Isn't that a metal rack? I'd be surprised if you were getting 50% of the RF output.
The C-8 with long wires on the antenna mounted as far away from metal is the idea I'd pursue. 
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C7 or C8?
C-8 sir
Arrived today, migrating tomorrow (Sun)
Had to wait until I got back in town.
That's a good idea if I don't get everything direct connected to the hub.
I don't currently have any range issues.
Just swaped my factory antenna with a zigbee antenna from SolarEdge (originally made for an PV inverter)
Now waiting for the mesh to stabilize, and will check at the end of the day how it looks.
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You da man.
For a short time I had min mounted on a laptop cooling pad I thought was most plastic with a metal mesh, and that completely tanked my Zwave mesh. Needless to say I gut rid of as much metal in the vacunitybif my hubs as possible.
I now have it mounted in an 80mm pc cooling fan. I swapped the metal guards out for acrylic mesh guards I found on eBay for like $7.00 and it fine now. That fa keep the hub and nice 82 to 88 degrees. My C7 with the application unit runs about the same, maybe a degree different either way. The C7 with out cloud integration has been stead at 93.6 since I powered it back up.
Just realized I never asked when I swapped my Z-Wave antenna, and don't remember questions/comments on whether the hub should be powered down during an antenna swap.
Is that recommended, or a non-issue?
As far as I know.
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What I learned back in the day: A transmitter needs to be able to shed it's power to the antenna. No antenna could "blow up" your transmitter.
Seeing the hub is a transmitter for zigbee and zwave, I powered it down when replacing my antenna.
Don't think it will cause serious damage if you do it quickly, but power down just to be sure is my advise.
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Why did u swap it?
I switched to an antenna that @bertabcd1234 testd and had good results with. Also improved my Z-Wave results w/the C8.
Posted about it here:
Thanks for the replies, @fanmanrules and @aaiyar. Does make sense that the transmitter needs to shed its power. Pretty sure I changed my Z-Wave antenna w/out powering down and nothing blew up, but it was a quick switch.
Weird my zwave is already direct connect over 90% of devices and highest speed for all devices that support it.
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What really happens is that no antenna causes a severe impedance mismatch, and all the power is reflected back to the transmitter output. That’s what causes the damage.
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+1 Always power off the TX before changing an antenna.
SWR (reflected power) will go through the roof and potentially damage the RF output stage.
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Wait....everyone doesn't just keep a finger on the SMA connector during swaps and use their body as an antenna?
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I think you meant:
That sounds just a little pervy... 
Finger, whole figure, whatever works....
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