Your choice of Helium antenna is critical to the performance of your Helium miner and the cryptocurrency earnings you can generate as a Helium network hotspot owner. Though all the leading Helium miner manufacturers provide an antenna with the miners, an external Helium antenna provides the flexibility and performance to boost the coverage your gateway can achieve.

These outdoor fiberglass Helium antennas from Data Alliance deliver exceptional performance and longevity in exposed, outdoor installations. Whether used with an outdoor or indoor Helium miner, these collinear antennas are built with excellent signal quality and compliant operation on the Helium network.

Best Helium antenna: features and specifications

The Data Alliance Helium antennas have been designed and manufactured to provide sustained network performance in all weather. Here are the key features that make this antenna an essential purchase for an outdoor Helium miner setup.

100% compatibility with the Helium network

These fiberglass omni antennas are centered on the 915 MHz frequency band of the Helium network. They deliver compliant performance across all uplink and downlink channels in the Helium US915 frequency plan when connected to any Helium miner and registered on the Helium network correctly.

The 915 MHz frequency band is a license-free ISM band that is widely used for LoRa networking. This antenna can be used to support LoRaWAN roaming on Helium which allows public and private LoRaWAN Network Server providers to increase their LoRa network coverage by using the Helium network.

If you are looking for Helium antennas for regions other than the ITU Region 2, suitable Helium antennas for Europe and Asia are also available.

The best Helium antennas are collinear antennas

These Helium antennas are made up of an array of dipole antenna elements housed within the fiberglass radome. The dipole elements multiply the overall directive gain of these antennas. Unlike a basic dipole LoRa antenna, these Helium antennas benefit from each element becoming an extension of the adjacent elements in the array.

• Omnidirectional Helium antenna

Coverage is key to keeping your Helium miner earning. These fiberglass antennas are omnidirectional with a consistent antenna pattern that provides full 360-degree coverage.

• Vertically polarized antennas for Helium

These Helium antennas are vertically polarized, transmitting and receiving radio waves that move perpendicularly to the surface of the earth.

This omnidirectional Helium antenna is available with 3 different gains

1. 3 dBi - this lower gain Helium antenna is suitable for urban areas and other dense environments.
2. 6 dBi Helium antennas for "in-between" situations.
3. 9dBi - this powerful high-gain Helium antenna can achieve extreme long-range connectivity when installed at moderate elevation in open terrain.

These three antennas should be well within the effective radiated power limits specified by Helium, following FCC guidance. Remember the gain and location of the antenna must be correctly registered with Helium for the blockchain to award Proof of Coverage and HNT correctly.

• N connector Helium antennas

These fiberglass antennas are outdoor-ready with large, rugged N-type connectors that can withstand harsh outdoor conditions. The N connector also provides a range of secure mounting options and can be easily connected to gateways via an N connector antenna cable run to the attached LoRa gateway.

• RoHS LoRa antennas

This range of fiberglass Helium antennas is manufactured in full compliance with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive, which limits the use of hazardous substances like lead, cadmium, or mercury. They also comply with the Conflict Minerals Directive which prohibits the use of metals that have been sourced in conflict regions or using forced labor.

The fiberglass radome is key to the longevity of these external Helium antennas

Fiberglass antennas are an excellent choice for the long-term installation of an outdoor Helium antenna. The physical properties of fiberglass mean that while it is radio permeable, it is an effective barrier against harsh outdoor conditions. Here are some of choosing a fiberglass Helium antenna:

• This radome allows radio wave penetration of more than 98%.
• Fiberglass does not deform, meaning the Helium antenna housing retains its shape and stability long-term.
• Fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) is fully waterproof.
• FRP is corrosion-resistant, which is important in coastal environments where salt content in the air can corrode antennas quickly.
• The radome also has high temperature and UV resistance meaning it can cope with long hot summer exposure without deteriorating in performance. The fiberglass provides excellent thermal insulation for the sensitive antenna elements within the antenna.
• The radome is also resistant to cracking, embrittlement, peeling, or chalking. There is no significant change in its external finish over time.
• Fiberglass is a lightweight material meaning the secure mounting at height of these antennas is more easily achieved.
• Fiberglass and FRP are durable materials with strong anti-aging properties. These materials have a lifespan that is at least three times the lifespan of a conventional plastic radome (up to 15 years vs. 3 to 5 years).

Physical specifications of the fiberglass Helium antenna

Data Alliance fiberglass omnidirectional Helium antennas are designed for maximum resilience against the weather and robust mounting at height:

• Dimensions: length 114.5 cm (45 inches) width 3.4cm (1.34 inches) height 3.4cm (1.34 inches)
• Weight: 1.5kg (3.3 pounds)
• Radome: fiberglass
• Color: grey-white
• Connector: N-type
• Lightning protection: direct to ground
• Max wind speed: 180km/hr
• Max humidity: 100% at 25 degrees Celsius
• Temperature range: -40 to +80 degrees Celsius

Fiberglass LoRa antenna electrical specifications

The electrical specifications of the Data Alliance fiberglass omnidirectional Helium antennas prioritize compliance and performance:

• Frequency range:860 to 960 MHz
• Gain:3, 6, or 9 decibels
• Characteristic impedance: 50 Ohms
• Power: 50 Watts
• Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR):less than 1.9
• Half Beam Power Width (HBPW): Horizontal - 360 degrees Vertical - 14 degrees

Data Alliance fiberglass Helium antennas are compatible with the leading models of Helium miner

These fiberglass high-gain Helium antennas are suitable for connection to Helium-approved miners, via the female RP-SMA or Type N connector that they routinely carry. You can use this fiberglass Helium antenna with the following miners:

• Bobcat Miner 300
• RAK Hotspot Miner v2
• SenseCAP M1 Helium miner
• Syncrobit SP Helium HNT miner
• COTX-X3 Helium Hotspot Miner
• Kerlink Helium Hotspot Miner
• Wirnet iStation
• Nebra HNT Indoor Hotspot Miner
• Nebra HNT Outdoor Hotspot Miner
• Syncrobit SP Helium HNT miner
• Linxdot Helium Hotspot
• ClodPi Pro Hotspot
• LongAP Pro IoT Gateway
• LongAP Light IoT Gateway
• VoskCoin Helium Hotspot Miner

Locating and mounting your fiberglass Helium antenna

These fiberglass Helium antennas are designed for outdoor installation. They should be securely mounted at height in a position that offers the maximum line of sight visibility and minimal obstruction in the Fresnel zone. This vertically polarized antenna should be installed in the vertical position with care taken to ensure that it remains upright.

A u-bolt kit is one of the best ways to securely mount your Helium antenna. This pole-mounting system can be used to fix a Helium antenna to a variety of structures including window sills and rails, ideal for urban environments.

The Data Alliance u-bolt set with a chrome base can be used to securely pole-mount a LoRa antenna vertically and at a height so that they maximize their gain and directivity in the horizontal plane. The u-bolt enables the antenna to be safely secured to a mast or pipe. These are the steps for mounting a Helium collinear antenna using the u-bolt kit:

Equipment needed:

• Fiberglass Helium antenna assembly
• LMR 200 antenna cable
• Data Alliance U-bolt clamp kit containing:
• 2 U-bolts
• 2 Clamp plates
• 8 Hex nuts
• 8 washers
• chrome base tube

The first u-bolt is loosely assembled and placed over the base tube, followed by the second u-bolt. They are then tightened to the railing or pole that the antenna is to be secured against. The Helium antenna sits in the chrome base tube with the N connector connected to a suitable cable at its base through the bottom of the tube. The connection between the antenna and cable can be weatherproofed by using silicone grease and coax sealant tape.

Fiberglass Helium antenna cable and connectors

These outdoor Helium antennas carry a female Type N connector radio frequency which has a nominal impedance of 50-Ohms. Helium miners typically carry either an RP-SMA or N-type connector.

• The weakness of the low-power, long-distance LoRa signals used by Helium means that these antennas require low-loss antenna cable that will minimize the attenuation of received signals.
• The best cable for Helium antennas is the LMR 200 analog we produce. It is double-shielded (aluminum foil and copper braiding), highly flexible, and waterproof.

Buy ready-to-use Helium antenna cables in the following compatible assemblies:

• Helium gateways that carry an RP-SMA connector can be attached to this antenna using an N male connector to RP-SMA male connector cable with LMR 200.
• Helium gateways that carry an N-type connector can be attached to this antenna using N male connector to N male connector cable with LMR 200

Don't forget to provide an accurate location for your hotspot

The location of the Helium hotspot and the characteristics of the antenna you use are critical to the Helium Proof of Coverage algorithm and how your miner activity is recorded on the blockchain. Make sure that you take the following steps on The Helium Network smartphone app when you register your miner(s):

1. Provide an accurate location for your hotspot: An accurate hotspot location should be given so that your miner activity can be validated correctly. The correction of erroneous location data incurs a $10 data credits fee.
2. Assert your antennas gain: Helium antenna gain must be specified by hotspot owners. Helium permits external antenna gains of up to 15.0dB, but the transmitting power and general use must comply with FCC regulations. Correcting erroneous antenna gain assertions incurs a $15 data credits fee.