I have been messing around with Meshtastic on and off over the past 6 months and have been looking to improve the performance of my home node. I originally installed an inexpensive 2.15dBi gain antenna which as served me well. I recently connected with a fellow meshie who has also had a good amount of interest in the hobby. To connect with my friend using Meshtastic we need to utilize an intermediate node for messages to pass between our home nodes. We have had a goal trying to maintain a direct connection between our home nodes.
To experiment with an improved setup I recently purchased a Rokland 6dBi low profile antenna and wanted to do a quick run down of the antenna. Part of what drew me to this specific antenna is being able to get a higher gain antenna in a size that isn’t too large and for an affordable price. This specific model measures approximately 21in long and at at price of $34 shipped.
The antenna comes with a brackets and u-bolts to mount the antenna to a pole. For my application I am planning to drill a larger hole in my existing enclosure and mount the antenna directly to my existing Meshtastic enclosure so I don’t plan on using this hardware. One downside to this antenna is that the type N connector does not include an o-ring or sealing mechanism as it comes. For this install I picked up a rubber washer with a 5/8in ID from the plumbing section of my local hardware store to help seal off this mechanical interface, I’m hopeful it will do the job.
Prior to mounting the antenna I did a quick sweep of the antenna using a NanoVNA with NanoVNASaver and was pleased with the results.
The antenna exhibited a VSWR of <2:1 between 864-964Mhz which gives it a fairly wide operating range. Around 908Mhz, which is a typical Meshtastic frequency in the United States, the antenna has a VSWR of 1.4:1 which is well in the acceptable range. The minimum VSWR measured for the antenna was 1.2:1 @914Mhz.
Understanding that VSWR is not the only figure of merit on how an antenna will perform, I am looking forward to installing this antenna and taking some measurements in the field on actual signal improvement.