Emlid Reach RS3 LoRa vs UHF Range Comparison | Wooded Areas

The purpose of this exercise was to compare the range of the Emlid Reach RS3 LoRa radio and the Harxon UHF radio in a wooded area. We tested the range of corrections to our RS3 coming from our Emlid Reach RS2+ base over 902 MHz LoRa versus the range we could achieve over 450 MHz Trimtalk™ using our External Long Range radio connected to an RS2 base.

Recorded on 1/16/24: 15° F , 17 MPH W Wind , 67% Humidity 

We set up two Bases and two Rovers. One set is communicating at 902 MHz using the internal LoRa radio of the RS2+ at 0.1 w. The second set is communicating at 450 MHz using the External Long Range radio at the lowest power setting of 5 w. (The power can be boosted to 35 w to attain greater distances).  

The radios’ performance will be highly dependent on this challenging environment. It is good practice to set up your Base as high as possible and in line of sight if possible. Radio waves in these bands are affected by reflection, refraction, diffraction, absorption, polarization, and scattering. The terrain we tested in has some minor hills and valleys but the most apparent obstacle are the woods that will absorb some of the radio waves being output from our Bases.  

Both Rovers made it to the edge of the woods while maintaining communication with their respective Base.  

The furthest point we could gather a fixed solution was using the External Long Range radio. That point nearly doubled the distance of the LoRa radio’s range in this environment. 

In this video, we compared the range of the Emlid Reach RS3 LoRa radio versus a UHF radio. With this external radio kit, you can send a powerful 35W transmit power UHF signal from your RS2/RS3 to your Reach RS3, or other compatible rover, using TrimTalk protocol.