Transmission power difference between Arduino Nanoboard and SDK

[Eugene Tan]

Hi all, I am using Arduino nano 3.3 BLE in my project. I am using light_lightness server as the program for the nano boards.

However, I found a difference in the transmission power in Arduino nano board and nRF52840-DK board. The nRF52840-DK board has a further range compared to the Arduino nano board. I know that they are using the same Bluetooth chipset, so why do they have different transmission range? Could there be other factors affecting this difference?

For instance, when I am using a DK acting as a client to communicate with another DK as a server, the max distance between these DKs for communication is further than when I am using a DK acting as a client to communicate with an Arduino nano board as a server. I have also tested multiple Arduino nano boards and they are about the same distance. 

I have already maxed out the transmission power for both Arudino nano board and nRF52840-DK board.

Any insights would be helpful. Thank you!

[run_ar]

Hi,

The transmission range relies on many factors apart from the chip output power. Likely the Nano has a worse antenna and smaller ground plane which will limit the range.

[Eugene Tan]

Hi, thank you for the answer.