# Site Planning Choosing locations, antennas, and using network maps. # Choosing a Repeater Location Placement determines performance. A well-placed repeater with modest hardware will consistently outperform a poorly placed repeater with expensive equipment. ## The primacy of line-of-sight LoRa signals travel best when there is a clear, unobstructed path between transmitter and receiver. Any obstruction - a building, a ridge, a dense stand of trees - attenuates the signal. The higher your repeater, the more of the surrounding terrain is in line-of-sight. ## Location types ### Hilltops and ridgelines The best possible placement. A repeater on a hilltop with 360-degree unobstructed views can serve an area many times larger than the same hardware at ground level. Even a modest elevation gain of 50 - 100 feet above the surrounding terrain makes a measurable difference. ### Rooftops The most practical option for urban deployments. The highest accessible rooftop in a neighborhood, with the antenna mounted on a short mast, gives excellent urban coverage. Flat commercial rooftops are ideal. ### Towers and elevated structures Communications towers, water towers, and fire lookout towers are excellent platforms. Many communities with amateur radio infrastructure already have tower access - connecting with local ham radio clubs is a good path to shared hosting arrangements. ### Mast installations A 15 - 30 foot mast in a yard or field dramatically improves line-of-sight over the surrounding area. Particularly effective in flat terrain where even modest height above obstructions makes a large difference. ## Common placement mistakes - **Hop gobbling:** A poorly placed repeater that is only marginally better than other nodes can consume hop budget without meaningfully extending range. Every hop used by a marginal relay is a hop unavailable for a more distant leg. Place repeaters where they add significant coverage, not just incremental reach. - **Too many repeaters too close together:** Dense clusters of repeaters can flood the network with redundant retransmissions. Space repeaters to provide overlapping but not excessively redundant coverage. - **Ignoring the coverage below:** Very high-gain antennas on tall structures can create dead zones directly beneath them. Size antenna gain to match your deployment height. ## Coverage planning tools - [Meshtastic Site Planner](https://site.meshtastic.org) - estimates theoretical coverage from a given location - [HeyWhatsThat](https://heywhatsthat.com) - radio horizon visualization based on terrain elevation - [meshmap.net](https://meshmap.net) - community map showing existing Meshtastic nodes near you Always validate coverage estimates with real-world testing - planning tools do not account for buildings, vegetation, or local RF environment. # Antenna and Signal Range Factors ## What determines your repeater's range Several factors interact to determine how far your repeater can reach. Understanding them helps you make better placement and hardware decisions. ## Antenna height and line-of-sight (most important) This is the dominant factor by a wide margin. Higher placement gives more line-of-sight coverage. Even a few meters of additional height can meaningfully extend coverage. Use terrain analysis tools to identify locations with the best natural line-of-sight before committing to a deployment. ## Antenna type and gain ### Omnidirectional antennas Standard for general-purpose repeaters. Higher gain concentrates the signal horizontally, increasing range but reducing coverage of areas directly below. For most repeater deployments, 3 - 6 dBi omnidirectional antennas provide a good balance. ### [Directional antennas](https://wiki.meshamerica.com/books/antennas-rf/page/directional-antennas) (Yagi) Best for linking two specific points across a long distance. Directional antennas can achieve dramatically longer range in one direction but provide no coverage off-axis. Useful for point-to-point relay links, not general area coverage. ## Antenna and cable quality Upgrading from a stock antenna to a quality external antenna is often one of the highest-return improvements available. Use short, low-loss coaxial cable (LMR-200 or LMR-400) between the radio and antenna. Long cable runs with cheap coax can negate antenna gain improvements. ## LoRa modem presets Meshtastic provides nine preset modem configurations. Each preset is a named combination of Spreading Factor (SF), Bandwidth (BW), and Coding Rate (CR) that determines the tradeoff between range, data rate, and airtime:
PresetSFBWCRData RateLink BudgetNotes
**Short Turbo**7500 kHz4/521.9 kbps140 dBNot legal in all regions
**Short Fast**7250 kHz4/510.9 kbps143 dB
**Short Slow**8250 kHz4/56.25 kbps145.5 dB
**Medium Fast**9250 kHz4/53.52 kbps148 dB
**Medium Slow**10250 kHz4/51.95 kbps150.5 dBRecommended for dense networks
**Long Turbo**11500 kHz4/81.34 kbps150 dB
**Long Fast**11250 kHz4/51.07 kbps153 dBFirmware default
**Long Moderate**11125 kHz4/80.34 kbps156 dB
**Long Slow**12125 kHz4/80.18 kbps158.5 dBNot recommended for regular use
Higher link budget = more range. Higher data rate = more network capacity and less airtime per message. ## Choosing a preset for your network **The most important rule: match whatever preset the rest of your local network uses.** Nodes on different presets cannot hear each other, even on the same channel name. - **Check with your local community first.** Many regional networks have standardized on a specific preset. Check local Discord servers, forums, or network maps before deploying. - **Long Fast** (firmware default) - widely used, works well for sparse networks and rural deployments. Good starting point if no local standard exists. - **Medium Slow / Medium Fast** - increasingly common in larger networks (60+ nodes). Faster data rate reduces airtime collisions in dense areas while still covering similar distances. The Meshtastic Bay Area network (150+ nodes) uses Medium Slow. - **Long Slow / Very Long Slow** - maximum range, but much lower throughput. Can cause network congestion at scale. Not recommended for regular deployment. - **Short Turbo** - highest throughput, but not legal in all regions. Verify compliance before use. ## Transmit power More transmit power increases range up to the legal limit. In the US, FCC Part 15 rules allow up to 1W (30 dBm) conducted power and 4W (36 dBm) effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP). If you use a high-gain antenna, you may need to reduce conducted power to stay within the EIRP limit. Meshtastic's default settings are compliant for standard antennas, but custom high-gain setups require calculation. ## Interference Other devices operating in the 902 - 928 MHz ISM band can reduce effective range. If you suspect interference, try changing the channel frequency slot within the band and comparing performance. # Using the Meshtastic Network Map Before deploying a repeater, check the Meshtastic network map to understand where existing coverage exists and where gaps are most significant. This helps you choose a placement that adds the most value to the network. ## Available map tools ## What the maps show Nodes appear on the map if they have GPS enabled, are configured to share their location, and their data has reached the internet via an MQTT gateway node. Clicking a node shows its ID, name, hardware, and last activity time. Some maps display estimated coverage radius or known links between nodes. ## How to use the map for planning 1. Find your area and identify where existing nodes and repeaters are concentrated 2. Identify gaps in coverage - areas with no nearby nodes, or areas that would benefit from a relay between two clusters 3. Look for natural high points near the gap that could serve as a relay location 4. Check whether your planned location already has a node - placing a repeater very close to an existing one adds little value and increases network traffic ## Making your repeater appear on the map A REPEATER-role node does not broadcast its own GPS data by default and will not appear on the map. A ROUTER-role node does broadcast its position and will appear on map services that collect MQTT data. If map visibility is important for your deployment, use ROUTER role instead of REPEATER.