Industrial cellular routers feature industrial-grade 4G wireless modules and high precision components, which can adapt to a variety of high-temperature and cold operating environments, providing reliable support for unattended system networking and secure communications. With such high performance, many people are curious about the effective range of wireless transmission of industrial cellular routers. 

Many people don’t have a clear picture of transmission range of industrial cellular routers. Generally, the wireless network signals of industrial cellular routers are explained in the manual. The effective transmission distance will range from 100 to 250 meters, which may easily lead to a misunderstanding that signals can be received within this transmission range.

The transmission range is the theoretical data derived from the ideal test environment. We’ve listed some influencing factors as follows:

Factor 1: Affected by the router’s transmit power

This is a decisive factor affecting the transmission range of industrial cellular routers. The higher the power, the wider the transmission range. But according to the Chinese regulations, the maximum transmission power must not exceed 100mW, which is equal to 20dBm (2.4GHz band). Because the greater the power, the greater the radiation. And it is harmful to the human body.

Factor2: Affected by antenna

The high-gain antenna can increase the receiving distance. The gain is the power density ratio of the signal generated by the actual antenna and the ideal radiating element at the same point in space when the transmission power is constant. The higher the gain, the farther the wireless radiation distance will be.

Factor3: Affected by terrain and obstacles.

The environment where industrial cellular routers deployed is complex and variable. The ideal wireless transmission range will be hard to reach in such situation. Among those influencing materials, wall and glass barriers have the greatest impact on the signals.

Factor 4: Affected by the changing weather

Industrial cellular 4G router with ethernet are different from commercial or home-use routers, most of which are installed outdoors and meet a plenty of environmental challenges. For example, in a thunderstorm day, as the relative humidity in the air increases, the transmission range of the router will become narrower and closer. The harsh outdoor environment also places high demands on the chip’s oxidation resistance and protection.

In short, the users had better select industrial cellular routers with the appropriate power and gain antenna according to their own needs, and try to use them in an open area as much as possible to maximize the transmission range of the routers.

                                                                                                                                                          Written by Amelie