Basically, his house is almost at the highest point of his town. North, East, and West are blocked by hills, but the south side has a clear view of most of the town and neighboring towns - fortunately, it’s also where all the hotspots are.
I ordered a LinxDot miner and got a couple of questions regarding the best possible setup:
I was thinking of getting a 8 dbi antenna and placing it outdoors. Any other dbi suggestions?
I was thinking of getting some no-name brand antenna. Any objections? I don’t see why a brand name with the same tech specifications would be better.
I can either place the antenna on the balcony, having a clear view of the couple houses to the north, most of which lie at a higher altitude and could potentially not be reached by the radio waves or place it on the window seat, which is 2 meters higher but has the north side blocked by a house wall.
Regarding attaching the antenna, I could either use a magnet to stick it to a metal dish - hoping that the metal reflects some more radio waves or give it some additional height by putting it on a pole. What’s better?
Would it be better to slightly tilt the antenna in the directions of the houses which lie at a lower altitude? AFAIK that would decrease range but could potentially give a better signal to the closer houses?
How far out are the other hotspots? I would say if you are already that much higher than the rest of the hotspots around, I would go with a 6db, 5.8db, or 4db antenna. That should give your signal more of a globe shape and hit the locations below you, where a 8db antenna is going to shoot over most of the lower spots…Depending on how far away they are.
Good point. Forgot to mention. There are about 10 within 5 kilometers, whereas there are hundreds about 15-30 kilometers out. The reason I was opting for an 8 dbi antenna was that the highest performing hotspot in my vicinity is using one as well.
From your description I would go with a 5.8dBi Outdoors to start. I would also suggest trying a name brand because you can purchase a quality one for a reasonable price. You could take a chance with a random no name one. But in my opinion, the antenna can make all the difference and you really have no idea with a no name brand what you are getting. Don’t forget the good cable (I use LMR400) Either RAK Wireless or here:
I just ordered from iotoffgrid.com and my order arrived within 3 days. You can buy the antenna and cable as a kit if you want or just the antenna.
The 5.8dBi angle is approx. 35deg. Being that you said there are about 10 hotspots within 5km, these shouldn’t be a problem as long as you have a good line of sight. RF is a straight beam. It cannot bend or curve. So as long as you have Line of Sight you should be ok.
The 8dBi angle is approx. 27deg. A narrower beam but goes longer distance but might overshoot some of the lower hotspots… In my opinion though, the 5.8 would be just fine.
Don’t tilt the antenna. Just try to keep it level.
Here’s a video I found to learn about the science behind antennae and different options… very helpful
You’re drawing is pretty precise but if you toy around on hotspotty and helium explorer and you can pretty accurately map out with actual elevations the visibility your antenna will hit…
I’m still 396 weeks out from bobcat sending me mine but I have the antenna and homework done ready to go!
Thanks for video, will definitely check it out. Didn’t know that hotspotty and the explorer could map the elevation as well. I played around with link.ui.com which offers the same - can only recommend!
Yeah… wait times are insane, went with Linxdot because its only 3 months. Otherwise would have gone for Bobcat as well. Controllino currently has relatively short wait times (2 months) and they seem pretty solid if you want one faster.
Have two miners in two different locations, but the payout have been very minimal to say the least.
Why’s the best way to maximize payout the these two miners? Your input wud be very helpful and appreciated
