Antenna hack more than doubles the range of cheap ESP32-C3 USB-C boards
Antenna hack more than doubles the range of cheap ESP32-C3 USB-C boards - CNX Software
Looks monopole-like? The TX power didn't change much unless the board antenna was poorly matched to begin with. Angle the board so that the other device is in the null of the radiation pattern and the range becomes awful
It won't broadcast well directly above the antenna and directly below. It's a small device so orientation will matter.
This is why I've never been a fan of the on PCB antenna.