Remote XBee: long control wires or long coax to antenna?

Falcon

I will 1)control a wheeled robot via 63 mW XBee modules and 2.) receive video transmissions from the same robot from one corner of a metal building. The building has a Faraday cage effoect and does damp transmissions so the antennae needs to be outside. There are fluorescent lights along the ceiling.

Question1: Should I place the XBee at the control console and run a coax to an external antenna? Or should I place the XBee outside in a waterproof enclosure and run necessary control and power wiring from the control console to the outdoor XBee? It seems a matter of coax loss vs. control wire interference. If the coax is the best solution, which type is generally best to carry the 2.4 GHz signal?

Question2: Same for the 900 MHz video receiver. Should the Receiver be located outside in an enclosure or should a coax be used to carry the signal from the external antenna to the receiver at the indoor console?

634730991394691250_AVX-900-T4-Manual.pdf

I do have the space to separate the two sets of wires or coaxes. What would be a comfortable distance to minimize interference?

I have little experience in engineering RF installations but I think I can get it done once I figure out which way to go.

Thanks,

falcon

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

I'd go the control-wire route. The RF signal will suffer losses in the coax. If the run is very long, convert the serial I/O to RS422 and use twisted-pair cable.

-Phil