Each Hotspot in the network aims to increase the amount of coverage that the helium network gains, so there are some crucial bits of experience that we will help provide so that your helium hotspot has the best chance of maximising the money that it makes.
Each Hotspot acts as a bridge between the wider Internet and the helium network, a low power Wi-Fi network for Internet of things devices. The way that this network is constructed is by each Hotspot providing as much LongFi coverage as possible around its location.
When you understand that your Hotspot is there to try and provide as much coverage around your location as possible it's easy to envisage where would be a good location and where might not be as good. For instance, if you were to place the Hotspot in the middle of your home away from any windows and on the bottom floor, it is likely to get good coverage of the surrounding area.
Realistically the most optimum place for your Hotspot is as high as possible and in a place where it can see as many other nearby hotspots without too many things being in the way to block the signal. Remember, however, this doesn't necessarily mean that your physical Hotspot needs to be perfectly placed. Still, some thought must be given to where the actual antenna goes. After all, the antenna is the eyes and ears of your Hotspot.
Avoid putting the Hotspot in locations where it can't see. So downstairs, just plugged into your broadband router behind the TV, is probably not the best place. I always like to imagine that the antenna is a tiny microphone and camera. So I try and place the Hotspot to see and hear as much of its surroundings as possible.
Things like walls and, to some extent, windows can help to block some of the signals from your Hotspot. In fact, in modern houses, many of the windows you find will have a coating on the outside designed to help reflect heat into the home. Still, these types of windows also increase the ability of the window to block Hotspot signals.
You can see the Hotspot details of nearby hotspots using the coverage Explorer map provided by Helium. Using this we can usually see where our nearest hotspot neighbours are, and we must try to maintain a distance of at least 300 m between each Hotspot owners. Because we are trying to extend coverage for the network, it's also important that we aren't too far away from other hotspots so we can see them and communicate with them.
If there are too many hotspots in the same area then Helium uses reward scales to reduce the return that each hotspot gets. Reward scales are just a way of sharing the maximum rewards for that location and encourage better placement for better coverage for their network.
When we send you your Hotspot, we will include an antenna that we think is suitable for your location. The standard antennas that come with the hotspots from the factory can often be fine for some sites but perhaps not optimal for others.
Our general guidance is that we use a 6 Dbi antenna which provides a good mix of range and flexibility for most locations.
Some hotspots can reach tens of kilometres around them with the proper positioning and a suitable antenna.
As long as the hotspots are more than 300 m apart and there are at least three or four hotspots within 1 to 2 km, you should be able to gain good returns.
A helium hotspot provides low power Wi-Fi coverage for dumb devices like sensors etc, so that they can connect to the broader Internet to send small amounts of data back and forth.
This is very much how long is a piece of string question, the type of antenna will depend on factors like how high up is your location, what sort of buildings or obstructions are around you and how far away are the other hotspots in your area. Choosing the right DBi Antenna is a very important decision.
You will need a broadband Internet connection to connect your Hotspot to. The Hotspot doesn't need to connect to your broadband router via Wi-Fi as long as it's not too far for you to connect using an ethernet cable that we will provide.
Helium hotspots are perfectly safe to use and provide very low power Wi-Fi across a very wide area.
You can move your Hotspot around your location. Still, we would ask that any change in position within your site is requested and agreed upon by us before moving. You can't change the address location of your Hotspot to somewhere else that you own without talking to us first.
You don't strictly need a line of sight between you and surrounding hotspots. Still, as much direct line of sight as possible will help you maximise the amount of hotspots you can see and the rewards you gain.
Remember that the placement of your Hotspot and its antenna is a vital part of making sure that you can earn good returns for your miner. You don't have to worry about any of this, though, as our experienced team will guide you through our simple and time tested method for placing your Hotspot in the most optimum place possible.
If you want to delve deeper into the rabbit hole on where the correct placement should be or find the subject interesting, here is a list of resources you might consider reading.
A Rough Guide To Helium Hotspot Placement - This is written for folks curious about optimising a Helium Hotspot placement. Most start with their antenna, which is (almost completely) the wrong approach for maximising earnings. The only way y… (kyk13.com)
Helium Place - Helium Place - hotspot placement helper. Find the best place to setup your Helium hotspot for maximum HNT crypto earnings. You can find more info using the hamburger menu in the top left corner. (Helium.place)
HotspotRF - Optimise Helium Hotspot's & Earn More $HNT - HotspotRF utilises radio-frequency modeling to help you identify the most ideal hotspot hosts/locations and increase your $HNT earnings. (hotspotrf.com)
