negative impact to SNR. So it's a win-win
@@RFShop Fantastic. I've swapped a few low gains for high gains in the past.. In deployments with hundreds of sensors. You immediately see a rise across all on the RSSI & SNR. Either factor in the cable loss, or back off the gain parameter on the Gateway to keep it legal.
@@deanmarsh1452 yes, it's a tricky one because antenna gain will help a lot, but if your antenna points in the direction of a noise source, that also increases the noise levels. As I'm responding I'm thinking about the story I need to cover on the RU-vid video :)
First i will say thank you for the Professional Informations, it helped me very much. My question is, from which point from the antenna did the signal start ? From the Top, middle or end ? Can you show us the Inside of a antenna ? Much love from Germany..
Hi. Great question and apologies for the late response. I will take one of the antennas I'm comfortable with opening and share it on screen. I just need to be careful that I don't expose any IP. As for where they radiate...in an "array" (which is a combination of the antenna elements) it happens over the whole length of the antenna. So there is the feed area which is quite sensitive (below, close to the connector) but there is no more or less important radiation part and everything should be looked at carefully.
Great video! I live in south Florida and we get a lot of lightning during the summers. I am considering how much of a performance loss I would have from installing a 5.8dbi antenna on the roof of my 2 story house vs installing the antenna inside the 2nd floor attic (small layer of wood and tile above) and avoiding lighting strikes all together for my bobcat.
HI Michael. I think there is a lot to be said for keeping an antenna hidden from obvious risk such as a direct lightning strike. Putting the antenna in the attic makes a lot of sense in that instance. Even if it means a bit more attenuation / losses to the overall system it's something that can be managed.
@@RFShop thank you for the answer! So is it not a huge loss since the signal isn’t trying to go through concrete blocks, but thinner construction materials?
@@michaelkelley1388 it's tricky one to answer :) In my view it's the lesser of two evils. As a designer I would take the wise route and protect the equipment. At 915MHz, the signal still has good penetration into the roof space.
Michael I Iive in high population south Florida. Its a mix bag & though Im in a garded gated community I keep mine inside-electric storms hurricane weather but also eagle eyes/ transient landscapers/pool cleaners in the areas etc. target the antennas-knowing $$ mining equiptment inside & there are plenty of people on the take here in SoFl. I use LMR400 for under 50feet & LMR 600 for 50-100feet to connect my SenseCAPs
i live in mountain, all other routers are down the mountain, do i need to tilt 10-20 degrees in order to cover those antennas. My thinking was if I install one 8 dbi antenna, it will not cover down part of the mountains. But if i tilt a bit, then it's supposed to cover.
Hello, good morning, thanks for your useful tutorials, please suggest what antenna to use for a distance of 200 km between the two beaches without obstacles for the miner ug65 miles of the site.
Hi Ali. If both sites are on ground / beach level I think you will struggle regardless of the antenna gain, since you are over the horison. Unless you can introduce significant height on one or both it'll be a struggle. I do know that GristleKing has a link from San Diego to Los Angeles stretching 200km, but that's to a very high spot on the LA side of the link
Hi Alan. If you mean an installation using a hockey-puck style sntenna mount that sounds OK. Just make sure your antenna can cover the full 360dgr for best performance.
I have a question, I puchased a Milesite UG65. Would a 5.8Db attena work with it? I have it connected directly to the unit directly via N connector. Its mining, but just curious as to if its a wise decision. Thank you in advance.
Hi. I just powered up a Milesight myself as well. Connecting a good 5.8dBi antenna is always a good idea, and if you can get away with little to no cable that would be ideal. I think you certainly did the right thing
It’s about the theory of recoprocity. You send and receive in the same way. The comms is also two way. If you can receive but they can’t respond it’s not a valid link so you need to be equally good in Rx and Tx
Hello, thank you for the very informative content. I installed a 5.8 dbi fiberglass antenna on the balcony of my home, but it's 10 cm away from the wall of the building. Do you think that could interfere with the signal? Is there a minimum distance from walls to consider? Thank you
Hi e1chard! As a first remark I would say yes...it would be a bit close and may cause "shadowing" and does not really help with what you try to achieve to the rear. If it's not metal, it may not cause too much trouble to the front but if it's metal that can actually introduce a reflecting effect that can have an adverse effect if the distance is wrong. At 7.5cm spacing from a metal surface (pole or flat surface) you will have a nice reflector and it will in-fact boost your signal. However, at 15cm (i.e. half-wave) it will actually introduce a null and you will have limited to no visibility to the front and you won't even know that this has happened!! So, stay away from multiples of 15cm. I think a safe number is about 50cm, as the effect of the summation will be vastly reduced by then I think I just had a good topic for my next video on Helium Mining antennas!!
@@RFShop thank you for the very detailed answer. I had to install the antenna on the balcony railing, because is the only spot available (it's not possible on top of the roof). The material of the balcony railing is iron (rusty iron 😔). And i though to put it close to the wall of the house to protect it from rain and wind, and from indiscrete eyes. The wall is made by bricks. So, according to what you said I would move the antenna at least further on the balcony railing, in order to make some distance from the wall. The maximum I can get is 1 meter from the wall. Thank you
@@fracichi 50cm should be good. I asked one of my team members to run a few simulations so I can illustrate this clearly in an upcoming video with some graphics.
Hello, just giving an update. I moved the antenna on the rail of my balcony so now it is 150 cm away from the wall of the house. I'm not satisfied by how it's performing though. According to my position, on a balcony, with a big hill behind and with only 180° line of sight, wouldn't be better to go with a panel directional antenna? If so...would you recommend any manufacturer? Thank you
@@fracichi it really depends where in the world you are ;) I know McGill sells nice directional antennas specific to Helium frequencies, but otherwise any good quality 4G antenna will also help a lot.
PoE is related to the input of the modem / router or in this instance the Helium Miner. It will not impact the antenna performance, as that's related to the output of the RF chain and not the digital input of the device.
Hi William. Good question. Fundamentally, the basic narrow-band omni antennas are what they are and nothing more can be done. However, in our profession (i.e. antenna engineering) we would do tricks with antenna arrays or polarisation to manipulate the characteristics more to our favour. In my most recent video I made a quick basic suggestion about combining two directional antennas. Although that was just a casual suggestion, it is actually based on a serious idea. I am just mindful of the audience so I did not want to go into detail too much. Another massive opportunity in my professional opinion is to use Slant45 polarisation. It's a technique that will require another type of antenna assembly or a polarisor sleeve that can manipulate the type of wave being received and effectively reduces the vertical polarisation gain by 3dBi (so you can stay within EIRP limits by the letter of the law) yet your antenna will have the reach of the 3dBi higher antenna type. Mind you, as I'm writing this email I realise this is an awesome opportunity to improve reach! I will work on this and create a new video once done
Is it advisable to mount the console along with the antenna outdoor or console indoor and mounting only antenna outdoor...Will there be any significant difference?
Reducing the cable losses is always the best. On the receiving end, any additional cable losses (i.e. anything more than 0dB loss) adds to the system SNR so you will try to limit the length to minimum
Shark, although I can't say for sure I think it's closer to 5.8dBi than 8dBi. However, I am happy to be proven wrong by someone going into an anechoic chamber and testing the antenna's performance. If there's enough interest ( ...and I'm now putting this out there :) ) I would consider buying all the popular antennas and conduct a basic comparison test on test equipment (not a miner, but antenna test equipment) so we can have a bit of an antenna comparison. So...the question is to the general audience...is it worth it??
Ok can anyone tell me what is difference between 5.8 dbi antenna and 6 dbi antenna? Please. To me that looks same. Is it different performance? Waiting for linxdot miner to arrive , and thinking about antenna upgrade. Im located on the midle of hill. Any advice? And if I choose between 5.8 and 6 dbi which one to choose? 😣🤔
Hi Tomislav. In my opinion (as a non-Helium related antenna engineer) that 0.2dB difference is not even real. I would accept any 5.8 or 6dBi antenna as the same device 😊👍🏻
@@RFShop thank you very much. I was thinking the same thing. It's probably like choosing between Mazda 2 with 2 doors or Mazda 2 with 4 doors. 🤣 Thanks for the videos 👍
Quick question...Will the radiation pattern change when dBi's are lost due to cable type/ length, or is the pattern (angle..) changing equal to lower dBi antennas...sorry, mechanical engineer peaking around the corner....;-)
@@RFShop Thanks, you are a star, finally starting to make sense...i think....Can visualise what is happening and that's a leap However, crunching thoughts....no intention to lure you in to a lecture..;-)....how do you increase the pattern shape determined by the antenna dBi/length? more power? the loss in dBi (cables, glands etc) can be compensated by increasing frequency, voltage or current at the feeder side...?
Hi Bastiaan. The antenna types defines the shape and gain. It's like a balloon. More power comes from an active amplifier, which would most likely violate the POCv11 / EIRP stuff. The amplifier will need to be specific to 915MHz (or the band in question). Although that will indeed draw current and voltage etc, just adding current to the system won't work ;) My passion is on the antenna and cable side (i.e. what we call the passive part of the system) as that's pure physics and with this fundamental physics you can do magic to the overall system performance in ALL radio systems !!
Hello there! This video is awesome and is the best I have seen. Really understand a lot better so big thanks! I am from HK which is obviously very dense. In the last two months there are a lot of miners added in the city which looks like from same batch. They are mostly from Heltec and more important getting a lot higher rewards than those installed before (6-7HNT vs < 0.1HNT in 30days). Many of them have witness that are quite far away (I believe close to 40km). In your experience, do you think indoor antenna can get this result? I do not know what antenna they are using as they all show the default 1.2dBi which I really doubt. My orders will deliver in the next few weeks so I am trying to setup a few plans to test it. Any comments are appreciated!
Hi Robin. Good question. I do think the stock antenna will work well, but getting an outdoor I think is most important so you can overcome the building losses
@@RFShop Thanks! Actually I have a few Linxdot coming in later this month. Some of them can be put outdoor some doesn't. What should I look for when picking one for indoor?
This is how you sell your products... by proving to the customer you know what your talking about. Gives me confidence in the quality of your products.
Hi Brian, that's so much appreciated !! Funny thing is, this was actually just a quick video to talk about what I wanted to explain and not a heavily scripted or seriously prepared slide-deck either. Very much talking from my heart
@@RFShop You sure know your stuff then. I would love to see a video on your thoughts about antenna placements inside an attic. How things like the roof material, insultation, and attic heat effect it. Also comparing installing inside an attic to suction cupped to inside or outside of a window. This would help a lot of us out here doing helium setups in various types of apartments.
Thanks for the massively informative video mate. I have a question that is probably silly, but figured I would ask anyway. If you have a 6 dBi antenna but say you're losing 2 dBi due to cable. Does the pattern of the signal change to that of a 4 dBi or is it the same and just weaker (shorter)? I assume the latter as it seems to be based on the antenna construction, but was curious. And no I am not losing 2 dBi or even close. Just interested to learn more about the subject
Mike, in principle that is possible. However, the setup and equipment to achieve the required results takes a bit of consideration. I think I’m going to prepare a video to address the topic of combining antennas.
Great Video! I definitely learned a lot. I live in the bottom of some hills would you still recommend a 5.8 antenna if i install on my roof (approximately over 30ft high)?
Hi JB. In our 4G / 5G experience the 6dBi is quite a good antenna type for hilly areas, as it covers the elevation better than the higher gain antennas, but the reach is already well above the standard gain omni's. I can't say for absolute sure, but my opinion would be that with good height (30ft / 10m) and the 6dBi (or well, 5.8dBi seems to be the popular number in the Helium community)) you have the best change of success.
Hi, I would avoid RG58 if at all possible. We did do a video last year explaining the problems, but I have a video ready on cables as well. Should be uploaded in two weeks..
Hi Dimitar, one witness slready sounds quite low. Do you have more info about your setup and location do I can have a think? Maybe contact me via email with some photos?
amazing video! been trying to find how much gain loss there is with the LMR-400 cable. Using a 3m LMR-400 cable to extend my cable onto the roof, because right now it is placed behind a wall (hse design)
Speculation and investment I would assume. Use will come, and then the business model becomes viable for the long-term and I think it could be worthwhile long-term investment
Sounds good. I'm a bit "over" Helium though. Too much politics for my liking, and too focused on software and not really appreciating the RF side of what can be done.
Hi. I live on the 40th story of my condo. I have my stock 4 dBi Bobcat antenna and I'm thinking about either a 5.8 dBi or 8 dBi. Which would you recommend? Would an 8 dBi overshoot everyone?
I think a very good quality medium to low gain antenna will work best. 5.8dBi should work well. I would not be too concerned about the 8dBi overshooting though, as there is another thing called path loss. Maybe that's a topic I can explain in my next video I'm planning tomorrow
I plan to put an antenna on top of my house but I only need to go one direction. The back of my house is all water and no reason to go that direction at all. What do you suggest? Is there one that only goes one way?
Hi, a simple panel antenna (such as ones used for 4G / LTE) will actually work really well in this instance. I would look at something like rfshop.com.au/product/panel-antenna-698-960-1710-2170-2500-2690-3500-38-30mhz-rg142-30cm-nf/ It's a great antenna, good gain and perfect in the 900MHz LoRaWAN band. Not sure where in the world you are, but this type of antenna should be readily available from 4G antenna stores
@@dhoffner87 awesome. In that case I can recommend our friends in Texas...Bolton Technical. See boltontechnical.com/products/the-outdoor-board-wall-mount-panel-cellular-building-antenna
Awesome video! I am wondering what the effects of a window pass-trough cable will be on the antenna signal. I feel like it would be disastrous. Sadly i can drill in my wall...
Hi Bram, I was planning to buy me one of those and test it on an analyser. I want to cut it open and see what is inside. I think it is a twin line. That would, in theory, be a plausible solution. However, it’s not a shielded cable and will be totally susceptable to its surroundings. So when you put in inside the window it will, in my opinion, be a total catastrophy and introduce lots of losses!!
@@RFShop Thanks for the quick reply :) I'm very curious about your findings. Thanks for the advice. I think i'm gonna cancel my miner pre-order. An inside antenna isn't very effective and a window pass-through might be just as bad then... Anyway, thanks for the advice!
@@bramdebruijn3967 it does get used though, so maybe I’m just being too critical. I see lots of very dodgy installations online, yet those people tend to get good results. In a densely polulated area where other users may not be too far away it could be OK. I get the impression you’re in a densely populated country in Europe right (going by the name and surname)
@@RFShop Good guess, a very densely populated country. 😄 Well, maybe your right. If you happen to buy a window pass-through cable and make a video on it i'll definitely watch it!
Hi Mario. Absolutely. The thing is just that those cables get harder to work with and the connectors are more difficult to attach. You will need a patch cable from the LDF4-50 to the miner though as I do not think there are RP SMA connectors for that style cable
Hey, I am struggling to find data on radiation and health concerning data to make sure people are self assured when it comes to putting the miner and Antenna to their roof. Could you please provide me some official publication or report on that if you may know please? Thanks so much!
Hi Figo. I can only go by the Australian standard, since I'm familiar with it. Please see www.arpansa.gov.au/regulation-and-licensing/regulatory-publications/radiation-protection-series/codes-and-standards/rpss-1 Basically, Helium is legally obliged to stay within the EIRP limits of the region at the applicable frequency. In Australia that is 30dBm at 915MHz. Although lot of people are "concerned" about the POCv11 now mandating 30dBm at 915MHz in Australia (for instance) it has actually always been that for the ISM 915MHz band so it's nothing new. In the ARPANSA standard you will see that there are two legal limits...public and professional. The public limit is always much lower / stricter as that is the limit that will keep unaware people completely safe. Professionals, who we assume know what they are doing and potential risks involved, have a higher limit. The legal limit of the Helium network is well safe of any potential health risks, and then also only a potential consideration if you are within a wavelength (i.e. around 30cm) of the antenna. Once you are further away, let alone ground level as opposed to roof level, you will be well below any limits.
Hi ... I am in the centre of Bucharest ... on the top floor of an apartment block ... I can install on the roof of the block aprox 40 mtrs with line of sight over most of the city ... which antenna would be the most appropriate for me ? ... there will also be 10 mtrs of cable from antenna to Bobcat Miner 👍
Hi BucharestRed...in my personal opinion a good quality 4dBi antenna will work great. With good quality I actually mean not a dedicated miner antenna but one that is truly tested to be awesome at 900MHz. In our stock that would be the ALFA Marine Omni. It's the best omni I've ever seen and works an absolute treat at Helium frequencies
Hi ! Nice video!! I want to ask you... if I only care about the receiving signals (don’t care about transmitting) would I have to prefer a high dbi antenna or a medium?? Is higher dbi antenna more sensitive to receive??? I placed my miner in the center of a town at 250meters high and I have around me 250 hotspots (I am at the center at the higher place) what is best antenna to use? A 3-4dbi. Or a 6,5dbi? Thank you in advance
Hi Dionysis. Yes, a higher gain antenna will improve the received signal. The only trouble will be making sure you have good elevation coverage (i.e. radiation pattern). If you can get away with a reasonably low gain and get the most hotspots possible that is my preferred option. The lower gain antennas are generally speaking easier to tune to the exact antenna requirements you'll need.
I have an old Dish antenna mast that is in a perfect high location on my house that comes out in a good location inside the house. The problem is that it uses RG6 cable, with incorrect connectors. Would the loss in using cable connection converters and RG6 cable be overcome with an outdoor antenna? Re-running new cable would be difficult for me.
Unfortunaltely the Helium system is 50 Ohm, but the RG6 cable is 75 Ohm. It won’t work well, and one would loose a lot of power using the wrong cable impedance
I’m placing my antenna on the interior of my bedroom window, would you recommend putting the antenna on the side with a single window glass pane or the side with just a mesh screen?
Wow! Amazing content. Which antenna dbi would you recommend for someone living on the 5th floor(18m) of a condo? I plan to put the antenna in between the panes of my bedroom window.
Hi. I would (as per my words) try to keep it simple. WIth that in mind, probably just run with a 6dBi omni. The gain is good and the radiation pattern is also very broad still.
