The eval kit from Radiometrix arrived today allowing us to work out which board was faulty. It turns out that it is a problem with the receiver which means a more difficult diagnostic process. So far we have tested the Rx module, the IC and the power regulator - all which appear to be fine. I now suspect that the transistor that manages the RS232 to TTL conversion could be faulty - possibly heat damaged in the soldering process. We have learnt that it might be wise to load the Rx module in a SIL carrier - as its a real pain to keep re-soldering.
One bit of good news though - another range test was conducted using our transmitter on the breadboard and the eval receiver board. The transmitter was still inside our building and the helical antenna pointing horizontally rather than vertically. We were also in a highly urbanised area, which we knew would dramatically reduce range. In spite of all this we still managed to transmit an impressive 4500 feet. With so many improvements yet to be implemented (fabbed board, half wave dipole at transmitter end, elevated antenna, etc) we expect to be further impressed in future tests.
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