We have a heavy duty scan based application being built on top of the nRF51822 SOC. We have tested the scan function (S130 SD) on both a custom PCB and also the Nordic Smart Beacon Kit
Very clearly there is a difference in the received signal strength of near by beacons from the same distance (and same positions) with both the Nordic Smart Beacon kit and our custom board. The RSSI values are much higher with the Nordic Smart Beacon Kit compared to the ones shown by the custom PCB.
I am trying to understand better what external factors could influence the RSSI values in a scan function. In both the boards i have a new battery installed and the same firmware loaded. The custom PCB has an external clock so as the Nordic Smart Beacon kit.
Also the advertising packets sent out from the Nordic Beacons seem to have a much longer visibility than the ones sent from the custom board. Again both have the same firmware loaded with same Transmission power settings.
Any inputs on this would be much appreciated
Best Prasanna