RFM95W only working at very short ranges

End Devices (Nodes) Hardware
1

Hello, I have been trying to make 2 nodes operate in point-2-point communication and it works fine at about 1 meter but not at greater ranges.
I am using the sparkFun boards (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14916) using the RFM95W chips. I connected a 868 MHz antenna to the boards (868MHz-antenna) that I programmed to work at 868 MHz.

I tried different settings for the LoRa parameters but I always get the same result, no communication at more than 2-3 meters. I’ve read somewhere that the RSSI for such close communication should be around -20 dBm but I get -85 dBm.
I tried switching the antennas with another spare one that I had, but I didn’t get any better results.

Any idea where the problem could be from ?

2

Extreme short range can often be as result of damadged modules, if they have been operated, even brieffly without proper antennas for instance.

Maybe contact Sparkfun, thier product.