Using TTNmapper, I mapped the range of the AmbaSat by walking up some of the hills that overlook my home. I carried a TTNMapper transmitter with GPS, and the AmbiSat. I verified reception of both signals by using my iPhone’s browser to view the TTN Console web page displaying the raw data stream received by the gateway.
My home’s elevation is 70 meters. The RAK 7243 gateway with 3.5dBi gain antenna was placed on the roof.
The left-most hills are 1.2km away, 140m elevation. The next set of hills are also 1.2km away, but at a slightly higher elevation of 155m.
The lower set of hills are 1.8km away, 171m elevation. NOTE: The signals shown on the right side of the screen are the result of GPS errors
In general, I was disappointed with the range. I expected at least 5-25km over ground. I hope to improve the range with a better receive antenna on my gateway.
On Andreas Spiess’s YouTube channel, he documents communications ranges in excess of 100km to commercial gateways.
The Things Network website contains 2 stories documenting communications with high altitude balloons in excess of 600km.
Fredric Raab 