14.6.3.1 Overview

Due to multipath propagation effects between network nodes, the receive signal strength may vary and affect the link quality, even for small variance of the antenna location. These fading effects can result in an increased error floor or loss of the connection between devices.

To improve the reliability of an RF connection between network nodes Antenna Diversity can be applied to reduce effects of multipath propagation and fading. Antenna Diversity uses two antennas to select the most reliable RF signal path. To ensure highly independent receive signals on both antennas, the antennas should be carefully separated from each other. The AT86RF212B supports PHY controlled antenna diversity in TX_ARET mode and software controlled antenna diversity (the microcontroller controls which antenna is used for transmission and reception) in Basic and Extended Operating Modes.