Helium Antennas – How to choose the perfect one?

Helium Antennas – How to choose the perfect one?

This guide will help you pick the perfect helium antenna. There are many choices and we will see how to choose the best Helium Miner antenna for every situation. Some of our customers make stable contacts up to 200 km away. It all comes down to location, elevation, and the number of close and far witnesses. You do not have to live in high-density urban cities to make good passive money by farming Helium, just good helium antennas.

Our Helium miner antennas are specialized for ALL miners. And for both frequencies like 868 MHz for EU and 915 MHz for US as different antennas. Not universal as many want you to believe. The universal antenna is always compromised. And not the best for any particular frequency.

Choosing the right LoRa Helium Antenna will be easy after reading this article. All the cities mentioned in the article are examples and can apply to any city worldwide (as we ship worldwide)

Who are we?

Antennas-Amplifiers company producing antennas, amplifiers, and equipment for more than 35 years. Our main focus has always been quality over quantity. We do not compete with the Chinese market and copycats. We do make antennas in the whole other class. Our antennas are used in Ham Radio, in Space Research, Earth-Moon-Earth and Satellite communication, and SAR (Search and Rescue) missions. Reliability and quality are essential.

All our antennas have been calculated with the latest full 3D Electromagnetic Simulation Software, with included the influence of the boom, brackets, and connectors. Every antenna is measured and tested by a network analyzer to ensure the best possible characteristics. Without exception. With all done like this, we can guarantee described Gain, F/B, G/T, and all other parameters.

 

Major types of LoRa Helium antennas. Omni and Directional.

Omni – Omnidirectional antenna is a class of antennae that radiates equal power in all directions perpendicular to an axis, with power varying with an angle to the axis (elevation angle). In other words, Omni antennas cover 360° and the power is distributed on all sides. This kind of antenna is good if you live in urban cities, and plan to cover that one city. In Production are three types of Omni antennas.

A directional antenna is an antenna that radiates or receives the greatest power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performance when a greater concentration of witnesses is in a certain direction. These types of antennas are way better for city edges, suburbs, villages, and hamlets.

No matter what type of antenna you chose, if you plan to have the best possible signal, it is crucial that the antenna is outside, in the highest possible position.

 

Omni antennas for Helium Mining

In production are 3 types of Omni antennas:

Antenna Gain Azimuth coverage Antennas in system Link
LoRa-2.15 2.15 dBi 360° 1 LoRa-2.15
LoRa-5.5 5.5 dBi 360° 2 LoRa-5.5
LoRa-8.8 8.8 dBi 360° 4 LoRa-8.8

Omni antennas are perfect for city centers and high urban areas. It allows 360° coverage and gets witnesses all around.

When is the Omni antenna as the best choice for you?

You live in the city center of Milan Italy and want to catch all witnesses around.

 

How to choose the best Helium Miner Omni Antenna 360 degrees Coverage Best Choice LoRa-2.15, LoRa-5.5 or LoRa-8.8

 

What Omni directional antenna to choose?

Very high locations, buildings with 20 – 30 floors or center hills with all Hotspots sharp down. Use LoRa-2.15 or better LoRa-5.5 antenna.
If your location is not that high say 10 to 30m above the ground level choose the LoRa-5.5 or LoRa-8.8 antenna.

 

Directional – Sector antennas for Helium Mining:

Directional – Sector Yagi antennas have far more gain and narrower angles. And they are extremely good for locations outside of city centers.

The most important feature of sector-directional antennas is not just more gain which derives from directivity but much lower noise pickup in other directions that are out of the main lobe. That will lead to better SNR of received signals and accordingly more witnesses and money.

How to choose the best Helium Miner Sector or Directional Antenna

Picking the best directional antenna comes down to picking the best angle for your situation. The following section will explain that in more detail.

Angle in degrees Elements Link Possible system
150-180° 2 LoRa-6 Yes*
126° 3 LoRa-7 Yes*
90° 4 LoRa-8.9 Yes*
60° 6 LoRa-11.4 Yes*
43° 13 LoRa-14 Yes*
39° 15 LoRa-15 Yes*

* Possible system: All the same antennas can be stacked in the vertical plane to increase gain – range. There are no drawbacks to doing this. If you choose the antenna stacks like LoRa-10 or LoRa-13, the gain will increase by about 3 dB (double) for a double system or if you choose LoRa13 – a system of four antennas in the stack, the gain will increase by about 6 dB (four times more gain!).

How to choose the best directional Helium Antenna

All the cities mentioned in the article are examples and can apply to any city worldwide.

 

You live in Westervoort Netherlands and want to shoot and pick as many as possible Helium witnesses in the bigger city of Arnhem.

How to choose the best Helium Miner Sector Antenna Extra Wide Angle 147 degrees The Best Choice is LoRa-6

Choose the LoRa-6 Sector antenna with an extra wide angle of 147°. And works well even at 180°.
– Stack option (2 or 4 LoRa-6 antennas in a stack) LoRa-9 with a gain of 9 dBi or LoRa-12 with a 12 dBi gain (ask for an offer via e-mail)
Excellent to put it on a terrace or balcony where behind the antenna is the building. So only forward Helium miners count.

 

You live in Westervoort Netherlands but farther off Arnhem. The angle is narrower. About 126°

How to choose the best Helium Miner Sector Antenna for Angle 126° the Best Choice is LoRa-7

Choose LoRa-7 Sector antenna with a wide angle of 126°.
– Stack option (2 or 4 LoRa-7 antennas in a stack) LoRa-10 with a gain of 10 dBi or LoRa-13 with a 13 dBi gain (ask for an offer via e-mail)
Excellent to put it on a balcony or terrace where behind the antenna is the building. So only forward Helium miner witnesses count.

 

You live in Haren Netherlands and want to catch an unbelievable number of Helium Miners in Groningen. The angle is about 90°

How to choose the best Helium Miner Sector Antenna for Angle 90° The Best Choice LoRa-8.9

Choose LoRa-8.9 Sector antenna with wide angle coverage of 90°.
– Stack option (2 or 4 LoRa-8.9 antennas in a stack) LoRa-11.9 with a gain of 11.9 dBi or LoRa-14 with a 14.9 dBi gain (ask for an offer via e-mail)

 

You live in Plochingen Germany and want to catch as many as possible Helium Miners in Stuttgart. The angle is about 60°.

How to choose the best Helium Miner Sector Antenna for Angle 60° The Best Choice LoRa-11.4

Choose the best gain antenna for that angle with maximum gain for necessary 60° coverage.
LoRa-11.4 is the best choice.
– Stack option (2 or 4 LoRa-11.4 antennas in a stack) LoRa-14.4 with a gain of 14.4 dBi or LoRa-17.4 with a 17.4 dBi gain (ask for an offer via e-mail)

 

You live in Clisson France. And want to collect as much as possible Helium miners from Nantes.

How to choose the best Helium Miner Sector Antenna for Angle 43° The Best Choice LoRa-14

The necessary angle is about 43°. Your choice for the best Helium Miner directional antenna is LoRa-14. With about 43° -3dB beam width.
– Stack option (2 or 4 LoRa-14 antennas in a stack) LoRa-17 with a gain of 17 dBi or LoRa-20 with a 20 dBi gain (ask for an offer via e-mail)

 

You live in Cookeville, TN United States. And want to earn as much as possible money from Helium Miners in Nashville

How to choose the best Helium Miner Sector Antenna for Angle 39° The Best Choice LoRa-15

The necessary angle is about 39°. Your choice for the best gain antenna is the LoRa-15 US 915 MHz version (Separate version relative to EU 868 MHz antenna).
– Stack option (2 or 4 LoRa-15 antennas in a stack) LoRa-18 with a gain of 18 dBi or LoRa-21 with a 21 dBi gain (ask for an offer via e-mail)

 

Now, you decide what Helium antenna fits you best.

Recapitulation for Omni antennas: 360° coverage, shorter range than directional antennas. Excellent choice for city urban areas and rooftops.

Recap for Sector and Directional antennas: More gain, lower noise pickup. Longer range but you must choose the best angle. Excellent to put it on a balcony or terrace where behind the antenna is the building.

We are here to help, but first, it is best to help yourself by doing simple steps before ordering.

1. Open Google Maps, and pick terrain view with topography and elevation, or just go outside and make sure you have line-of-sight for the desired location.

2. Open your dedicated program to see where the most “witnesses” are. Like https://explorer.helium.com/ and find your location.

Use a plastic protractor to measure angles or install Google Chrome and extensions like Protractor Chrome extension. The extension works great both for google maps and helium maps.

Do not be tempted to widen unnecessary angles in believing that will lead to more witnesses.
One witness on the wrong side is too high a price compared to the hundreds of witnesses you can collect aiming in the right direction with a higher gain antenna.

After calculating the right angle you need to pick the closest angle. By doing that you will have the most gain you could have in the desired direction.
Last but not least is to decide if should you go for a single antenna or a stack system of two or four antennas with more gain, stronger signals, and more witnesses.

 

author avatar
Dusan S