I’m on a budget and i’m looking to mount a node on a pole in my back yard. I have access to a 3d printer, i have soldering skills, and i’m okay with buying individual components and assembling them myself. I’d like it to look nice but it doesn’t have to if that keeps costs down.
The first goal is reliability, i won’t be able to easily access it once it’s up. The second goal is cheap, i’m on a fairly tight budget. It’s possible the device might be in wifi range where it’s mounted so that would be a nice bonus.
I once did a connection between this, on the top of the hill:
and a SenseCAP Card Tracker T1000-E, on the roof of the tall office building, 40km away, under the ideal conditions.
However, it wasn’t until I’ve installed the proper RF filter and this monster of an antenna that the connection became reliable in the nearest city and even villages >50km away.
So you can absolutely start small, and if the need arises, upgrade later.