pc_ble_driver RSSI limitation

[ned_zeppelin]

Hi,

I am using the nRF51 Dongle (PCA10031, V 1.1.0) and pc_ble_driver.py to create a custom script for testing purposes. But there seems to be a maximum limit for the measured RSSI? Is this correct, or is there some setting or similar I am missing?

No matter how close the BLE device (DUT) is to the USB dongle, the RSSI stops at -45dBm. The same is also true when using nRF Connect 2.0.1 (desktop).

Note that I have tested with various phones and verified that the issue is not with the BLE device; the actual RSSI should be at least -30dBm.

[MartinBL]

It is a limitation is in the nRF51 SoC hardware. If you have a look at the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) specifications in the Product specification you will see that the RSSI accuracy has a valid range of -50 dBm to -80 dBm +/- 6 dB. Hence, you will not be able to see better values than the ones you already have.