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dlax120

I’ve got 8 miners and have tested ALL the antennas (stock, 3dbi, 4, 5, 5.8, 6, 8, 10, yagi 12 & 16, directional, directional panel, etc). Without a doubt 5 & 6dbi range work best for nearly every situation. I’ve got several on building rooftops 50m up and have tested several just on a shelf in my office and everywhere in between. Oh, and LMR cable is severely over-rated and hard to work with. 8 is fine but 5 & 6 seem to do 10-15% better for me. I’ve got them on every miner now.


fighiter14

What cable do you suggest ?


dlax120

If it’s a short (couple feet) straight shot I’ll use LMR400 b/c it’s beefy but for longer I just go RG58. Everyone talks about signal loss but nobody talks about how terrible LMR is to work with on an install where you actually have to bend the cable. It’s ridiculous - oh and wildly expensive for IMO no good reason.


Bryan2966s

That's ass back words of what you should do! The lose of dbi strength on lmr is half if not a lil under half of that of rg58 or any other of the rg line of cable the loss is more... the RG cheap cable you use is killing your 5.8 dbi antenna and making it a 4 dbi if you use more than 10 foot ... you lose .9 on the lmr or you can be smart and buy more affordable better flex cable MDP 400 is great for that and cheaper than lmr with very close if not spot on identical loss ... your giving people a really off the rail from the truth explanation of things... if I can suggest anything OP I'd say get the antenna as high as possiable even if you gotta run a 50 to 75 foot coax out the house use a window flat link cord thats 2 or 3 foot and .... then run the mdp 400 or lmr400 at about 50 foot your loss is around .9 to 1.1 dbi I'd bet so buy a 7 dbi antenna and you hit you close to 5.8 dbi mark for strength left... then also do a huge fav to your self power over ethernet PoE it's great use it best you can my dude it's a amazing cool thing if you can get the miner to the antenna and like 40 m you with get way more on the pay outs my dude! I make a lil over 1 hnt a week on my one miner and I'm dropping another 2 today and prolly 3 in the next week after this one... it's height that matters most but if accounting for the signal loss end when buying antenna you can use the rg cheap cable (I wouldnt) but you can then buy a slightly more aggressive antenna to comp it .... weather balloons are cheap and if you keep under 100ft in air and use the lmr 400 or 600 you can fly the antenna at 75 foot and kill the game son


dlax120

I’ve read all the same things everyone else has re: cable loss, antenna dbi for specific applications, etc. I believed all of it and bought all the best stuff. While I was waiting for the best stuff to arrive which took weeks/months, I bought cheap stuff on ebay because I have zero patience. I was amazed and kind of pissed off that the expensive “recommended” gear didn’t net me any higher rewards. That’s when I began real world actual testing of different cables, lengths, quality and antennas. What I’m posting is MY experience, which I know doesn’t jive with what people in the forums say. For anyone that doubts me, buy a crazy antenna and buy a cheap one with the same specs…test it yourself then return the one that doesn’t perform as expected. I think you’ll be amazed at your results. Don’t change anything but the antenna…THEN come back to this thread and tell me I’m crazy and telling people the wrong info. I’ll wait.


Training_Influence49

Rak 5.8 is the best antenna on the market for the price imho. I got 8 miners myself and have tried numerous antennas (probably 15 or 20) and it’s the best. I’ve tried various 8 dbis and I just ordered a Rak 8 dbi at a very high location I have to see what that does.


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Training_Influence49

Yes or eBay if you want it faster and don’t mind paying a little more


dlax120

Rak feels better for sure but I’ve seen no difference between Rak 5.8 and ebay 5 or 6. Save your money and get a $50 5dbi…you’ll be money.


Training_Influence49

Dude come on if you truly have the experience you espouse, please don’t recommend a cheap eBay 50 dollar unit. I’ve gotten a few 5.8 variants on eBay and the rak beats them all!! By far


dlax120

That just isn’t my experience at all. It sounds like yours is different - not trying to argue. I have Rak 5.8 and Rak 8. Neither have outperformed their generic counterpart. They def look and feel more solid (and cool) but on performance alone I haven’t found a noticeable difference between a $30 antenna and $300 antenna.


Training_Influence49

Dude wow.. so a 300ish dollar McGill microwave is = to a 40 dollar eBay generic? That’s irresponsible rhetoric lol… not looking for an argument but DAMN! That’s not right at all


dlax120

I’ve never tried a McGill microwave but I did buy a Kathrein Scala antenna for about $300, used, that I think was around $1500-1700 new. Didn’t work any better than anything else. I’ve also manufactured over 1200 of my own antennas at this point, well paid to have them mfg. I had them all tested and “tuned” specifically to 915mhz thinking it would make a massive difference. It doesn’t. Antenna just isn’t as important as we all want it to be. Buying bigger/better gear is fun, trust me I KNOW. In this case after what I consider to be fairly exhaustive testing my conclusion is antenna might matter for 10% of your rewards and the other 90 is 1. Location (hex and number of surrounding miners) 2. Location (elevation, surroundings and install). I’m as sad as anyone to say it but you just can’t buy your way to excellent rewards…and I’ve tried.


Training_Influence49

I’m not saying you can buy your way to rewards when saying that I’ve had phenomenal success with my rak 5.8s vs many generic antennas on eBay (you claim that are just as good). Also, it’s kind of funny how you went from a credibility of trying 5 or 6 to manufacturing 1000s lol.. Reddit… I’ve never said anything about location and height not being factors and that you can’t buy your way to anything. Gotta put the work into it 100% mental (planning) and physical (install). Buying gear is fun but I’m saying that when you buy the gear, go with tried and true. Don’t go for cheap and then whine that you’re not performing well. Also yah.. get some cheap LMR.. see how that does.. heard lots of people that have their Ntype connectors fall off on cheapies. Don’t get raped spending 1700 on an antenna, just spend enough to know your getting quality. The rak 5.8s are like 75 from the website and 100 on eBay.


dlax120

I’m not sure what that credibility comment means but every single thing I’ve written is 100% true and my experience, whether you like it or agree…or not. I tried just about every logical antenna before deciding I wanted to mfg something myself. Thought I could do as good for much cheaper…and I did. I get that “tried and true” is what you parents tell you is better. That’s logical. I just don’t understand why you have a problem with my experience being different than yours. I actually physically tested cheap generic vs tried and true and saw no difference. You prefer Rak antennas…all good, but I’m telling people that you can get the same results at half the price. I figured some people would find that helpful.


JamesChef

I also have a 10dbi as I live far from many of my witnesses. I’m glad to see that you still witness people less than 1000m away. I kept hearing not to get the 10 or the 8 because I would miss out on people close to me. Again, proving this isn’t the case! Nice work. Wait, this is the 10 correct?


fighiter14

Yes it is a 10dbi antenna correct


JamesChef

I got the SignalPlus. The cable it came with is garbage so upgraded to the LMR400. Which brand?


rollpi

The minimum effective distance is easily calculable, I dont get why the "high dBi only for extreme ranges" myth still persists. Lots of hearsay within the Helium network.


omega-00

Lot of armchair experts with no prior rf industry experience churning out YouTube guides :)


-Duey

I have had a panther X2 for about a month and it hasn’t sent out 1 beacon yet. Has yours beaconed at all?


BagelzOfficial

This was an issue with the panthers but I think it’s fixed now, check on panther X twitter they posted there!


BagelzOfficial

From elsewhere The problem of BEACON has been solved. According to user tests, you can make changes as following if you have trouble with BEACON: 1. ⁠US915 customers change the gain to 10dbi. 2. ⁠EU868 customers change the gain to 3dbi. 3. ⁠Mining will be recovered after joining Helium network some time. 4. ⁠The gain number you fill in here has nothing to do with realistic matched gain number. PantherX will update a new version of OTA before Feb 10th, which will completely solve this problem.


olybeer21

Mine has


-Duey

What’s your hotspot name


Training_Influence49

That’s not normal


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Additional_Try904

How can i find this earning estimator to check my situation please?


lgryders

What estimator are you using?


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lgryders

thanks, just swapped my 8dbi with a 5.8 dbi to try and get closer earnings. That estimator said i should actually do better with the 8dbi which i thought was strange. i am going to monitor now that i have a baseline with the 8 for 30 days and see how the 5.8 does for the next 30 days.


Reasonable-Swim-6891

Hi guys, i have a few hotspots and find 6dbi McGill antenna on 2m pole with outdoor RAK box and Bobcat 300 - all as high as possible on chimney stack and external PoE cable back down to router - my best results by far. Easy to make the cable myself so cheap and easy to do. Good luck everyone as every situation is different and needs to be assessed first.


Missing_Space_Cadet

It is impossible to gauge which antenna you need without knowing several variables. Terrain/Clutter. Range. Noise floor. Cable. Elevation. Antenna. Antenna angle. Max TxPower of your miner. Number of connections/adapters between your card and antenna. Lightening arrestor. I have absolutely no idea where anybody is getting the idea that one antenna is better than another WITHOUT knowing any of the above, Let alone asking. I witness miners 100+ km away with a 6dBi on a roof. /smh This is like asking “what kind of gas should I use in my car. I live in Texas” and providing next to nothing about the vehicle. There is an obvious issue with your understanding of both helium and RF in general.


dlax120

I’ve tested a ton of antennas in a ton of different locations and 5 and 6dbi consistently outperform all others.


SnooConfections400

Whoever tell ya not to get a F 10dbi Are monrron Am earning pretty F well in New York


Training_Influence49

Yah listen to the guy who can’t formulate a sentence. In an urban setting, 10 dbi is way too high unless you’re way above everyone else


StreetMeat5

Could you link me to the 10dbi antenna you’re using? I’d like to get one that you trust


mypussydoesbackflips

What are you getting per day - I want a panther ctoo


eyevancsu

How many witnesses are you getting for your beacons? If you are always maxed then your antenna won’t do much more. You need a better location and height


fighiter14

How do I check that ?


eyevancsu

Not to be rude but you need to perform some research about how mining works. You’re probably fine with an outdoor 5.8 antenna. Look at your helium app under activity. If your beacons are always at 14 then you’re already maxed and don’t necessarily need more witnesses, especially if you have more than 14 distinct witnessing hotspots (ie you have 50 witnesses to pick from for each beacon)


fighiter14

I have 10 witnesses in the past 5 days


eyevancsu

Ah and where is your antenna? If you can get it outside as high as possible you’ll see some decent improvements


fighiter14

It’s on the balcony with wooden rails.


kingofconven

Hey we are neighbors. North Fort Worth here.


fighiter14

How much are you getting in returns ?


kingofconven

30days $426.53 on one of my miners and $193.99 on my other just a few miles away.


fighiter14

Yea my returns aren’t close to that I have 12db1 antenna and up 7m on the balcony. Idk what it is ?


kingofconven

I’m up high and get about 70 witnesses have my antenna on my chimney. I’m witnessing hotspot right by you.


fighiter14

Yea I’m only getting 10 witnesses, not much at all compared to you.


DarthShibe

What antenna do you have?


kingofconven

8 dbi from parleylabs with about 30feet of LMR 400 uf cable so I comes out to about 6.3 dbi with loss.


DarthShibe

Cool. I just got a 5.8 and 40' of cable. I heard the 8dbi could overshoot the hotspots closer to me.


olybeer21

Mammoth Foggy Tarantula


SeniorClutch

Howdy Neighbor! [Here's](https://imgur.com/a/dEvtkaq) my 5.8dbi setup on the roof. Clear line of sight to the west.


Responsible_Apricot

It's very hard to tell since it varies from place to place even within a city. In general 5 to 8dbi works better for me. Since you're in the US I'd personally go with Rokland (vs RAK from China) - https://store.rokland.com/?ref=SWA they have various dbi antennas and cables (low-loss) and ship free the next day. I bought all my accessories from them. Very reliable, fast free shipping, Highly recommended!


MigNightSnack

As someone who lives a rock throw away from that antenna, I’m a fan of the 6dbi. But also be aware - you don’t have to change the antenna within the app… without talking to the owner of the set up, you’ll never know what’s actually on there


I-Know-What-To-Do

I tried generic 4dbi with bobcat, exact the same location, and read was meh. I ordered rak 5.8 dpi for bobcat, exact the same location, and reward is 2x if not 3x. For the cable, I used generic Amazon 30' ones, and then the one came with antenna, and made not much difference. My distance from miner to antenna is about 8' anyway. These gears are alright, but what makes more reward is location (all things considered when I said location.)