MESHTASTIC ANTENNAS IN AN XRAY MACHINE!!!

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[@RingwayManchester]

Amazing vid rog! Loved the afternoon we had playing with that X-ray machine

[@stevenyemc]

Proper geeks. love it! Get back to Prof Simon dude.

[@andykirby]

Yeah it was a great day! I've still got the printouts of your little Tibia 🤣 DM me for a copy!

[@RingwayManchester]

@@andykirby😂😂😂❤️❤️

[@fotografm]

@RingwayManchester Who is Rog ?

[@fotografm]

@@stevenyemc who is Prof Simon ?

[@InimitaPaul]

The clickbait didn’t bother me but I can see why it would bother some, to you it’s one instance but to them it’s constant on KZbin.

[@orca984]

Next time I see that click bait stuff I will unsubscribe, don't think I'll be the only one who will

[@qtrax100]

100% I agree that is the sign of a weak content creator.

[@David.Tebbutt]

@@orca984 after the "it's just a prank bro" attitude in this video and the fact that comments are now disabled on the previous one it's hard unsub for me.

[@SamM-oh2cx]

Can’t honestly say I am a fan of “click bait” titles, has my finger itching over the unsubscribe button!

[@mimetype]

Shows utter contempt for subscribers and the smug indifference hammers it home.

[@morethan4mph]

Nano VNA is a marvellous bit of kit. During my 40+ years playing radio I have probably spent over a grand on antenna analysers. The Nano VNA beats all that for under 50 quid. Definitely worth it.

[@paulsengupta971]

I wouldn't be without mine now, it's a game changer for antenna building.

[@shanesteven4578]

Yo, Andy's got the mesh lit, video spittin' fire, But the haters throw shade, call it clickbait for hire. They scoff and they jeer, but the content's sincere, So let them marinate in their salty, click-hungry fear. Mesh on, Andy, mesh on, let the content flow free, Their negativity's just background noise, a clickbaiting spree.

[@mediocreman2]

We do know how KZbin works. But a lot of us are tired of it. It's just refreshing to see KZbinrs that are straightforward. But yeah I understand that's less views and less money for you.

[@ThatMattWhite]

Plus, Andy's been successfully building a following for some time now with high-quality videos and featuring thumbnails and titles that accurately reflect the content. There's no need to degrade the channel with clickbait.

[@xjet]

I used clickbait... you won't believe what happened next! LOL

[@TradieTrev]

Good video Andy, this makes me want to go back to my local radio club. We used to make our own antennas from scratch and test them!

[@EvgeniX.]

Nice music by Andy Kirby @ the end

[@mr_spoons]

Andy, you would need to account for that I-PEX adaptor. Save the calibration then use the "Port length extension" option, presuming that nano you have has the feature.

[@BillAnt]

Every antenna even if they looks identical including length have slight SWR variations, that's why it's important to tune each one individually to get it as close as possible to the ideal 1:1 ratio.

[@HarukiToreda]

Very informative! thank you. Great idea with the X-ray

[@minigpracing3068]

If you DIY a wire based antenna enclosed in like PVC pipe, can you cover the design for all the Meshtastic bands? I'm in the USA so I would need the 900mhz design. I'm thinking along the lines of external "waterproof" designs for fixed location up on a pole or other mount.

[@fotografm]

Very revealing ! I also measured antennas, even identical ones from the same batch and saw a spread in parameters. Some of them are really dodgy. I will Xray those ones I think. "How" you ask ? Put them in my hand luggage at the airport of course with something looking suspicious so they have to give me a look of the screen 🙂

[@brunosco]

The hand luggage trick at the airport is genius! (And it’s a possible excuse to go on a trip…)

[@seanyem]

I keep coming back to this video every few weeks just to hear the CHOOOON again.... Andy Kirby the new PvD.... ❤❤❤❤🎵🎶🎵🎶🎶

[@Real_Tim_S]

So... I built my own Meshtastic antennas that were hand-tuned. Using the 1/4-wave online calculator on the website run by "m0ukd". Then using a 18gauge/40mil copper sheet cut into a cone for 360° counterpoise instead of radials, soldered coaxially to the stripped top of semi-rigid coax (a 24" SMA-to-SMA semi-rigid "cable" jumper cut in half), with the exposed center conductor trimmed to the correct length using a LibreVNA. This was all put under a vacuum-formed radome that housed the whole node - this was a pole-top cap node.

[@grahamkatzer7332]

Haters hate, keep making your videos, clickbait and all. Love the content, just ordered a few of these to get started.

[@johnwest7993]

The piece of gear (kit) to use to optimize signal strength is a TinySA. It will show you your signal direction in any direction.

[@minigpracing3068]

There are two versions of the Tiny SA, the original is OK, but the new one is something I should probably buy.

[@skunkwerx9674]

The measurements you are referring to are called S-parameter and VSWR measurements. It doesn’t optimize anything for you, it instructs you how to optimize it based on return loss, reflection and through line loss. You still gotta optimize it yourself

[@RealSnail3D]

Lol keep the clickbait comin! You’re doing a bang up job for Meshtastic for sure… those devs have worked their tails off for years and thanks to guys like you dedicated to sharing the project, their dreams are finally beginning to be realized.

[@pluto9000]

That music at the end was loud enough. Though I was in a night club for a few minutes.

[@2E0HJI]

Loving these meshtastic videos 👍 just got my heltec v3 setup and nothing where i am. Just waiting on a paradol antenna to come see if that helps pic something up.

[@iainansell2139]

Interesting x-ray pics of what you are or are not getting in the case of the long high gain one with what looks like a 1/4 wave 😉 The one that came with my LoRa32 was the one with a 10mm on the top, which i found to useless, it wasn't picking anything up ! I made myself a dipole, and now it's picking up other nodes nicely, even you Andy lol Keep up the good work it's good fun 😁

[@fouracrefamily9801]

Apparently, slurping coffee at the start of a video is cool. Who knew?

[@andykirby]

Tea.

[@fotografm]

@@andykirby quintessentially english of course 🙂

[@stevenyemc]

good work fella. I'm getting hooked now. I have one of the first NanoVNA's from when I was messing about with 2m70cm, WiFi, and ADSB antennas. Working on a Meshtastic J-Pole made from an SMA pigtail idea now lol. I best get a device on order then.

[@will88mph29]

This video changes everything!! 💪🎤. Love it. Hold tight Hertford Mesh Crew (HMC)

[@TrystansWorkbench]

They are called "Sleeve Dipole" antennas.

[@SamM-oh2cx]

I just purchased the parador 868Mhz 5dBi antenna after you recommended it! Mine arrived, the two inch’s (the thin part) is noticeably bent compared to the rest of the of the antenna. Will that make a difference to the performance or should I return it and ask for a replacement?

[@belliduradespicio8009]

I know positively nothing of antenna science, only so much can fit in my brain, but damn i might get a NanoVNA and try my hand at it. Also that outtro song is a straight banger, Oh damn you made it yourself! You're pretty talented.

[@TonyLing]

Great that a NanoVNA is, it can't weed out these fake antennas. A dummy load looks like an ideal antenna on a VNA, with a perfect match from DC to light. A 50 Ohm resistor obviously does not make for a great antenna.

[@belliduradespicio8009]

@@TonyLing Ugh that resistance and inductance stuff is so hard to understand. If even a NanoVNA can't identify those, how do you do it?

[@TonyLing]

Pulling the thing apart or the non destructive X-ray technique is one way to go, but even that doesn't tell you everything. The only reliable means to test is with a real life test.

[@Counsellingtutor1]

Andy, you continue to make a Mockery of my license. I am writing a strongly worded letter to the King of England.

[@sparkyprojects]

That long antenna you first had on the nanovna is a dipole made from the outer sheath being folded back on itself, it fills the whole length of the antenna I found that if you first twist the top section to make sure it moves, then gently bend at the join (not the hinge), work it around while pulling and the sheath comes off, be careful as it's fairly tight in there ;)

[@donbunson5031]

I would go full Urban Rescue Ranch with it. His titles often say he has eaten one of his rescue animals or one of the had died when obviously they haven't.

[@andykirby]

🤣🤣🤣

[@philsimprezawrx]

👍👍👍👍👍👍🫶👍👍👍👍👍👍 When is the next album being released

[@goldmagnet9013]

I use a simple 2 element moxon design for meshtastic, small cheap (just a but of wire) simple to make and performs better than anything else I have tried. Most of the antennas in this video were sleeved dipoles or collinears and the moxon knocks these for 6.

[@basshorseman998]

Excellent..Thanks Andy I also thought you had a music channel..I have a few keyboards myself+ guitars, basses, multiple amps and so on

[@TonyLing]

All show and no go

[@Liberty4Ever]

3:10 - That resonant air cavity is critical to the hi-gain function. 😀 I'm glad viewers made some disapproving comments about the clickbait "CANCELLED" thumbnail in the previous video. I didn't comment but I hate stuff like that, and "the algorithm made me do it" is a lame excuse. Now let's talk about padding the end of a 7 minute video with music filler to reach an algorithmic optimized 10 minutes. 🙂

[@andykirby]

I'm not commenting on the other stuff any more. The music at the end is my own and I put it at the end to showcase it as I always have done with my vids, my regular audience like it.

[@p1366]

X-ray! Wow mate that's a game changer! There are a lot of fake antennas out there especially after the Helium madness..cheers Andy

[@Liberty4Ever]

I just ordered $154 worth of antennas from Rokland for the four nodes in the Meshtastic off grid family texting network I'm implementing. Maybe should have watched this video first. 🙂 I ordered the WisBlocks and other sundry gear yesterday... another $150. I sill need to order solar panels. I have the lithium batteries and battery holders from a previous project. When the stuff arrives, I'll design and 3D print the custom enclosures to PVC pole mount them on the roofs.

[@EnglishTurbines]

I knew this years ago. Those big plastic antenna Chinese sleeves are used on all frequencies. Whats inside them is pot luck. You'll notice that NONE of these antennas carry markings on the casing indicating frequency....😮🤔😳🇬🇧

[@thebridgeninja]

Would love to see a video on making antennas. For me in the 915 US band, but make it for 868 and maybe give an idea of what you'd need to change to make it 915?

[@EmilyTestAccount]

It'd be interesting to see the Linx/TE ANT-916-CW-HW-SMA model - this one is commonly recommended and has appeared in a few tests of Lora antennas over the years.

[@bluenetmarketing]

The "empty" antenna may in fact be the proper length wire inside of a too long plastic case, which may in fact be perfectly functional. They may be saving money by using the same long plastic case for various length wires inside for different frequencies. It's something to consider.

[@TonyLing]

No, they are being deceptive, pure and simple.

[@paulsengupta971]

It's a half wave sleeved dipole, same as the one Andy showed on the Nano VNA, just dressed up in a bigger plastic bit to make it look like a colinear. A half wave dipole is 2.15dBi or 0dBd, and you can bet that larger antenna was advertised as having 6dB gain or something like that.

[@bluenetmarketing]

@@paulsengupta971 Ok. Thanks.

[@murlock666]

Waiting for you to make a massive colinear now andy! I wonder if a metre long one outdooors would work any better??

[@HighWealder]

I know nothing about aerials, but im just wondering if I could build a directional one by soldering together some copper pipe and plumbing fittings?

[@Peter_S_]

You indeed can, but it's so much easier these days to just buy an aerial which is already engineered and characterized for performance. For a nice example of a directional plumbing based antenna, look up how to build a QFH, or QuadriFilar Helix Antenna for receiving weather satellites around 137 MHz. The size of the antenna for use on 915 MHz would be much smaller.

[@HighWealder]

@@Peter_S_ any ideas on dimensions?

[@Peter_S_]

@@HighWealder A little smaller than 1/6th the size. As the scale gets smaller than the plumbing fittings on the market, it makes more and more sense to just use thick copper wire and the diameter is less critical than the overall lengths which are very critical. I'm sorry, but aerial design is really above my pay grade so I'm not of much use here. There are easier directional antennas too. Check out the Yagi design. Quite directional, simple, flexible, and fairly small size. Another design to look at is the 'cantenna' but most of the articles you'll find address WiFi. I've built several cantennas and had excellent success with WiFi, but one for 868 MHz would take a big can.

[@Peter_S_]

@@HighWealder Good question. Using 3 mm solid copper wire, a QFHA for 868 Mhz would be 121.7 mm or 4.79133858 inches high. For 915 Mhz the height would be 115.8 mm or 4.5590551 inches. There are calculators online that give you all the measurements. I just pulled these numbers from one called 'Quadrifilar helicoidal antenna - Javascript on-line calculator'. Keep in mind that's for a circularly polarized antenna. I would suggest a Yagi for linearly polarized signals.

[@mybrighton]

Great video and very good tune , very well produced and mixed down , one for Burning Man 🎉 you on Bandcamp?

[@keepingup2952]

See? I was right. This is more James Bond stuff. Since there's no music in this one, I can just play that theme in my head.

[@sgttoe9763]

Hey Andy. Enjoy the videos and I’m thinking about taking the plunge. But I have two questions. 1 I have an old router with 4 antennas and I’m in the US. Would these be ok to use? 2 Do people just text random people? My dad was into CB in late 70’s and seemed to just chat with random people. Is this the same sort of thing? Thanks

[@tropho]

Do you mean an old WiFi router? No, those antennas are tuned for 2.4GHz and are RP-SMA which is compatible with SMA without an adapter.

[@sgttoe9763]

@@tropho ok good to know thanks!

[@Ixquick979]

Antennas that come with cheap Wi-Fi dongles contain a short piece of wire in a long plastic tube.

[@andykirby]

They are similar to these yeah.

[@wisteela]

That half empty antenna is both funny and worrying.

[@shivafox1345]

You tell them Andy :)

[@dougiebambi]

On the intro Andy, Don't apologise mate, "SOD THEM"

[@Wildernessoutside]

just bought a paradar antenna for my router node

[@Stevedats]

I'm also hoping for a hi-gain through roof mobile antenna to come out

[@Hungry_Hunter]

Yeah lighten up and get with the latest in Dogger comms.

[@paulsengupta971]

Oh, is *that* what Meshtastic is used for??

[@tracyrreed]

Why do none of these antennas have radials or counterpoise or some other sort of groundplane?

[@g-r-a-e-m-e-]

Is there any practical use of Meshtastic, like real life experiences?

[@TrystansWorkbench]

Probably not., but people play golf too.

[@kerbsidemotors9249]

Paradar has no foam isolation to radio dome, having read reviews- think I'll stick with McGill 13dbi panel or lesser gain collinear from McGill

[@g0fvt]

The X-ray views were surprising in showing that all of them had a little design to them. The sleeve balun in most of them means that you are not depending on the connected equipment to behave as a groundplane. 99% of the owners of the mostly plastic antenna will never ever know,, good to see them being named and shamed.

[@daveys]

I’m less bothered about the antenna with the bent over end as long as it performs as it should do. The ones masquerading as being high gain when they aren’t is more of an issue. It’s fraud. Thanks for sharing, loved the x-ray images. I bet some of the ham HT antennas would show some interesting bodges. Tons of fake ham HT antennas out there.

[@Mr4Brown]

Having designed thumbnails for KZbin videos for years, there is no question that a more compelling thumbnail will get you more views. Yes a few people will always complain. Oh well.

[@E-Ryder]

Hi Andy, I ordered a 20/4 kit on Monday from your site & no movement on order & should have been here my now. My emails are down at mo so can you help me out with this, many thanks "P"

[@chopped4life315]

Do antennas have to be 868 MHz or can ones from old routers work also? The ones on the router is 2.4/5ghz wifi

[@andykirby]

Gotta be 868 ones.

[@Peter_S_]

Ones from old routers won't work. They just don't have the proper dimensions and your signal may not make it out of the same room. You would be better off just plugging a proper length of wire into the antenna jack. If you're in the UK or Europe you'll want one sized properly for 866 MHz and if you're in America you'll want one centered on 915 MHz. Sadly most of the cheap antennas are trash so I would even recommend playing with a raw piece of wire for the experience.

[@Neil_Morris]

Aerials have to be designed for a specific frequency band so for 868 MHz you need an 868 MHz antenna. You can't use one intended for a different frequency as it a) won't work and b) might even damage the transmitting device.

[@Stevedats]

There is one thing that needs looking at. Encryption and any vulnerabilities. We need someone who knows their onions to try and attack meshtastic encryption to see if its really secure

[@andysheridan340]

So when people say why are paradar antennas expensive, there is the answer.😊

[@jaxuk6964]

need more nodes in northest

[@joels7605]

I have gone through so many LoRa antennas. It's unbelievable. Half the time they're just a wifi antenna that someone is selling as LoRa. Out of the ones that are NOT wifi the tuning is atrocious. Maybe 1 out of 5 antennas is any decent at all.

[@fotografm]

Agreed ! I made a video where I compare identical antennas from the same batch to see the spread in parameters !

[@Peter_S_]

@@fotografm Thanks for your video! That earned an instant subscription. Your next sub will be #500 so congrats on that as well.

[@SpyStaMia]

Enough! Stop buying all the Meshtastic gear Kirby! That’s why we can’t buy any !!! 😂😂😂

[@eliotmansfield]

If you pop over to the bar lounge that is the FB UK Meshtastic group there’s a few photos of the actual internals of the paradar antennas - i’ll pop over to the bar, bumping past the karaoke and pool table and post my photos up in your discord for you too 😂😂😂

[@Peter_S_]

The map was cancelled. No clickbait that I see. Carry on with your great content!

[@Radiogenes]

I have a 78cm Lorawan antenna that inside is 54cm. Marketing wants it bigger

[@ontariocbclub]

Even the Russian Woodpecka made a video about meshtastic

[@I-SHADOW-I]

Half wave, quarter wave, and full wave antennas have differents lenghts

[@yobbawanna6565]

What in tarnation! Jk love your videos.

[@brunosco]

The click bait hater thing… All is fine, nice and interesting vid, well produced, informative, entertaining, with cool homemade music at the end. If instead of “risk of radiation” with a radioactive pictogram, it was just “Fake antenna” or “They are tricking you!”, while keeping the same “seriously?” and all, I bet the audience would be quite the same, but it would just not trick people and lie to them (like the antenna you’re showing) and piss them off. I personally enjoyed the video all the same, but why not an honest thumbnail (that can still be catchy)?

[@jamesalles139]

bigger is better! (for marketing)

[@mr_spoons]

I initially got the "clickbait" bite too but then smiled and thought Yeah, I get it! That damn map!"😅

[@EasyGrowsIt]

Lighten up you crabby old radio room hams!

[@chriswesley594]

I'm a big fan of your channel and of you, Andy. You're a friendly, fun bloke with many informative videos. I've watched you for years. But I think you got it wrong with your comments on those people who didn't like your click baity thumbnail on an earleir video. I wasn't one of them, but they're not "dicks" and they don't need to "lighten up" and "having fun" is not synonymous with making dishonest thumbnails to gain views. That wasn't about "having fun" and it wasn't about making Meshtastic more popular, it was simply and only about you gaining views for your channel. So. You're a naughty boy, and I was a little saddeneed that you chose to blame those who pointed it out to you, instead of standing on the naughty step as you should have.

[@richardsanders4624]

The Powers That Be..! Don't like ...I Wonder Why...? 🤔

[@xecoq]

Wonder if you could modify one of those "wide band" ones to get the dip to align with 868. Getting it the higher would just need to cut a bit off, im presuming, lower if probably more difficult

[@markharrison1160]

1/4 λ isn't that long

[@TheGmr140]

😂😂😂😂

[@Stevedats]

So when do you put on a bikini in a thumbnail for clickbait 🤣

[@edtim3550]

If you start your video by loudly slurping coffee , just as a way to show your middle-finger, then you probably don't care at all if i show my annoyance at that by giving you a thumb. (and i don't even know the full story , because i haven't seen the previous video.

[@chargeriderepeat7024]

I don't mind a bit of clickbait, but please don't put any pictures of your girlfriend in a bikini as the thumbnail, that would be outrageous, I mean who would do that.

[@Marks-Garage]

Bloody click baiting again Andy!! We didn't physically see you put the antenna into an X-ray machine! I hate click bait titles but yours were miles away from being proper click bait. Keep up the great content!

[@andykirby]

Haha thanks man! I think everyone is too scared to comment now🤣

[@bruceclark5627]

It's clickbait when you do it every video. When you do it once,it's sarcasm .

[@thebeaglebeat3615]

Lol lol Karen's complaining about click bait, but it did work, CANCELED!!!WHAT!!!*** LOL

[@modernhereticnw]

Unsubscribing today *because* of the clickbait BS.

[@RingwayManchester]

Why are you telling everyone??? 🤷‍♂️

[@andykirby]

Has he gone yet?

[@matt2024]

We can spray the febreeze now he's gone 😂