XBee range improved if only one radio is xbee Pro?

Wireless & IoT
1

Is there any benefit to the range of xbee radios if just one Xbee pro radio is used? So a example setup would be

1 xbee radio battery powered ->transmitting

and

1 Xbee Pro connected to PC ->receiving

The idea being to minimize the power draw on the battery powered device, while the extra current draw on the PC side is not a issue. Apologies if the answer is obvious, I’m flipping between yes and no in my mind. Some guidance would be appreciated.

Many thanks,

David

2

There can be benefits of doing this, depending on the antennas you use. If you use the same antennas at each end, I can’t see a benefit (I think the receive sensitivity is similar for both XBee models?). You need to do a link budget to see how the numbers come out.

Compare this to what NASA does with their space probes. The spacecraft have low power (10’s of watts) and relatively small (low gain) antennas. The antennas on earth make up for this by being much larger (higher gain), and also transmit with much higher power.

3

XBee Pro has a receiving amplifier as well as transmitting amplifier. The former will help a teeny bit in range to a non-Pro XBee.

Best is to put a directional gain antenna on either or both XBees. Antenna gain is the key.

4

Thanks for your replies Michael and Steve.

Very clear and helpful.

David