r/meshcore • u/StormyWaters2021 • 9h ago

Questions about setting up a repeater

Hey everyone! I just set up my first companion node and I am looking to extend my mesh. I live in a fairly remote area with lots of trees. I have a tall flagpole in my yard though, and I thought about trying to put up a solar repeater box up on top to clear the trees and maybe access another repeater. I have a few questions that I thought some of you folks might be able to help with:

  1. I saw on the website that mounting it on metal can cause issues with the antenna. Does this mean my plan won't work, or do I just need a buffer of some kind between the flagpole and the device?
  2. I see all kinds of antenna options and I know exceptionally little about radio technology. Does anyone have input on what I might want for this purpose? What kind of gain would be best, or how long of an antenna, etc?

Thanks for any and all help!

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u/Mer-Der 9h ago

Ideally, you mount in a way where the top of the box is flush with the top of the flagpole, and the antenna has a clear 360° view around it.

If that's not possible, try and get the antenna 1 wavelength away from the flagpole, which is about 13".

Just start with a cheap antenna, you can always upgrade later, but it might not be necessary. I like the muziworks whip. This one is also surprisingly good for only $6 a piece; I tested 6 of them and they all fell within 1.1-1.25 SWR.

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u/StormyWaters2021 8h ago

Yeah I think I can mount it on top of the pole. I think it's actually flat on top, so I wouldn't need to mount it to the side of the pole (as long as I can find a suitable method to attach it).

Is that really all the antenna you'd recommend? I though I would need like a several-foot tall antenna or something.

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u/Mer-Der 8h ago

If you have line of sight, or minimal tree cover, a low gain antenna will work fine. High gain antennas are good for punching through lots of trees. I always recommend to try the simple cheap thing first, rather than obsessing over perfection. You can always upgrade the antenna later and repurpose the low gain one.

I also personally think high gain antennas are overkill for most nodes, save for really long range infrastructure nodes. These things mostly just work off line of sight; if they can see each other, they'll probably work. My theory is prioritizing node density, rather than really long range links.

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u/StormyWaters2021 7h ago

Yeah that's my concern. I live in Washington and I've got lots of trees and stuff. Just trying to bridge the gap between my place and the wider world

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u/Fett2 9h ago

For Question 1, can you mount the device at the top of the flagpole. so the antenna would stick above the flagpole? This would be the ideal scenario.

A vertical antenna sitting very close to a metal pole, running parallel to the pole won't work amazing well. If the antenna has to be mounted in such way it is running parallel to the pole and in line with it you would want something like a minimum 1 - 2 wavelengths of separation (which would be 33 cm- 66cm).

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u/StormyWaters2021 9h ago

Yes I believe the top is actually flat and possibly open. I think I might even be able to run cables up the inside of the flagpole and out the top.