Thanks for visiting! This website will initially introduce a log-periodic antenna, designed for LoRa (Long Range) protocol use in the UHF spectrum and proving useful in the Amateur (Ham Radio) 33cm band. By default, these were to have been made to interface with the Syncrob.it "hotspot" to generate cryptocurrency rewards for collection of IoT data, but that company went Chapter 7 bankrupt. Still, the antenna can work with other Helium network hotspots for the North American 915Mhz segment. As of October, 2022 - Helium blockchain (HNT) underwent numerous changes, including abandonment of their native blockchain, having migrated to Solana (SOL) chain. Through it all, I believe in the LoRa technology and desire to craft quality antennas for those needing a directional beam antenna solution to help generate greater profits and promote LoRA technology throughout North America.

 UPDATE: Regardless if Helium network is ever successful, I plan on having 33cm antennas for Amateur and other LoRA services, and can create antennas for other amateur service frequencies. I've already created a corporation, and am preparing to build my first 33cm prototypes with nearly all materials at the ready. The site will be updated accordingly, so bookmark and check back often.

 These antennas are also viable for the Amateur (Ham Radio) Service in the 902-928 Mhz 33cm band which is shared with numerous Part 15 devices (LoRa included) and government. USA Hams are reminded to review relevant portions of Part 97 regarding geographic restrictions for transmissions, especially portions of NM, WY & CO. The antenna hasn't been tested for maximum input power, yet for almost any operation meant for this design, it should be able to handle what you give it. Unlike most antennas, initially, I'm using weldable steel and the elements are either brazed or welded in place and carefully measured, so you need not worry of threaded elements working loose and getting lost. Unless otherwise specified, RFC-195 coax is utilized with 50 ohm design characteristics. You'll appreciate the wideband design given in this log periodic. Two holes are drilled in the longer, non-active boom for mounting via a single U-bolt and done with vertical polarization in mind.

 As pictures of the finished LoRaBeam become available, I'll go more into detail of considerations you'll need when choosing a location for mounting or otherwise positioning it. Most available antennas offer some signal gain, yet are designed as omnidirectional, useable in all compass directions. Consider your present circumstances and decide if you could make better use of that half-watt LoRA signal you have at your disposal to be aimed at a larger populated area and not be wasted toward unoccupied or rural locations. This is where the LoRaBeam can make the difference in more IoT earnings on Helium network.

 A beam antenna can be very helpful if you don't already live in an area, populated enough to provide at least several witnesses and devices for the Internet of Things or IoT. There are many considerations to think over and you may find it helpful to re-aim it. The biggest differences are using height with clearance of other large metal objects. Clearance and height with a reasonable amount of transmission line should help your signal, both ways. We're adding another factor here; How wide is the bandwidth of the antenna you choose.

 So, why is a wideband antenna more helpful than a typical Yagi? By design, hotspots use different channels for transmitting and receiving the LoRa data. Bear in mind, this data rate can vary. The greater amount of data in a period of time (or, faster data rate) will require more bandwidth and your signals along with those you receive, will suffer accordingly. Furthermore, when using the North American 915Mhz segment, your hotspot will likely use the spectrum near the band edges, therefore, you're separated greater than 20Mhz, more or less around 25Mhz. If a conventional Yagi beam antenna were used and tuned at the 915Mhz band center, either or both transmit or receive signal performance could suffer from being off-tuned or far enough from resonance, that magic point where your antenna transfers the most energy to and from the hotspot. This may not be an issue in urban areas, yet proves critical with more distance, such as rural areas where the nearest sizeable community or city is 10 or more miles. Having an antenna that considers these factors and uses a reasonable amount of transmission line (coaxial cable with a few inches of tolerance or "wiggle room") to get your signal both ways is logically the best solution.