The RC18x2HP-IPM modules (High Power RIIM modules) offer an extended range with a 27 dBm power output and an improved sensitivity compared to the normal variant of RIIM (RC1882CEF-IPM). The RIIM modules support 28 mesh hops to extend the range even further.
Practical Line of Sight range with urban noise/rural area:
Radiocrafts measured the Line of Sight range for the High Power RIIM module on top of 2 mountains located 8 kilometres apart from each other. This range was achieved with a stable link for more than 30 consecutive packets with zero packet loss and an average RSSI of -83 dBm.
A longer range was not tested because there were no other Line of Sight areas in Oslo longer than 8 kilometres. Therefore, an 8km range with -83 dBm means that there is much margin for even greater range. In an urban environment with high background noise, expected range would be doubled, around 16km.
Whereas, in a rural area with minimal background noise, expected range would be up to 10 times longer, so 160 km.
