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By bhatadb
#180577
I request you to kindly help me out with a recent product purchase.

I am having range issues with the have the following product:
XBee Pro 60mW Wire Antenna - Series 1

Issue:
I am not getting range anywhere near the 1600m as highlighted in the product. I cant receive my serial data strings even at 50 meter distance in an open parking lot.
I understand 1600 m is under ideal conditions. But can't I expect these modules to work at atleast 500 meters!

Setup:

1) I have 2 of the pro modules. One connected to the robot transmitting data, and the other connected to my laptop via the xbee explorer.

2) I have powered the transmit Xbee via the 5V pin on my Arduino Mega. The mega is powered by a 500Ah 12 V LiPo battery.

3) I am able to receive Serial data string on my receiver xbee properly only upto 35- 40 meter range. The testing is being done is an open parking lot.

4) Example of a string that is being transmitted:

<Bot_no = 1.00 Time = 20019 Waypt = 1.00 DistToWaypt = 287.57 Lat = 42.424415 Lon = -83.467987 Act_heading = 341.59 Des_bearing = 110.65 ControlMode = 1.00 Steer_L_volt = 142.80 Steer_R_volt = 35.70 Motion_flag = 1.00 >

5) The power level is set to 4 (highest) in XCTU setup. I didnt change this, so I am assuming all the pro modules are set to that as default.
6) Baud rate - 38400.

Question:

1) Why am I not getting the desired range?
2) What can I do to get the desired range? I purchased these expensive modules by returning the standard 1 mW modules, but I am still not able to get the desired range at all.

Thank you very much for your help. SF has always been helpful and supporting and I am hoping to resolve this issue at the earliest so that I can commence my testing.

Abhi