## 1 Introduction  
Wireless communication allows a link between different nodes through electromagnetic waves, microwaves, or light signals [1]. Furthermore, this technique is highly adaptable due to the use of unguided channels, which enable mobility and facilitate communication across challenging geographic areas. However, these channels are subject to various perturbations, including distance, interference, and atmospheric conditions, which could degrade signal quality.  
Telecommunication companies design and implement equipment for general-purpose applications, utilizing standardized antennas that enable communication between devices. While these generic solutions provide basic connectivity, they are significantly affected by channel perturbations, as they are not optimized for specific use cases. Consequently, these generic systems struggle to maintain long-distance communication with a low bit error rate (BER) with the same power as custom-designed equipment. Specially, in IoT communication systems, wireless communications have been utilized for location tracking, data logging, and efficient transportation, which have significantly benefited from the use of custom-designed equipment [2].  
Many approaches to the evaluation of the performance of wireless communication systems in real-world scenarios have been carried out as part of field tests. Firstly, an IoTnetwork has been tested in terms of its Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) and Packet Error Rate (PER) inside a university campus [3]. This study led the authors to propose an IoT network deployment for this area. Next, an experimental evaluation of an IoT network using LoRa for campus deployment is reported in [4], which focuses on the link quality, quantified through various parameters in different scenarios. Furthermore, over-the-air (OTA) performance evaluations of IoT wireless devices are also made, providing solutions to ensure efficient approaches [5].  
In any IoT network evaluation, the hardware involved plays a crucial role. Commercial RF modules used as part of sensor nodes are commonly provided with conventional dipole antennas designed to radiate into free space at their operation frequency. This fact is related mainly because of its ease of use and the bandwidth used (up to 160 MHz), which is sufficient for most wireless applications [6]. In this context, many studies have been carried out utilizing merely the provided commercial dipole. Transmission methods have been analyzed for the IoT in both short- and long-range networks, encompassing technologies such as ESP-NOW, nRF24L01 modules, and local Wi-Fi access points [7]. In [8], the development of a wireless communication system using the nRF24L01 transceiver module and an Arduino Uno is described. The system operates at a frequency of 2.4 GHz, supports data transmission rates between 250 kbps and 2 Mbps, and has a communication range of approximately 80-100 m. The design allows for both transmitting and receiving data, using a compact setup that integrates the NRF24L01 with an Arduino Uno microcontroller.  
Regarding the antennas attached to the transceiver modules, a microstrip patch antenna has been designed for IoT devices operating within the 868 MHz frequency band [9]. In order to obtain ultra-wide bandwidth, a U-shaped UWB antenna has been designed and analyzed for IoT applications [10].  
In this paper, a performance comparison of IoT applications based on a basic experimental study at 2.4 GHz is proposed, which changes between commercial dipoles and two custom-designed antennas. Section 2 provides a description of the system used for the tests, the antenna structures, and the experimental approach. The results of the antenna design and the performance of the proposed system are presented in Section 3. Conclusions are depicted in Section 4.