How to Choose a 915 MHz LoRa Antenna in Canada

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For most LoRa sites in Canada, the right antenna is a 5.8 to 8 dBi fibreglass omni tuned for 915 MHz, mounted on a mast above the roofline, with low-loss LMR-400 cable down to your gateway and a lightning arrestor in the line. That one setup suits LoRaWAN gateways, Meshtastic nodes and Helium hotspots alike, because they all use the same 902 to 928 MHz band here.

This guide explains how to pick the gain for your site, when a directional antenna makes sense, how to match connectors, and how much cable you can run before you lose the gain you paid for. Everything we recommend is in stock and ships from Ontario. Browse the full range in our 915 MHz LoRa antennas collection.

Why 915 MHz in Canada

Canada's licence-exempt 902 to 928 MHz band is covered by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) under RSS-247. LoRaWAN uses it as the US915 plan, Meshtastic uses its US region setting here, and Helium IoT hotspots in Canada run on it too. One antenna tuned for this band works for all three.

Antennas sold for Europe are tuned for 868 MHz, and many cheap "universal" antennas are a compromise between the two bands. A 915 MHz antenna puts its best match where your radio actually transmits. If a listing doesn't say 915 MHz or 902 to 928 MHz, skip it.

Picking the gain for your site

Gain doesn't add power. It reshapes where the signal goes. Picture the signal from an omni antenna as a doughnut around the mast: higher gain squashes the doughnut flatter and wider, so it reaches further toward the horizon but covers less above and below. That's great on flat land and worse in hills, valleys or tall buildings.

Your site	Gain to look at	Why
Dense city, rooftop with taller buildings nearby	3 to 6 dBi	A rounder pattern reaches up and down to nearby floors and streets
Suburbs, small towns, mixed terrain	5.8 dBi	The best all-round choice for most Canadian sites
Flat open country, farmland, lakes	8 dBi or more	A flat pattern carries further along the ground
One town, field or valley in one direction	Directional, 9 to 13 dBi	Focuses the signal on one area instead of all around

Height matters more than gain. Moving an antenna from a window ledge to a mast clear of the roofline usually helps more than any gain upgrade. A higher-gain antenna also raises your effective radiated power, so stay within your radio's documentation and Canada's limits for your device.

Omni or directional?

An omnidirectional antenna covers all directions around the mast. Choose one for a gateway or Meshtastic node that serves sensors or people all around you. That's most sites.

A directional antenna points at one area. It makes sense when you need to reach a specific field, barn, town or hilltop and don't care about coverage behind you. It needs careful aiming and a sturdy mount. We carry McGill Microwave 9, 10 and 13 dBi tuned directional antennas for that job.

Connectors: get these right first

Most connection problems come from mixing up connector types. Here's what you'll meet:

• N-type is the large, weatherproof connector on outdoor antennas. The fibreglass antennas we stock have an N male base.
• RP-SMA (reverse polarity SMA) is the small connector on most Helium hotspots and many indoor LoRaWAN gateways. The device has the female port, so your cable needs an RP-SMA male end.
• SMA looks almost the same as RP-SMA but isn't interchangeable. Most Meshtastic boards, such as Heltec and LILYGO T-Beam radios, use SMA. Our cables end in RP-SMA male or N male, so a Meshtastic board needs an adaptor or pigtail ending in SMA male, which we don't stock right now.
• u.FL / IPEX is the tiny snap-on connector inside dev boards and some gateways. It needs a short pigtail to reach an outside connector.

Our free Antenna Setup Planner checks the whole chain, from antenna to device, and flags any mismatch before you order. Our cables and adaptors cover the common N-type and RP-SMA combinations.

Cable loss: why LMR-400 matters

Every metre of coax throws away some signal, and that loss counts against your antenna's gain. Times Microwave's datasheets list loss at 900 MHz, the closest figure to 915 MHz:

• LMR-400: about 12.8 dB per 100 m (3.9 dB per 100 ft), or roughly 1.3 dB over a 10 m run.
• LMR-200: about 32.6 dB per 100 m (9.9 dB per 100 ft), or roughly 3.3 dB over 10 m.

Every 3 dB lost is about half your signal. So 10 m of LMR-200 can cancel the gain of a 3 dBi antenna, while LMR-400 keeps most of it. Use LMR-400 coax cable for the run from a mast to the gateway, and save 200-series cable for short jumps of a couple of metres. Better still, mount the gateway close to the antenna in a weatherproof outdoor enclosure and shorten the run. Check your own run with our free coax cable loss calculator.

Mounting and lightning protection

Mount the antenna vertically, clear of metal gutters, chimneys and other antennas, and as high as you can safely reach. A vertical rod or hoisting pole on a wall or chimney bracket is the simplest way to get above the roofline. See our antenna accessories for mounts.

Any outdoor antenna can carry a lightning surge into your house and gear. A lightning arrestor in the line, bonded to a proper ground, gives that surge a path to earth instead. The Laird arrestor we stock has an N female connector on both ends, so each side needs an N male: a common chain is antenna, arrestor, N male to N male adaptor, then the cable. Ground it following your local electrical code, and wrap every outdoor connection with weatherproofing tape. Our guide to lightning protection covers grounding in more detail.

Meshtastic in Canada

Meshtastic radios in Canada use the US region setting (902 to 928 MHz), so any 915 MHz antenna on this page works for them.

• Home or base node: a 3 to 5.8 dBi fibreglass antenna in a window or on a short mast, with a short cable. Mind the SMA connector on most boards.
• Solar router or hilltop relay: a 5.8 dBi omni on a mast, with the radio and battery in a weatherproof box right below it so the cable stays short.

Our Meshtastic antennas, cables and enclosures collection gathers the parts, including the Outdoor Meshtastic Node Kit (radio not included).

Our picks, in stock now

What	Best for
Nebra 5.8 dBi fibreglass antenna (915 MHz)	Most sites: towns, suburbs, mixed terrain. N male base, comes with brackets and a short N female to RP-SMA male pigtail.
McGill Microwave 7.5 dBi tuned antenna (915 MHz)	Open country, when you want an antenna tuned only for 902 to 929 MHz. N male base.
Nebra 8 dBi fibreglass antenna	Flat land and long reach to the horizon. N male base.
RAKwireless 3 dBi fibreglass antenna	Compact: cities, rooftops with nearby buildings, Meshtastic base nodes.
RBT LMR 400-Series coax, N female to RP-SMA male	Antenna to a hotspot or gateway with an RP-SMA port.
RBT LMR 400-Series coax, N female to N male	Antenna to a gateway with an N female port, or into a lightning arrestor.
RBT LMR 200-Series coax, N female to RP-SMA male	Short, tight indoor runs.
Laird lightning surge arrestor	Every outdoor antenna (N female on both ends).
Antenna I-shaped vertical mounting rod	Getting the antenna above the roofline.

For a single direction, see the McGill directional antennas. Prices are in CAD on each product page. Installers and resellers can see case packs of LMR cable and Laird arrestors on our bulk pricing page.

FAQ

Can I use an 868 MHz antenna in Canada?
It isn't the right choice. Canada's LoRa band is 902 to 928 MHz, and an 868 MHz antenna is tuned for Europe, so it performs worse at 915 MHz. Buy an antenna rated for 915 MHz or 902 to 928 MHz.

What gain antenna is best for Meshtastic?
For most nodes, 3 to 5.8 dBi. Use the lower end in cities and hills and 5.8 dBi on a mast in open country. Height and a short cable matter more than gain.

Do I need a lightning arrestor?
For any antenna mounted outdoors, yes. A grounded arrestor gives a surge a path to earth instead of into your gateway and home. Install and ground it following your local electrical code.

LMR-400 or LMR-200?
LMR-400 for any run over a few metres: it loses about 1.3 dB per 10 m at 900 MHz, against about 3.3 dB for LMR-200. LMR-200 is thinner and easier to bend, so it suits short indoor jumps.

Do you ship across Canada?
Yes. We ship from Ontario. Free shipping is for Canada only, on orders of CAD $99 and up, excluding oversized items and rural and northern areas. US and international shipping is calculated at checkout. Returns are for Canadian orders only, and international orders are final sale.

Ready to choose? Compare every option in our 915 MHz LoRa antennas collection, or use the free Antenna Setup Planner to build a matching antenna, cable and arrestor set. Setting up a Helium hotspot specifically? See our Helium antenna buying guide.

Sources

• ISED RSS-247: licence-exempt devices in the 902 to 928 MHz band
• Meshtastic: LoRa region settings
• Meshtastic: LoRa antennas (SMA and RP-SMA)
• Times Microwave LMR-400 datasheet
• Times Microwave LMR-200 datasheet