Mesh rang in the nRF52832

[Chaabane]

Hi guys,

We have tested the mesh range in the nRF52840 chip (max tx power) in LOS and we got more than 200m.

W're planning to use the mesh network inside hangar with a lot fo metallic obstacles where I believe that the range will decrease significantly but will still be enough for our use case.

Since the nRF52840 is not available yet, I was thinking to use the nRF52832 that has less max tx power (+4dBm) and no LE coded  PHY for ranging but I'm afraid that the mesh rang in this module won't be enough (looking for 50m) and I'm trying to avoid getting evaluation boards just for that !

Anyone here have any informaiton regarding the range that the nRF52832 can get compared to the nrF52840 ?

Chaabane

Thank you guys

[Edvin]

Hello,

If you are using Bluetooth Mesh, which is built on BLE4.0, which does not support LE coded PHY.

It is true that nRF52832 has lower tx power, but the range will, as you say depend on the environment, so it is difficult to say exactly how far this will reach.

 

Maybe someone else has some experience with range in a similar environment?

 

Best regards,

Edvin

[David Edwin]

This would be hard to predict unless you actually evaluate.
You can also add a PA/LNA with the nRF52832 so that range anxiety can be reduced.

The Mesh SDK has statistical information reports so you can get details of packets lost (CRC errors, length errors etc) and get a idea of the margin available in a specific installation.

You should also be able to run the mesh in the 250 kbit proprietary radio mode that is available in the nRF52832 to also increase the range if needed.