Yesterday at the TTN Apeldoorn meetup I tested the nice black 868 MHz antenna which was purchased in China.
I found that the performance of this antenna is very poor.
The antenna (?) was not resonant at 868 MHz although the spec says 
Also the return loss is not good.
It is another proof that not all āantennasā are really a antenna.
looks more like a dummyload 
funny thing isā¦ I did not measure this antenna, just connected it to a node and got really good results.
I found that measuring antennas and link performance with LoRa nodes and gateway is close proximity, is very difficult.
I have a node with a dummy on my table that at SF12 is picked up by a gateway 3 kilometres away.
for isolating nodes I created a small farady cage.
yes but I tested with my own gateway switched off and could reach a GW more then 10 KM away.
ok it was not real measurement just a quick test.
combined LoRa / GPS / GSM ā¦ uhhhhhhh
Seems aproperiate 
I think that has more to do with the antenna of the gateway .
I also think bad antennas just āstill workā, and that LoRa is just so good at retrieving the signal from all the noise. E.g. on a good day I can get around 12km range between my gateway with @lex_ph2lb DIY GPA antenna and a rubber ducky from Aliexpress on my node. The GPA has no gain and the rubber ducky probably only has loss, and is also probably meant for 900MHz.
Testing with the Sunhans 13dbi and the āgrey tubeā 10dbi from Aliexpress doesnāt give significantly different results.
I have ordered the CXL 900-3LW-NB/868 MHz and want to do some RSSI testing comparing this one to several Aliexpress antennas, but I havenāt found time to do it yet. Anyone is free to give a helping hand (Ghent region) 
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I have this antenna on the Mheen gateway in Apeldoorn: http://www.mars-antennas.com/ma-wo850-5
This antenna is ~ 120 euro ex VAT. in the Netherlands.
I measured this one yesterday:
This antenna will also be installed on the permanent gateway at Kadaster in Apeldoorn.
I would do antenna performance measurements without using LoRaWAN but with a setup with RF signal measurement.
Unfortunately Iām no ham and donāt have any RF equipment other than LoRaWAN gateways and nodes.
It seems as if we have to organise a antenna measurement session.
good idea !
Iām in. If itās not too far away 
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What would be a good location in your opinion?
Anything in the triangle Brussels - Eindhoven - Amsterdam 
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We are also interested in a session anywhere in this " golden triangle ".
Maybe a session could be held on The Things Conference?
For antenna measurements you need some open space without a lot of buildings
That meeting is beginning next year. I think some talks about antennas are possible.
to measure swr and/or on what frequency the antenne is tuned ? I donāt understand
I was thinkingā¦ bring your antenna, be it a 10 dbi 'stick or a rubber duck or a DIY GP and this can be measured 'on the spotā¦ am I wrong ?
No, you are not wrong. For an indication that will do fine.
I was considering antenna efficiency measurements.
Do we have access to some location preferreably close to public transport (train)
I think we have to expand the triangle to a polygon including Utrecht 
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Who can offer such a place?
I was thinking about doing relative gain measurements, a bit like @lex_ph2lb did here (comparing antennaās).
At my work we have a lot of greenfield terrain that would be suited, and maybe I can fix access to the roof of one of our 12-story high towers. But thatās in Ghent .