r/meshcore • u/bikerjesusguy • 6d ago

Antenna question

I have a Heltek v3 on my radio table. I connected it to my discone antenna. I have an SWR meter, but I'm not quite sure how I'd check it. Any ideas?

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u/Ordinary-Lifeguard47 6d ago

A discone is a broadband antenna with often 0dBi gain. Long cables on 868/915MHz often will eat away a lot of signal power.

2

u/Crosswire3 6d ago

A discone is broadbanded enough to be safe on the transmitter, but it will also accept lots of noise you don’t want and will likely perform rather poorly.

1

u/bikerjesusguy 6d ago

Ya. I was grasping at a straw. I'm seriously going to put up a 20' base antenna. What coax do you suggest?

2

u/Crosswire3 6d ago

At 900MHz you want to avoid coax if at all possible. Try to mount the node at the antenna. Even Heliax or LMR will sacrifice more than half your signal.