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Range Testing with Radio Bridge and MachineQ
LoRaWAN

Range Testing with Radio Bridge and MachineQ

Radio Bridge tested the signal range of their sensors around the Denver area to see how they performed on MachineQ’s LoRa network platform. The results were pretty awesome. See for yourself.

Radio Bridge and MachineQ, Comcast’s LoRaWAN™ IoT connectivity platform, have joined forces to create a sensor-to-cloud ecosystem including long-range sensors, IoT connectivity, and cloud-based management software.

On Memorial Day of 2018, the team performed IoT signal range testing around the Denver area to see how these small, battery powered sensors with small integrated antennas perform with the existing MachineQ LoRaWAN network.

To set the bar high, the Radio Bridge team traveled 10 miles outside of Denver to a major high-elevation landmark in the Golden, Colorado area. From this vantage point, the team tripped the Radio Bridge sensors and discovered that they could easily and efficiently communicate to several MachineQ LoRaWAN gateways placed throughout the Denver metro area.

As noted on the map below, the IoT sensors were able to communicate up to 22 miles away with no signal or power optimization, all the way across the Denver metro area as far as Buckley Air Force base on the east side of the city.


After the test in Golden Colorado, the team moved to another high elevation landmark near Morrison, Colorado to see how the sensors would perform behind large rock formations. The sensors also connected with a gateway south of town in Centennial, Colorado, approximately 15 miles away – this path is also represented in the map above.

The photo below shows an image of the sensor used and the orientation for the test. As shown in the photo, a small chip antenna was used as opposed to a large external antenna mounted to the outside of the enclosure.

Following the range testing, both Radio Bridge and MachineQ team independently verified the coordinates of the LoRaWAN gateways that received the sensor messages.

Considering the overall size of the sensors, tiny integrated antenna, and small battery, the team felt that the range test exceeded expectations, and demonstrated the excellent coverage of the MachineQ LoRaWAN network platform.

“The results of the LoRaWAN range testing were better than we originally expected,” said Radio Bridge CEO Steve Kilts. “We’re excited not only about the performance of our long range wireless sensors, but we’re also very impressed that MachineQ has such extensive coverage in major cities such as Denver. We’re looking forward to collaborating with Comcast’s MachineQ team to provide LoRaWAN solutions to our customers.”

Please contact MachineQ to learn more about the specific details of this test.

To learn more about Radio Bridge, visit RadioBridge.com.

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