BLE Extended Range application

[Kinjan Patel]

Hi,

My application requires a Bluetooth range from 90-100meter. Can you guide me if you have any BLE chipset validated with an RF amplifier using a trace antenna?
Can I have the reference design with the above scenarios if already validated?

Thanks in anticipation

Regards
Kinjan

[Andreas]

Hi,

 

What range you are able to get is very dependent on the environment the product is in, e.g. background noise, reflections and fading will affect the performance negatively meaning you will get lower range in one environment compared to another.

 

For SoC I would recommend nRF52840, this has higher output power and thus higher link-budget. You also have the opportunity of using the BLE coded-PHY modes, further improving wireless range at the cost of data rate. See this blog post.

 

All nRF52 series devices are compatible with 50 ohm front-end modules (PA + LNA), but remember that using BLE most regions of the world do not allow more than 10 dBm EIRP, which you will probably get with a nRF52840 and a trace antenna.

 

Best regards,

Andreas

[Kinjan Patel]

Thanks, Andreas for the quick reply.

Where can I find region vs allowed EIRP?

Can you suggest some FEM's that Nordic already validated with nRF52 devices?

Best Regards

Kinjan

[Andreas]

Hi,

 

We have a whitepaper on the regulatory limits. It has not been updated in a while, but it should still be valid (link to PDF download). Other than that you have to refer to the standard specifications themselves.

 

We have seen a couple of designs using Skyworks FEMs, e.g. SKY66112-11.

 

Best regards,

Andreas

[Kinjan Patel]

Hi Andreas,

Thanks for the reply.

I am looking to select the Nordic chipset between two possibilities listed below

1. Chipset without external FEM which can provide approx. 8-9 dBm

2. Chipset with external FEM (probably SKY66112) which can provide me approx up to 13-14 dBm

Can you share the reference design for both scenarios which uses trace antenna? Chipset can be nRF52840  or similar.

Thanks

Kinjan

[Kinjan Patel]

Any update Andreas?