Bluetooth Outdoors

!!11oneone · 24-07-2013, 20:29

My bluetooth speaker is paired fine with my laptop and works perfect in my kitchen.

But if I move a few meters outside, it sometimes becomes incredibly choppy and unreliable. Why?

At the moment it's a meter away and has line of sight, but is off more than it's on!

I'm guessing interference from something, but shouldn't Bluetooth be more robust than that because of the pairing?

Chris Frost · 25-07-2013, 23:22

Interference is a possibility. But also, Bluetooth is designed for "close by" communication. The devices don't generally have the power for "distance" communication in the same way that Wi-Fi works.

Manufacturer's claims for transmission distances are wildly optimistic with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. They all work in the same "free to use" frequency space as do wireless video senders, baby monitors, cordless phones, wireless- door chimes and CCTV cams and lots of other wireless devices. Not to mention competition from other Bluetooth and Wi-Fi devices in yours and your neighbours homes. Then there's the stuff that blocks or reduces transmission power. Walls, metal (including all that foil backed insulation in our increasingly energy-efficient homes, and of course, distance. In fact, distance significantly impacts data transmission rates.

So there you have it.

!!11oneone · 26-07-2013, 10:27

Well yes, but when I'm outside the speaker is no more than 2 meters away with direct line of sight. And the other day they were practically next to each other!

flagpole · 26-07-2013, 10:59

I'm no bluetooth expert but bluetooth is normally very robust to interference. it uses frequency hopping and can work around interference very well unless the entire band is ****ed.

is your laptop class 2 maybe?

is there anything else that is different like the powersupply to the speakers?

is your glass metal oxide coated?

Chris Frost · 26-07-2013, 12:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by !!11oneone

Well yes, but when I'm outside the speaker is no more than 2 meters away with direct line of sight. And the other day they were practically next to each other!

I have a Bluetooth keyboard fro a media PC. It's a good brand, lots of positive reviews, and I'm using it with an equally well regarded Bluetooth transmitter. But in my house the wireless bands are saturated. The result is that the keyboard won't maintain communication at anything greater than 70cm distance.

The idea of wireless connectivity is sold as an "easy" solution. The reality is that it works reasonably well but it's by no means fool proof. Without some specialist tools it's hard for the average user to "see" what frequencies are flying around and then diagnose why there are connection issues. As a start, you could try some of the tools from Metageek. These use your laptop's WiFi receiver to help you look at some of the sources of interference. If you need more indepth investigative tools then you'll need one of their W-Spy spectrum analysis devices.

!!11oneone · 27-07-2013, 14:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by flagpole

I'm no bluetooth expert but bluetooth is normally very robust to interference. it uses frequency hopping and can work around interference very well unless the entire band is ****ed.

is your laptop class 2 maybe?

is there anything else that is different like the powersupply to the speakers?

is your glass metal oxide coated?

This is what I thought, too. It's a Macbook Pro, and works perfectly well in the kitchen. But as soon as I move both outside, it starts to fail (not always, but very often).

The speakers are permanently plugged into the extension lead so I can easily shift them out of the door. The only difference is that the laptop might be on battery outside.

There's no glass involved, I literally put the speakers on the doorstep and sit on a bench about 2 metres away. Nothing but air in a straight line between the two!

Move both a couple of meters back indoors and it picks up again. Can even move the laptop to a different room and it'll be ok, so long as both are inside! Puzzling.

kev · 27-07-2013, 16:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by !!11oneone

This is what I thought, too. It's a Macbook Pro, and works perfectly well in the kitchen. But as soon as I move both outside, it starts to fail (not always, but very often).

The speakers are permanently plugged into the extension lead so I can easily shift them out of the door. The only difference is that the laptop might be on battery outside.

There's no glass involved, I literally put the speakers on the doorstep and sit on a bench about 2 metres away. Nothing but air in a straight line between the two!

Move both a couple of meters back indoors and it picks up again. Can even move the laptop to a different room and it'll be ok, so long as both are inside! Puzzling.

I know when I'm outside I can see a lot more WiFi networks than I can indoors - about 40 vs 20 and Bluetooth is a bit rubbish. The walls of the house are pretty good at blocking the signal!

I also have some RF remote controls for the lamps (as the plug sockets are under the bed and behind the wardrobe) and some times they work fine, but other days you have to get really near to the receivers for them to respond - bloody annoying. Shame there aren't Homeplug versions!

24-07-2013, 20:29	#1
!!11oneone Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 3,807	Bluetooth Outdoors My bluetooth speaker is paired fine with my laptop and works perfect in my kitchen. But if I move a few meters outside, it sometimes becomes incredibly choppy and unreliable. Why? At the moment it's a meter away and has line of sight, but is off more than it's on! I'm guessing interference from something, but shouldn't Bluetooth be more robust than that because of the pairing?

25-07-2013, 23:22	#2
Chris Frost Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Cheshire Posts: 6,462	Interference is a possibility. But also, Bluetooth is designed for "close by" communication. The devices don't generally have the power for "distance" communication in the same way that Wi-Fi works. Manufacturer's claims for transmission distances are wildly optimistic with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. They all work in the same "free to use" frequency space as do wireless video senders, baby monitors, cordless phones, wireless- door chimes and CCTV cams and lots of other wireless devices. Not to mention competition from other Bluetooth and Wi-Fi devices in yours and your neighbours homes. Then there's the stuff that blocks or reduces transmission power. Walls, metal (including all that foil backed insulation in our increasingly energy-efficient homes, and of course, distance. In fact, distance significantly impacts data transmission rates. So there you have it.

26-07-2013, 10:27	#3
!!11oneone Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 3,807	Well yes, but when I'm outside the speaker is no more than 2 meters away with direct line of sight. And the other day they were practically next to each other!

26-07-2013, 10:59	#4
flagpole Inactive Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 43,524	I'm no bluetooth expert but bluetooth is normally very robust to interference. it uses frequency hopping and can work around interference very well unless the entire band is ****ed. is your laptop class 2 maybe? is there anything else that is different like the powersupply to the speakers? is your glass metal oxide coated?

26-07-2013, 12:15	#5
Chris Frost Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Cheshire Posts: 6,462	Quote: Originally Posted by !!11oneone Well yes, but when I'm outside the speaker is no more than 2 meters away with direct line of sight. And the other day they were practically next to each other! I have a Bluetooth keyboard fro a media PC. It's a good brand, lots of positive reviews, and I'm using it with an equally well regarded Bluetooth transmitter. But in my house the wireless bands are saturated. The result is that the keyboard won't maintain communication at anything greater than 70cm distance. The idea of wireless connectivity is sold as an "easy" solution. The reality is that it works reasonably well but it's by no means fool proof. Without some specialist tools it's hard for the average user to "see" what frequencies are flying around and then diagnose why there are connection issues. As a start, you could try some of the tools from Metageek. These use your laptop's WiFi receiver to help you look at some of the sources of interference. If you need more indepth investigative tools then you'll need one of their W-Spy spectrum analysis devices.

27-07-2013, 14:47	#6
!!11oneone Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 3,807	Quote: Originally Posted by flagpole I'm no bluetooth expert but bluetooth is normally very robust to interference. it uses frequency hopping and can work around interference very well unless the entire band is ****ed. is your laptop class 2 maybe? is there anything else that is different like the powersupply to the speakers? is your glass metal oxide coated? This is what I thought, too. It's a Macbook Pro, and works perfectly well in the kitchen. But as soon as I move both outside, it starts to fail (not always, but very often). The speakers are permanently plugged into the extension lead so I can easily shift them out of the door. The only difference is that the laptop might be on battery outside. There's no glass involved, I literally put the speakers on the doorstep and sit on a bench about 2 metres away. Nothing but air in a straight line between the two! Move both a couple of meters back indoors and it picks up again. Can even move the laptop to a different room and it'll be ok, so long as both are inside! Puzzling.

27-07-2013, 16:28	#7
kev Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: South Notts (Waltham TV TX) Posts: 20,200	Quote: Originally Posted by !!11oneone This is what I thought, too. It's a Macbook Pro, and works perfectly well in the kitchen. But as soon as I move both outside, it starts to fail (not always, but very often). The speakers are permanently plugged into the extension lead so I can easily shift them out of the door. The only difference is that the laptop might be on battery outside. There's no glass involved, I literally put the speakers on the doorstep and sit on a bench about 2 metres away. Nothing but air in a straight line between the two! Move both a couple of meters back indoors and it picks up again. Can even move the laptop to a different room and it'll be ok, so long as both are inside! Puzzling. I know when I'm outside I can see a lot more WiFi networks than I can indoors - about 40 vs 20 and Bluetooth is a bit rubbish. The walls of the house are pretty good at blocking the signal! I also have some RF remote controls for the lamps (as the plug sockets are under the bed and behind the wardrobe) and some times they work fine, but other days you have to get really near to the receivers for them to respond - bloody annoying. Shame there aren't Homeplug versions!

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