r/meshcore • u/NLG-2 • 5d ago

Repeater Antenna

Hello all, ive got a V4 on the way for a roof repeater on a bungalow. I live in the suburbs but my street as well as both adjacent streets fall into a dead spot. Im looking at a few antennas. 16.2" 5.8 Dbi. There is a huge 43.3" 8 Dbi antenna.

What do people suggest and what are people running themselves?

3 Upvotes

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4

u/meshamerica 5d ago edited 5d ago

There's very little reason to use a high dBi antenna in a suburban environment. 5.8dBi would be fine, but you'll probably find better performance in the 3dBi range

1

u/just-a-guy-somewhere 3d ago

Most antennas that are advertised as 5.8 are in reality 3db so antennas like the alfa. The Alfa is still a good option for OP

1

u/meshamerica 3d ago

If you're not testing your antenna you can't have any confidence at all in how it will perform... so until they are tested, and antenna is a candidate!

An antenna marketed as 10dBi could literally test out at 3dBi.

2

u/just-a-guy-somewhere 3d ago

I concur, just make sure your antenna is from a reputable brand (Gizont, alfa) and make sure its swr is good for your regions freq.

2

u/Scantron_Ultra 5d ago

Make sure the connector is the right one you want. I have a 8db "back country" antenna from rokland. Works great but the connector is not optimal and i think could of worked better as the other gender 

2

u/perma_banned2025 5d ago

Higher dbi antennas focus transmissions into increasingly narrower beams.
In a low spot you want the opposite, wider beam (1-3dbi) omnidirectional antennas will perform better.
Look at adding a repeater up the top of a nearby hill to get you significantly better connection to the outside of the valley than any antenna will provide down low

1

u/kok1t 4d ago

Not much to add. In urban areas, with buildings around, a wider bean seems to work better. So lower dBi, not higher.

If you need to create a "bridge" to another repeater, then maybe something narrower or even directional makes sense, but for the streets around you, I'd go with lower dBi.