this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2025
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What's the range and power consumption of these bad boys?
Depends but I have some cheap esp based heltech knock offs from temu that do about 2km from being haphazardly taped into my upstairs windows. Power draw is about 200ma but I don't bother with deep sleep or other optimizations. I'm in a flat suburban area.
I imagine it'd be much better if I whipped them up on the chimney with proper antenna but for something that just fits in my pocket they're really impressive.
Its 800/900ish MHz depending in where in the world you are. So UHF ranges. 1 to five mile range can be expected just carrying one around with a rubber duck style antenna. Range goes up considerably if you out it up in top of your house, fivish to twenty. Pit on a dedicated mast or high building with clear sight lines? Could get up to fifty miles.
Current record I think is 170 miles but that's transmitting from a mountain top and I think a directional antenna.
For vhf/UHF the key is 'height is might.' That's why I can use a handheld and, with the right antenna, hit the ISS but also have maybe five miles point to point and need a repeater to hit anywhere of worth.