Tried a wireless contact sensor in a metal shed and got nothing but trouble

I put a wireless contact sensor in a client's metal shed last week and it dropped signal every 15 minutes. Turns out the metal frame blocked nearly all the RF transmission. Has anyone else run into this with metal buildings or sheds?

2 comments

2 Comments

cole_davis4712d ago

That hasn't been my experience at all. Metal buildings actually help RF signals bounce around more if you place the sensor right. I put one in a steel garage last month and it worked perfectly fine from 50 feet away through the walls. The problem might be your sensor's frequency or the way you mounted it. Try putting the sensor on a wooden post inside the shed instead of directly on the metal frame.

umaf4412d ago

70 feet is the magic number for most 433MHz sensors, but metal sheds basically turn into a Faraday cage when they're fully enclosed. @cole_davis47 probably had his sensor near a window or door gap where the signal could leak out.