General Obstructions and Losses. Where to Put Your Antenna?

There are several things to consider when choosing a location for your antenna.

1. Distance from your hotspot(total cable length.)
2. Pathway of RF signal from your Antenna to potential other hotspots. (obstructions and distance to other hotspots)
3. Height of Antenna above the ground.

Most of the time, even with a longer run of cable from the hotspot to the antenna, it still works in your favor to have the antenna outside, up high with a clear pathway to other hotspots. This is due to obstructions caused by building materials. For example low emissivity windows can cause up to 33 dB of attenuation. That is a very substantial loss for the thickness of the material. In comparison,  100ft of LMR400 type cable has attenuation of 3.9dB. So avoiding the obstructions of the building the hotspot is working out of can make a dramatic difference in overall coverage. 

Here is some other information about other potential obstructions and losses.