Understand wireless signal strength

RSSI is the received signal strength between an iQunet sensor and its base station. When the sensor communicates through a repeater, its RSSI describes the sensor-to-repeater link.

The base station’s RSSI can change with whichever device sent the latest packet. It is not a summary of every sensor’s connection. The guide also warns against comparing iQunet radio indicators directly with Wi-Fi indicators.

Metal cabinets, dense metal structures and interference reduce useful radio range. Check the link where the sensor will be installed. A weak link can require additional transmissions and increase battery consumption.

The original proprietary iQunet network allows different compatible sensor types to share the base station. The base station connects that radio network to the server where the measurements are stored. Radio type and hardware compatibility still need to match the installation.

The original FAQ permits several repeaters within range of the base station, but specifies no more than one repeater between a sensor and the base station. Each repeater therefore needs its own usable base-station link; this is not a chain of successive repeater hops.

Check both parts of the route: sensor to repeater and repeater to base station. The documented one-hop arrangement reduces the sensor radio’s active time. These rules describe the original iQunet sensor network, not LoRaWAN.

The earlier Sensor Dashboard converts a radio-specific rssival byte into a dBm value. Its score below is specific to that transceiver and dashboard, so it must not be used to decode a LoRaWAN or Wi-Fi reading.

The guide advises keeping battery-powered sensor links above -97 dBm where possible. A displayed value is a reading of the link at its update time, not proof that interference cannot interrupt the next transfer. The documented dashboard refreshes RSSI when a device is selected and every 15 minutes.

That wireless protocol retransmits missing packets up to five times. If transmission still fails, the stored measurement is discarded and the channel is released for later traffic. These packet retries are different from the Download Filter’s extra measurement attempts.