@jdcrunchman I see that you leared to split your text in secitions: about SDR: That is only needed if you have doubts on whether RF is happening at specific times and frequencies. Normally, you can expect that, so RF testing is not mandatory. besides that, I have good experience with the model SDRplay RSP2pro. The deviecs is only as good as the software, and the supplied software works well with Windows. There hiccups with Linux. A SDR will not tell you about precise timing of RF bursts. For that, an oscilloscope give better results. If just the presence of a RF signal is to eb detected, usinf a small signal Schottky diode (e.g. 1N5711) as Antenna allows using a low bandwith oscilloscope. about the Antenna: Depends on your application. For a node, it may have to be small, for a gateway, the antenna gain may have to be the most important factor. Given the huge link budget of LoRa devices, a few dB antenna gain more or less may be not that important. So proper RF design, placement and orientation of your set-up may have a larger impact. I tested a few small antennas from different sources, and they all behaved similar. The PyCom Lora antenna works fine, and being a wavelength/2 design, the RF properties of the LoPy enclosure are not so critical. Supply by Solar Panel: You would need an external charger between Solar Panel and battery: Solar Panel -> Charger -> Battery -> Lopy