The Role of Site Surveys and Path Studies in Wireless Telemetry Deployments

When planning a reliable wireless telemetry network—whether licensed, unlicensed, or cellular—it’s critical to conduct a proper site survey and RF path study. These evaluations help assess signal viability and prevent costly surprises during deployment. While the tools available today offer excellent preliminary insight, it’s important to understand both their value and their limitations.

Why Site Surveys Matter

A site survey involves a physical or virtual assessment of the deployment area to evaluate environmental conditions, potential interference, antenna placement, and infrastructure constraints. Whether you’re dealing with licensed narrowband links, unlicensed spread-spectrum radios, or cellular routers, understanding the real-world conditions is crucial.

The Power of Path Studies

RF path studies simulate the signal trajectory between two points to check for obstacles, elevation changes, and line-of-sight limitations. While software-based path tools are valuable for planning, they can only go so far. A well-known rule of thumb applies here:

“A software survey will never confirm if a system will work—only if it won’t.”

This means even a perfect virtual path doesn’t guarantee performance; real-world interference, hardware limitations, and environmental variability can still impact success.

Helpful Tools for Preliminary Assessments

Here are two powerful (and free) tools that can enhance your early planning:

• 🌐 SCADACore RF Line-of-Sight Tool
  Ideal for modeling licensed and unlicensed paths. Just plug in your GPS coordinates, tower heights, and frequency to check Fresnel zone clearance and potential obstructions.

• 📶 CellMapper.net
  Useful for evaluating cellular signal coverage across providers. It helps locate nearby towers and gives a rough estimate of signal strength based on crowdsourced data.

Best Practices

• Use software tools as a first-pass filter, but always validate assumptions with field measurements.

• Perform on-site signal tests using portable radios or cellular test kits before committing to final equipment installation.

• Consider both near-field and far-field obstacles—trees, buildings, or tanks close to the radio often create bigger issues than distant hills.

For a truly robust deployment, combine desktop planning with field-tested validation. If you’re unsure where to begin, we can help guide your team through the process—starting with a practical survey and ending with a system that works reliably.  If you considering a new RF system and would like some guidance or assistance with how to get started, give us a call!