Great explanation of SMA and RP-SMA thrown in there. Thanks for all the great esp8266 videos

You always have great videos that I very much enjoy, thank you Andreas.

Wow - you answer my questions even before I ask them. You have an amazing suite of videos - thank you!

"Thank GOD", and thank you for your support and time 😉 This video is VERY interesting and useful 😎

Great info. Plus your house looks gorgeous. I mean, an undergound bunker _and_ a roof garden? That's just amazing.

Awesome Video Andreas as always. I'm getting the same as you do. I think the reason why CNLohr's got more is because he took a Router on the road with him and that router has a high gain patch antenna on it. But other wise it would of gotten the same results as you did if the test was done the same.

Hi Andreas, I have been watching your videos for some time now and they are wonderful. As someone else commented here, they are simple, nicely explained and very practical. And thanks for this one too. I have also been trying to find out the range of these ESPs in my house which is ground + first floor for my automation project, so this will help.

These videos are so interesting to hobbyists and life long learners. I’m tempted to create a LORA setup with yagi antennas to improve the range.

Andreas, have you ever mentioned what your profession is? There are many DIY and so-called "experts" on UKposts, but your work is quite well presented and researched. Or is that just your Swiss genes?

Dear Andreas, Another intresting vidéo… as usual. I’m making some tests on a raspberry pi with an external antenna and results are significants : antenna is the heart of a transmit system! I was surprized that the position for a connector was on the board! With a few modifications (and sweat because it’s very small !), we can make some good tests about antennes. Thank you for your job. Best regards Jean-Michel

Very well explained!I was able to get 50m with a clear line of sight on the esp8266-01.

You seem like such a great guy, if you have kids they're lucky to have such a nice dad :) Also I love the way you say bye at the end ...makes me smile everytime idk why lol

Found your video on research for external antenna use of esp07. As far as i know you have to disconnect the ceramic antenna, just remove the 0ohm resistor between u/Fl and power led. @1:47 i can see the resistor is still there, did you desolder it?

Andreas, thank you very much for great work. I learned a lot from your videos. I made range test for Wemos D1 mini (with PCB antenna) but with ESP-NOW protocol .(Thank you again!) Robust connection distance is about 400 meters but I believe that it can go further. I will check. Receiver was 16th floor of a building and transmitter was at ground level. After your test, my test results seems to me a little bit suspicious.))) Let's say being in 16th floor can effect the range but what about using ESP-NOW protocol? Can it somehow extend distance? Thank you. Regards

Thank you, that was very helpful. Just a quick question. Can we use a Zigbee module also for capturing the Wi-Fi signals coming from an access point? Thank you.

Excellent info. For my tests...with ESP-01 on bed in bedroom, through wooden walls of house, I get > 400ft (120m). But, that's when using a Samsung Tribute phone and i would think the receiver in the phone has something to do with range. Same for your iPad. An ESP-03 in my latest video blew its ceramic antenna, so I removed it and soldered a tiny wire to the antenna output pin of the ESP-03 chip. Then fitted an antenna cut from another ESP-01...range tripled to similar to the other ESP-01

Thanks for the test, Andreas! I would be interested, how far the ceramic antenna on the ESP-07 reaches compared to the PCB on the ESP-12E. And you said, the ESP-12E did not work behind the house. What about the ESP-07? (with or without external antenna)

I like your work, but I love CNLohr's work.

My test with pcb antena 500m. Set to b mode and increase tx power to max :)

Esp 07S should be always connected to device like laptop? Or It can transfer the Wi-Fi to longer distances same as repeater does.

Thanks for sharing. Nice video.

Thank's for overview!

Thanks for sharing!

I own a DSTIKE WiFi Deauther OLED V1.5S Board and it has the ESP8266 chip and it was able to detect my FritzBox from about 350meter (Fritzbox and Deauther Outdoor) but if I put the FritzBox indoor and I was outdoor then the range was 140meter. The connectivity can be always different because of environment. For example last month I lived at Frankfurt am Main and there I wasn't able to get my signal even from in front of the parking lot which was directly in front of the house.

👏 noob here, and wanted to say thank you for all of the informational videos

Bro you are in my head. I have a question and you already have a video. You are Awsome

nice viedeo andreas,i clear all the valuable range site for pcb trace antenna and ESP without antenna.is these regarding to all pcb antenna have same range or different with version? thanks....

Hi Andreas! Did you removed the connection to the ceramic antenna in the ESP-07 so you can work only with de external one?

thank you. I am about to start a project with the 8266 so this information helps me a lot. And capability is pronounced K-APE as in Batman's cape. :)respectfully

I think the critical difference between this test an cnlohr's test is that he used an access point as one end of the connection. This changes things rather dramatically I would assume since access points are powered and can create a substantially stronger signal than a battery powered device. I would imagine they can amplify weaker return signals as well, although I do not know that for a fact.

during initial r&d of some recent work i did using wemos d1 mini (esp8266 12-f) modules, i was able to retain a connection to the back office, through our front office door, and about 50 feet down the hall... i was pleasantly surprised.

Hi Swiss Guy! I think your test proves more about Apple's policy around wifi than anything else. I have achieved similar results to Mr Laur (spelling?) using an ESP-01 with trace antenna and an Android device as the client. Apple have dumbed down their wifi reception because they don't want to operate in the shady -70dB (more or less - I don't know the exact figure) zone because they feel the bad network experience will reflect badly on their devices. So they rather let you connect only when the signal is a bit stronger and less likely to drop. If you repeat your tests with any other client device I think your range will double (at least). You may then also see more advantage with the ESP-07. Thanks for your always excellent videos. You have fans in South Africa... all my IoT friends enjoy your stuff. We have a request... one day will you tell us a joke? Maybe at the end of a video, just for fun ;)

Nice analogy between 2.2GHz and light beams

Coax and connections at these frequencies = massive reduction in output power. Try to keep it as short as possible and solder when possible to reduce insertion loss. I'd love to see the same experiment repeated with the native board, antenna w/ connect + coax, and then antenna soldered as directly as possible. I really enjoy your videos - thank you - subscribed

Hello. Thank you for this interesting video. Having survived the eighties (including some time as an RF tech), I think the bomb shelter policy is very wise. I often wonder about antenna efficiency and what difference a ground plane makes. I dismantled a WiFi antenna of similar appearance to the one in your test only to discover it was a straight length of wire, not dissimilar to the old quarter wave whip used on car roofs, etc (no base loading or such). They require the roof as a ground plane as you would know. There were base-loaded "ground-plane independent" antennae for use where truckers had non-conducting fibre-glass canopies or drivers who don't like holes being drilled in the centre of their roof so choose to gutter-mount. As far as I was aware, if they simply gutter-mounted a ground-plane dependent quarter-wave whip antenna base, it would propagate much more favourably in directions across the roof rather than omnidirectionally. If you mounted your SMA base on a metallic plate, I'm wondering if that might give different results..

Hi Andreas, really enjoying your videos, i'm a novice and you are doing a great job of explaining these things in ways I can understand - thank you :) Just wanted to make a quick comment, I believe the ESP-12E is actually the newer ESP-12F the difference in the PCB antenna is very obvious if you look it up :)

Hi, you can use a helical antenna to your modules and you will increase your range dramatically but it's directional, the longer it is the more directional

Hi Andreas what would you argue is the effective maximum range for the ESP-12E in a direct line-of-sight scenario? With effective meaning that you connecting to the ESP and/or loading the webpage does not take an excessive amount of time or numbers tries to connect respectively.

very descriptive, thumbs up!

Hi.thanks for ur great And helpful video. But how about android phones?have u ever test these modules with an android smart phone?

Thanks for sharing :-), Good insigth

Gratulation für die bald 1'000 Abonnenten.

Im interested in this and wonder if temperature, humidity, air pressure or some other local factors could be affecting the range.

Hi Andreas. There is the Mesh function on the ESP8266. Do you know how far apart can each node be?

thanks for sharing, have you tested how long the iPad can connect to a powerful router to discard the iPad from the equation? I have been playing with a router on a farm and I have lower coverage when testing apple devices (iphone) vs other devices (a dell laptop and a samsung phone). I will test an esp8266 as soon I get to the farm, good open spaces :)

Is there a maximum antenna size that can be used? What if a high gain directional cantenna or even an omnidirectional antenna were used? Does this limit the amount of gain from antenna?

Thanks for Your Project, I also tested my NodeMCU and built a car that runs from browser and Wifi. First it was running only short range like about 100m. But when I removed my NODEMCU from toy car and tested it ranged 310 m. :) Your tutorials are very good and informative. I am a professional Civil Engineer :) learnt Python and learning Arduino now.

Are there any other ESP8266 modules that can be fitted with an external antenna and have the >1MB Flash? On the ESP-07 do you have to remove the ceramic antenna to use an external antenna?

Hallo danke für das Video. Ergänzen möchte ich wissen warum bei dem Test nicht gleich wie auf dem esp-07 Board befindliche Rainsun mitgetestet wurde? Diese Antennen sind noch ein Stückchen kleiner als die auf der Leiterplatine aufgedruckte Schlangenlinie. Wenn du dich etwas mit Antennen auskennst fragst du natürlich auch immer nach dem Strahlungsdiagramm, denn das ist dasjenige was den Antennengewinn ausmacht. Daraus resultieren die größten Vorteile eines Antennenwechsels. Da ich selbst nun auch kein großer Fachmann bei diesen kleinen Wellen bin hätte mich noch interessiert in welche Richtung die Leiterplatinenantenne und diese aufgelötete Rainsun Antenne strahlt. Es wäre schön wenn ich dazu Informationen hier bekommen könnte.

it is impressive that you can transmit to distance of 150m with only 3.3 volts. Maybe some aluminium parabola behind the antenna could even improve it in some direction.

Hi can you tell , Can I progrm esp07 in arduino IDE ? if no then tell the how to program esp07

what I would like to know is if you connected a really good GROUND wire to a high quality ground, and if you also possibly added a choke to the ground so that no spikes can make it up to the ESP8266, would this improve range. Radio requires that duality of sky and ground. If you look into the Tate Ambient Power module circuit, you will see that it must be grounded for best effect. The pickup of RF and conversion to power works WAY better with ground. Similarly, transmitting would probably be boosted if you had good grounds on both sides.

Hello Andreas, is 90 meters the maximum distance of esp8266 with line of sight from your ipad? or it can still go further from 90 meters?

about line of sight, i have a D-Link wifi router inside the house, and my phone can still connect to wifi up to 50m from outside i also my laptop can detect from rooftop and ESSID from 200m away, so it seems possible you can transfer data at a low bitrate at those long distances

Hi is there not an attachment that u can put on the nodemcu esp8266 pins to extend the range(antenna board maby??)

Very good test. I think putting ESPs right on top of metal fence would reduce their range significantly tho. As a multirotor flyer, I've learned after many crashes, that one should not get close to big metal objects while using any wireless band. Another thing is, I'd bet that if you were to use 7-8dbi patch antennas instead of the crappy ducks, on both ends you can easily reach half a kilometer.

Hey Andreas, was just wondering if i could do this with my ESP8266 board,the node MC board (www.penninkhof.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/113990105-11.jpg) This one Am i able to attach a antenna to it? i searched everywhere and can't find anything

I have a number of Amica NodeMCU boards that I want to use in a project, and I have programmed them with PainlessMesh, which works nicely. At the moment, I am unable to communicate with a module in my next-door neighbour's house through the joining wall. The board has the ESP8266 module on it, as well as a USB port and supporting chips, looks similar to the big, black module in your picture at the beginning of this video. Is it possible to improve the antenna on it? Problem is that the ESP module is soldered onto the board, so I can't get to the back of it.

Can you give the exact diagram of connection with node mcu and wifi antenna

I wonder if you could increase the range by using two ESP-07s with external antennas rather than just connected to an iPad. Do you think it could be possible that iPad's antenna could be one limiting factor? Also, are there external antennas with amplifiers? Two directional antennas pointing at each other would be optimal probably.

What about Impedance matching ? First in specs was 50 Ohm, but then they changed it to 39+j6. I wonder how this affects when choosing an antenna

Very good video!! So, just to clarify the information regarding the sex of the connector being FCC-legislated due to some "fear of...radio amateur operators" , it should be pointed out that the changes to connectors is to establish a new industry standard convention for the purposes of recognition/compliance. After all, any technician wanting to work around connection issues certainly can do so if desired. But, generally speaking, technicians and engineers who might not be current or up-to-date about the fact that "other regulations apply", and who suddenly encounter connector reversal would certainly be asking the obvious: "Why?". But for the non-compliant-minded user, unique connector scenarios provide an immediate response by manufacturers to produce "adapters" Thus, anyone can simply subvert the sex change by using an adapter or even add a 'pigtail' if they so desired. The truth is that changing the connector doesn't accomplish any sort of deterent so much as it is there as a 'reminder' to the technical person (or not-so-technical person perhaps) that a special case exists. It is a further truth that connector variations (as with the SMA reverse sex variation) identify advancing technologies / units which fall under regulatory restrictions or operation apart from similar components commonly used heretofore (education lags production, as they say). We simply needed an obvious method of identification. Interestingly, these 'different' SMA connectors a but a small part of that convention. We have a multitude of various connectors with obtuse fittings including BNCs. Connector conventions were modified for this purpose long before network hardware was even a glint in the eyes of father WiFi. In closing, I think of this SMA sex reversal as a means to identify unique device operations to avoid bigger problems (like interference to other services). Historically, this need for tactile evidence of connection compatibility was never more vividly demonstrated than back in the day when pipes meant for carrying flamable natural gas were directly threadable to lines laid to carry water. The results were devastating. This would never have happened had the threads not matched. Be alert. Be safe. Be professional.

Can you tell me how you connect esp8266 with antenna, if possible please give me the diagram

Greetings, Sir, for 2.4GHz you r using esp 8266... bt please suggest some module to test the 3.3GHz antenna (external antenna)

Hello, Please show how to connect an external antenna wire to a board with no antenna socket. How to solder to the onboard esp8266 antenna path, where the cable shield and its middle wire? Do I need to cut path and where to do it? Thx

Dear @Andreas Spiess I need distance 1km from ardroid/laptop to esp8266. Could you please help me modify antena or antena of router wifi. I used eps8266 v7 ( in the quad) connect with so it not long distance. Rgs Reed Noel

As far as I know. To get an wifi connection for places like at the back of your house, you could use something like a reflektor to reflect the signal to the backside. As far as I remember about more than 90% of the wireless signals inside an appartment arrive by refelction. I read this a while ago in a book called "WirelessLANs" from Joerg Rech. May be a interestin information.

Do you know where I could buy an esp8266 with an external antenna connector? I can find the ESP modules themselves, but no complete board with a TTL adapter and all,.

Sir I have many questions to ask but how will I ask u please reply me sir

Hey i want to know is there a way to reduce antenna RF power. I am transmitting SSID using esp12e, but i want to restrict it to lets say 2m, how do i do that?.

I have an antenna but I have the smallest wifi module. Can I hook it up somehow? The antenna's cable has a standard end with an inner and an outer part. Should I connect the inner part to the antenna and the outer to ground?

Greetings, Sir, please suggest some module to test the 3.3GHz antenna

I did some tests with WLAN stations. Some could KEEP a link intact upto 200 meters. Yet, when at 200 meters, and you would disconnect, you could not reconnect at that distance. Disconnect/reconnect would only work upto someting like 120 meters.

if data rate is not important, perhaps you can try setting it to lower speed 802.11b, from the datasheet, it seems to transmit higher power and also it has better sensitivity with 802.11b. Tx power 802.11 b: ＋20 dBm 802.11 g: ＋17 dBm 802.11 n: ＋14 dBm Rx Sensitivity 802.11 b: －91 dbm (11 Mbps) 802.11 g: －75 dbm (54 Mbps) 802.11 n: －72 dbm (MCS7) doc.switch-science.com/datasheets/0b-esp8266_system_description_en_v1.4.pdf

sir please check esp8266 to esp 8266 direct comunication rang test. on this setting tx 25dbm rx-97dbm .

Great video, I have seen 2.4Ghz are incredibly sensitive to walls when it comes to range and reaching your 8266 chip. Mine came with a 8bd small antenna, and although it gave me about a %10 increase in strength and range, its still small. I have heard you can make a large antenna out of a can, "Cantenna" ever heard of this? Would be a good video and possibly a massive range.

Testing my ESP-12E with an ESP-01, I could communicate around 300 meters "Line of Sight". Switching to my Android phone and pad the range dropped to 50-60 meters. The phone and pad were more than 8 years old.

Hallo i try use the mcu esp 8266 for repeter the signal wifi the house is far from me 156 meter,.......so that can t work...i want try upload the board with the esp 07 u think is should try it? thanks in advance

How did you connect the externel antenna to esp8266 using esp e07?

thanks a lot!

which program did you upload to ESP to make it work as AP ? - thank you

Looks like something is wrong in your test setup how much current your power supply supports ? I get ~3,000 meters with external antenna and ~800 meters with a PCB antenna. DJ

so any form of the esp8266 with no attachments is 90 metres, correct?

I think you have to considder de 'used' powersupply. the range will improve with a supply that can deliver more current.

Impressive!

can the PCB antenna connect to the nodemcu esp8266 wifi board?

how far is the esp8266 wifi range if you use an external antenna? Thanks sir

You get nearly the same results I could get the with ESP-07. I've mounted the setup on a autonomous rover running on the ground. I can get a stable connection aprox 120-130 m on the ground the antenna mounted aprox. 40 cm above the rover, but only when I have a direct view to the rover. If the rover moves behind a big tree or behind a wall the signal is lost at this range. Best result with a Wifi Repeater mounted on a pole 2m over the ground was aprox. 200 m. (Must stop the test, cause the rover tends to drive in a small river...) but at this time the signal was not very strong, but OK with no packet losses via UDP. This is not a theoretical value. It's a real working scenario. It looks like that the results are a little bit better if I stay away from the town aprox. 1km. There are no private WLANS anymore. The results tends to be a little bit better. Some tests must be done in the outback far away from civilisation....

And what is about LoRaWan? will it get blocked by Swiss walls too?

Unrelated, but what is your preference? D1 mini or NodeMCU?

Andreas, Thanks...

How much maximum volteg for nodemcu and amp And how much maximum hours can work nodemcu without stop or deepsleep

gotta have ESP8266 very interesting

Thanks, now means the wemos d1 mini (PCB Antenna) is about 90 meters range?!

max. 120m/393ft in open terrain = ESP8266 12E 12E at 802.11b TX -20dBm I use the beacon frame for TX and scan networks for RX between the devices. The maximum distance without an external antenna is 120m or 393ft in open terrain. I try to build a mesh network of wifi hotspots, where each node provide a access point and webserver to smartphones / wifi clients. All neighbouring nodes exchange data with each other to increase the range between the smartphones. There is no master node and each node acts as an independent gateway as in APRS routing.

hello, the antenna is not an ILA but an IFA. I have skills for antennas but not for that kind of circuits. I'm learning. Thank you 73.

I bought one esp8266 and burned its memory because I think I have a faulty USB to TTL adapter. I tried lighting an LED with the adapter and it burned in a few seconds, even though the adapter is supposed to give out 3.3V. I'll buy another memory chip and hope that's the only thing I burned off on the esp

Спасибо!

HI Andreas, I work for a major Wifi Manufacturer, and in order to do Mesh WiFi at greater distanced, you need to increase the "Acknowledgment Timer" timeout value. This is necessary due to the increased distance, causing increased propagation delays in the round-trip "packet send and acknowledge" sequences.. So, you MUST increase the timeout delay for the Acknowledgement Timer on the receiver side, (he must reply with an acknowledgement) in increasing increments per kilometre of distance from the peer device.. Since both peer devices send acknowledgements of received packets, then the timeout on BOTH side must be retarded as well, equally..

does the ESP07 can work without external antenna?