Range of BLE

[kjell bystedt]

Do you a way to get better range for BLE. Distance outdoor Number of samples per second using the development kit. ( 12 bytes) 15m 100 samples 40m 60 samples 50m 50 samples 60m 40 samples 70m 30 samples

We would like to have 100 samples for about 40 meters. could this help us www.nordicsemi.com/.../eng-GB /Kjell

[Hung Bui]

Bluetooth Low Energy focused on application with the range of 10m indoor. Of course, there is no limit on the maximum range.

However, it's not possible to guarantee no packet drop, there could be many factor that affect the RF performance, especially interference from other 2.4GHz signal, such as Wifi.

We don't have a particular power amplifier to recommend, but any 2.4GHz power amplifier should help.

In addition, reducing the connection interval down to the minimum 7.5ms would help increase the sampling rate.

[NK]

Hi @Hung/Nordic, since this question is not closed, can I take the liberty of asking some of my own questions on the same topic:

1. Whether Nordic have performed any studies on indoor range for the use case where 2 NRF51822(s)are being used - one acting as BLE central & the other as BLE peripheral? If not, whether you think that 50 feet might be achievable indoors in the same use case?

2. This bluetooth.com link states that, "With Bluetooth v4.0, manufacturers may choose to optimize range to 200 feet and beyond, particularly for in-home sensor applications where longer range is a necessity." Could you share your thoughts on how one might be able to achieve such long distance range using NRF51822?

Thanks, NK

[Hung Bui]

Hi NK,

Next time if you have question and if someone haven't asked the same question, please create a new one. Adding comment to an old question has a great chance that it will not be noticed and also this is not what we recommended.

Regarding your question:

1- No we haven't. The RF range depend largely on the environment. 50 feet line of sight in a large open environment should be achievable.

2- To achieve long range, you would need to include a RF Power Amplifier (PA). And the trade of is that this will draw more current.

If you have follow up question, I would suggest you to create a new case.