SFLARC Homestead node upgrade, 6 MILES confirmed contact!

Swapped out the small 3dbd antenna for a 10dbd vertical, see pic for size comparison. Was pleasantly surprised with a consistent contact to a node near entrance to Everglades National Park at 6.2 miles line of sight. I used to see that node on RF every so often but now I’m getting a consistent 2-3 bar signal on it. Appears to be an agg node as there’s no response to messages but it does ping back.

Interestingly, the SDGMRS router in Downtown Miami is coming in at a lower signal level. The antenna must have an electrical tilt of some kind. Locals come in better, far off stations come in weaker. I’ll take it though.

Nothing else has changed. We’re still 100% solar, on long/fast, 100mW, with electronics located at base of antenna 22′ up.

Soon we’ll do another range check and get a better idea how this new antenna affected the node footprint.