Did I just read that hot glue can block a signal?
I never had any cut outs at all on mine when I was using it, ever.
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Water can block a signal so I don’t find it completely ludicrous.
No real data though.
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So, like everyone elses. Cool, glad to hear it.
Yes you did. Is it true, absolutely not. At least not on a normal receiver in the real world.
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i didnt realize Hot melt adhesive (hot glue) contained water. which hot glue are you using that contains water?
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If you read the data sheets of those modules, they give detailed info on keeping the antenna area clear of things. Hot glue might have an impact on the performance when placed directly below the antenna.
I did a test some time ago testing different nRF based BT modules. You can find it here:
When you are interested I can send you a nRF52840 based module with external antenna that I designed some time ago that should give you a lot better connectivity (looking at the results of my test) than the current nRF51822 based Trampa Dongle that you are using at the moment.
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From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot-melt_adhesive
Some polymers can form hydrogen bonds between their chains, forming pseudo-cross-links which strengthen the polymer.
It is very obvious that hot glue, placed directly under the antenna of BLE modules will have a negative impact.
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@Pimousse
While i think there are a lot of variables that change from person to person perhaps we should focus on your specific scenario. I understand that the situation appeared to be exasperated over time but it maybe helpful to others to understand the scenarios which the problem manifested. can you provide some details about your set up?
- Board material
- Enclosure material
- Receiver placement in enclosure
- When hardening the enclosure against vibration did the placement of the receiver move or were other components moved closer to the receiver?
- Is the experience the same through out the remote battery charge level
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FTFY
I can also confirm that I’ve witnessed much better connectivity performance with the nrf52840 series over the 51822.
I have had zero issues using a 52840 based receiver inside a prototipo enclosure so far.
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Wasn’t he joking? I thought he was.
Water blocks Bluetooth Low Energy signals, so if you place a hydrogen bonded glue directly under the PCB antenna area, it is very likely the cause of the problem.
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I think you might need to quantify that statement with testing first. I’m not sure hot glue has a big impact on rf in this context.
Plastics are largely rf transparent compared to metals.
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Correct. Damn those radar domes made of plastic - no wonder we never see the pesky Russians coming!
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Lots of riding, never had a single hiccup with mine.
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Wait minute… does that mean if i have a Unity on FW 5.0 a Trampa dongle and also a Metr Pro Unity… i could just use the Metr pro instead?
I never had unreliable signal on my $50 Flipsky VX1 and $190 Trampa Wand is even having it’s own connectivity issues thread?
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Well, if someone only changes the way he locks down the BLE module and uses hot glue for the job and then, all of a sudden, faces issues that were not existent before doing the hot glue job.
Nothing changes, just more hot glue on the receiver for securing.
Then you figure out that hot glue uses a hydrogen bond.
Knowing that BLE can be blocked by water or stuff containing water…
The resolve is pretty easy and obvious in my eyes.
@Pimousse , please remove the glue and try again and report back.
Yep, a decent quality NRF module.
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