For sure, antennas improve MeshCore range
To recap yesterday: I put the stubby kit antennas on my repeater--Hazbin--and companion node, then walked around Exmouth to check their range.
This morning I swapped the antennas out for a couple of Nelawya 3dbi to see if they make much difference around the town, and… yep! Sort of, but yep!
The markers with magenta outlines didn't have coverage with the kit antennas, and do with the Nelawyas. That's already an improvement! As for the details:
To the north, Hazbin stretched about 380 metres yesterday, and 580 metres today! Over half a kilometre!
To the south west, Hazbin managed 140 metres yesterday and now reaches just over 380 metres! There's still a dead spot in the middle, but maybe that's a quirk of the local architecture, or some local villain has a lead-lined cage up there.
And to the south east, there's no improvement at all. To be fair, there's a dip in the road that puts tarmac between the repeater and node, and there's not much you can do about that.
If I had access to the roof then I'd love to put a massive antenna up there! Alas, I'm just a poor rentoid.
As for the Nelawya 3dbi antennas, they're really not bad at all! I paid less than £20 for four, and they've boosted both of my repeaters in Exmouth and Exeter over their kit antennas pretty well! Easy recommendation for the price!