Lwmesh stack range

[vishal]

Hi
    I would like to know the maximum range that Lwmesh supports in line of sight and non-line of sight .

[ataradov]

in line of sight

That does not depend on the stack, it is up to your hardware.

and non-line of sight .

In theory, number of hops is unlimited. In real life you probably don't want to go more than 7-10 hops. So whatever your hardware can do on a single hop, multiply than by 10 to get realistic distance with routing.

[vishal]

I read that TxPower set in the software has dependency to range.is that true? if yes what is the TxPower value set in the stack.
Also we have atmega256rfr2 MCU devices with 1.5dBi whip antenna and another ducky antenna of 2.2dBi ,50ohm.when we checked the range we could see that the both antenna gives us the same result.So we are confused whether there are any other external parameter to be configured in the software.

[ataradov]

I read that TxPower set in the software has dependency to range.is that true?

TX power does affect the range.

if yes what is the TxPower value set in the stack.

It is up to the application to set it via PHY_SetTxPower().

we checked the range we could see that the both antenna gives us the same result.

0.7 dB of difference is nothing, you will not see any difference, especially if your measurements done in a real world, and not in anechotic chamber.

[senso]

With a 25x5mm patch antenna and some tips from this forum about the pcb layout I'm getting around 250m range.

[vishal]

It is up to the application to set it via PHY_SetTxPower().

we set it as PHY_SetTxPower(0x00)..Hope that this is the maximum.?

[ataradov]

Hope that this is the maximum.?

Yes, it is. It is all in the datasheet.

[vishal]

We could achieve a long distance in line of sight.now we are testing the range in a filed of having  so many trees and plants..and we see that the range decrease by half of that in line of sight.

[vishal]

With a 25x5mm patch antenna and some tips from this forum about the pcb layout I'm getting around 250m range.

is 250m in line of sight?what about non line of sight?can you post  those tips for the pcb layout

[ataradov]

We could achieve a long distance in line of sight.now we are testing the range in a filed of having  so many trees and plants..and we see that the range decrease by half of that in line of sight.

Sounds about right. You are next to a big mass of water, it absorbs radiation real well. Same goes for heavy rain.

You will probably get further reduction if you put devices close to the ground. This effect may not be as prominent in 2.4 GHz band, but it is obvious in sub-GHz.

That's how the real world works, nothing you can do about it.

[senso]

This is my topic:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/2-4ghz-antenna-selection(help-needed)/25/

I dont have any RF test equipment, so the only values that I will reference are the ones that the stack report via the rssi parameter, with a tiny modification in the pcb I gained 20dB of headroom that allow the 250m LOS range, indoors it works up to around 100-150m, BUT this is in a very "dirty" space, all the 2.4Ghz WiFi bands are used with more than 30 AP's all broadcasting around -50dBi(at least that's what InSSIDer says).

The cooper is pulled back from the trace around 0.6-0.7mm.

The antenna connector is: http://eu.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Molex/73412-0110/?qs=%2fha2pyFadujLTscqrHEzZKoebpXGm3FHnOiat6RQzC5AUik2Y9KcqA%3d%3d
And the balun is the recommended one: http://eu.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Johanson/2450BM15A0015E/?qs=%2fha2pyFadugKbg2QqA0U%2foXMs42LDSzJ1lnJ71N1hqrlzObBcRaQKkcltMVmHQzj

Ignore the pad footprint, its only there because there was a remote possibility of having a borrowed VNA to try to tune the antenna.

[vishal]

Now I am testing the range with Lwmesh WSNDemo application.In config file i defined NWK_ENABLE_ROUTING.i have one coordinator and 8 routers connected to it.two of them are used to extend range(repeater).Is my scenario correct.Do I have to set anything in addition to enable routing.

[ataradov]

Based on this description - you are fine.

[vishal]

When I tried to use hoping, the network hangs.I tried WSNDemo application.why it happens so?are there any buffer size issue??

[ataradov]

How exactly did you try hopping? How exactly does it "hang"? And how would I know if you have problems with buffers, if you have not provided your configuration?

[vishal]

This is my configuration

Code: [Select]

#define APP_SENDING_INTERVAL 500
#define HAL_UART_CHANNEL 1
#define HAL_UART_RX_FIFO_SIZE 10
#define HAL_UART_TX_FIFO_SIZE 100
#define SYS_SECURITY_MODE 0
#define NWK_BUFFERS_AMOUNT 10
#define NWK_DUPLICATE_REJECTION_TABLE_SIZE 50
#define NWK_DUPLICATE_REJECTION_TTL 2000
#define NWK_ROUTE_TABLE_SIZE 100
#define NWK_ROUTE_DEFAULT_SCORE 3
#define NWK_ACK_WAIT_TIME 500
#define NWK_GROUPS_AMOUNT 3
#define NWK_ROUTE_DISCOVERY_TABLE_SIZE 5
#define NWK_ROUTE_DISCOVERY_TIMEOUT 1000
#define NWK_ENABLE_ROUTING
This is my configuration.I have four level sensors that send data to a central coordinator.In between level sensor and coordinator i have placed one router for hoping.The coordinaotr receives data without break for 10minutes,.after that it required to reset the network.

[ataradov]

This is my configuration

This looks fine.

The coordinaotr receives data without break for 10minutes,.after that it required to reset the network.

That is something you should have mentioned in the original message.

Which device needs to be reset? Have you tried to do any debugging at all?  I can tell you right away, there is no way you can work with wireless stuff without a lot of debugging, so you might as well get set up for that.

[vishal]

The device that is placed on the level sensor for sending data needed to be reset.It is an avr-atemega256rfr2 device and is coded as a router (used wsndemo application).When the routers and coordinator is near,  no issue is showing.The coordinator receives data without any break.But when we placed routers far from coordinator and used another router for hopping the network hangs.

[ataradov]

The device that is placed on the level sensor for sending data needed to be reset.

I don't know what "level sensor" is. I don't know anything about your network setup. Can you name them A, B and C in some order and tell which device has to be reset?

But when we placed routers far from coordinator and used another router for hopping the network hangs.

So it works in that configuration for some time, and then breaks, or it breaks as you move things around?

Does this intermediate router send the data? Can it still send it?

What status code is returned on the device that fails to send the data?

[vishal]

I don't know what "level sensor" is. I don't know anything about your network setup. Can you name them A, B and C in some order and tell which device has to be reset?

'A' be the coordinator ,'B' be the router(for hopping).C is a sendind device.B is placed between A and C.When these are kept in a distance ,the sending data from C is not received in A

So it works in that configuration for some time, and then breaks, or it breaks as you move things around?

yes it works when A,B,C are placed in near and it breaks when we move things around.

Does this intermediate router send the data? Can it still send it?

No router sends data until we reset device 'C'

[ataradov]

yes it works when A,B,C are placed in near and it breaks when we move things around.

So what was that thing about working for 10 minutes and then stopping?

Does this intermediate router send the data? Can it still send it?

No router sends data until we reset device 'C'

So you need to reset the last router in a chain without touching any other device and then it works again?

You really need to start running things under a debugger and observing status codes returned on sending devices. There is not a whole lot of you can do without a debugger.

[vishal]

So what was that thing about working for 10 minutes and then stopping?

Whcih is unknown to us

So you need to reset the last router in a chain without touching any other device and then it works again?

Yes .the statement is true and now it works exaclty like what the satement says.

You really need to start running things under a debugger and observing status codes returned on sending devices. There is not a whole lot of you can do without a debugger.

Will do debugging .checking return status code is the only the way of debugging.I suppose.right??

[ataradov]

Whcih is unknown to us

What is unknown? Can you clearly say if things stop working after some time or after moving the deivices around?

Okay .checking return status code is the only the way of debugging.I suppose.right??

That's the first step to know what sending device thinks about this situation.

What's the configuration on the device 'C'?

[vishal]

What is unknown? Can you clearly say if things stop working after some time or after moving the deivices around?

It will stop after moving devices around.

That's the first step to know what sending device thinks about this situation.

Will debug it by response status

What's the configuration on the device 'C'?

The configuration is same for all 3 devices A,B,C that I posted earlier. A is the coordinator and having device address '0' .B and C are routers.