Distance performance change

Hi Justin, 

Slight variations from chip to chip is expected, but drastic differences like you describe above sound like could be related to production issues. Things that comes to mind is actual PCB or components influencing the RF performance but also placement of the wireless module vs. the rest of the speaker (especially if close proximity to the speaker element) might shift the antenna radiation pattern and influencing the range. 

With regards to latency, we always recommend the longest possible latency that is acceptable from the application perspective. Latency has a very direct relationship to robustness and perceived range. If this is for a wireless subwoofer where a mono channel is sent wirelessly, you can also try the 2 Mbit setting (advanced options). This will boost the sensitivity and improve range, especially for higher latency settings.

Please see if using latest FW release (1.4.2 - http://www.ti.com/tool/purepath-wl-cfg) helps with the issues. We found a bug in some production batches of the CC85xx that we implemented a software fix for:

[FW] Fixed problem with output power to PA setting look-up table that could result in a disparity between requested and actual output power for some devices. 

The PurePath wireless commander tool comes with a built in help system that have some guidance to what and how this can be used. I would initially have looked at the following 'manually' on a few boards:
- use the Rx/Tx window and test the output power (CW outpu) of a few boards at low, mid and high frequencies. Check this against a spectrum analyzer if you have this available too see if there is big variations from board to board
- use the Rx/Tx window and test Rx. This is done by controlling two instances of the commander tool, one controls a 'golden unit' (a proven good board of yours or one of our development kits) as a transmitter and the device you want to test is put in Rx. Is there a drastic difference in the measured RSSI across boards? Some variations is expected (2-3 dBs) as this is not conducted measurements and RF conditions vary instantly (change in multi-paths etc). Please note the following:

[DOC] Using RFT_RXTST_RSSI in conjunction with RFT_TXTST_CW at the same FREQ_OFFSET might result in fluctuating RSSI measurements. To get a stable and reliable RSSI measurement either offset RFT_RXTST_RSSI with +/- 1 MHz vs. the frequency used in RFT_TXTST_CW, or use this EHIF command in conjunction with RFT_TXTST_PN.

Let us know how this turns out and we can take this from there. Have you implemented any kind of production test on these boards? 

Regards, 
Kjetil 

When performing RF tests with the PP Commander:

I need two CC Debugger dongles and assign one "gold" RF board to one and use the other to test.  This can be done either way with the "gold" RF board as the transmitter (TX) or the receiver (RX).  Is that correct?

I can also transmit with one CC debugger and PP Commander and look at the RF output with a spectrum analyzer.

Or I can use a RF generator and test a receiver with a CC debugger and the PP commander.

Do I have all this right?

Currently I have only one CC debugger- when I activate the TX/RX window in the commander and connect an RF board, some of the controls are not highlighted.

Is this because I have only one debugger connected?

Thanks,

Justin

Correct on all accounts except the last one - for the Tx/Rx window to work properly you will need to have a production test image in the device. This is generated with the PurePath wireless configurator.