Updates: I can connect via bluetooth just fine. It even delivered a test DM I sent a couple days ago. Rebooting the solar node didn't help. Battery charge continues to rise.
My Heltec v3 can see other nodes, but I'm going to try swapping it out for a tdeck in case the problem is on the client end.
If that doesn't work, I'll probably going to be climbing up on the roof soon and tearing the box open.
I just saw it 20 minutee ago with a "bad signal".
Maybe the antenna is unable to tx/rx downward and it just radiates out? So when I am basically directly under it, I can't see it?
I'll check the antenna connectors when I get up on the roof next, but since it got my DM from a few blocks away, it seems unlikely that the antenna has come disconnected.
Holy smokes, I think it might actually be the antenna's tx/rx plane. I'm outside mixing rice hulls into my soil and I held my little heltec v3 at the ideal angle and did a traceroute, just to see what it would do, and it immediately responded.
If that's the case, maybe I want another node locally with a more forgiving antenna that will relay to the roof? That just seems kinda expensive in terms of the number of hops. One from my helrec to the jump point, two to the roof, three from the roof to wherever. Even with the hop count jacked up to 7, that extra hop is a high price to pay, IMHO.
Maybe this wouldn't be as big of a deal with #reticulum? I'm not sure how many hops they'll do by default nor what their maximum is.
#radio #mesh #meshtastic #hardware #electronics
What is the gain on your antenna if it's over 5 DBI It's probably just completely missing you. You should really be using 3 DBI or less if you do not know the direction that the signal is going to be coming from. As an example, you would not really be able to easily talk to a plane with a 10 DBI antenna because the plane would be above the radiation pattern of the antenna. But you would be able to talk to the plane with a 3 DBI antenna.
It's 6 DBI. I don't understand why better gain would cause it to NOT receive my transmissions.
Is there some place I can read more about this that doesn't require the background knowledgr of someone with an EE degree?
An anology of "you're shouting in my ear with a megaphone, so no, I can't understand you" would be the level of detail I'm lookong for. Just practical tips & explanations. I'm not super interested in the theory of antenna design (yet 😅)
In short, the higher gain the antenna is, the flatter the radiation pattern becomes, and therefore it cannot deal with elevation changes well, where the lower the gain on the antenna, the more circular the radiation pattern. Here's a link that shows a easy picture.
Antennas don't add power. They can only redirect existing power. Higher "gain" antennas have a narrower beam. Inside that narrow beam, better signal. Outside that narrow beam, worse signal because you stole ability to receive from that spot and moved it to the other spot.
Easy visual. Flash light vs laser pointer. Aim a flashlight and it hits a specific spot. Replace the flashlight with a laser pointer on the exact same vector, it might still hit that spot or it might not. The intensity of the light will be brighter in the spots it does hit though.
I'll zap you for this as soon as I get my coinos NWC fixed or I get my personal lightning node finished.
Hmm, maybe if I got someone else with a solar node and a large antenna like 1km away I could just bounce directly to their node. 🤔
