PH2LB shack on the internet.

LoRA inside-out antenna

This page was last updated : 11-Mar-20 23:09:21

LoRA inside-out antenna

A few weeks ago I ordered a set of 868Mhz antenna's on e-bay with the idea to have them in stock when I'm building new nodes. But having them in stock made me thing if it could be used outside when it was placed in a piece tube which I also used on my first LoRA Antenna.

From my first LoRA Antenna I had some left over parts (I always buy some extra just in case), so the idea got shape to the same type of base plate construction. But instead of a N style chassis part I used a SMA female/female coupler.

 

 

 

Ready for testing. A first series of 20 messages was send to my Lorank gateway go get a baseline. The location was chosen so there wasn't a clear line of sight with my gateway.

The average RSSI was -65.

A second series of 20 messages send to my Lorank gateway showed that with the tube installed the average RSSI stayed -65. So no worse or better then the first serie.

Next step will be re-testing this antenne in the field like I did with the other antenna's.

And of-course when used outside, you have to seal the caps (glue) and the connector (tape).

Update

I orded a set of N to SMA bulkhead adapters to make this antenna more suitable for the outdoors.

The only thing I had to do was bore the existing hole to the new size.

And cut the tube to the correct length (also bore a hole in the topcap).

Now some sealing to it and its ready for the outdoor tests.

 

---