KW41 Indoor range

[paralax]

Hi all,

I'm thinking about a new IoT project that needs to be working in a typical house. For this, I'm looking for a radio that can work through some walls.

Now, I've had some experience with the KW21 series, and with a folded antenna, the performances are not good enough to match my requirements. Is the KW41 able to achieve a better range (I know that it doesn't look promising looking at the raw specs :s), knowing that I don't need to use BLE or 802.15.4, but rather my own protocol?

While I'm at it, is the KW01 supported by the Kinetis SDK 2.0? I can't find this anywhere...

Thanks in avance!

[gerardo_rodriguez]

Hello ParalaX ParalaX,

The KW21Z has the same 802.15.4 radio as the KW41Z, the only difference is that the KW41Z also has a BLE radio, but the performance is the same for the 802.15.4 radio.

What demo application are you using as a base for your application? Are you configuring the radio to the maximum output power?

I would recommend you to run the SMAC connectivity software for performing radio tests and evaluate your use case. Another option to increase the range is to add an external power amplifier to your design. For this option, you can refer to the Power Amplifier Reference Design for the KW41Z Platform.

About your KW01 question, the connectivity software for KW01 is based on KSDK 1.3 and is supported only by the IAR Embedded Workbench toolchain.

Let me know if you have any question.

Regards,

Gerardo