Under what conditions does the 100 meter range apply, and how much do metal and concrete reduce it?
The 100 meter range of the HCT400 and HCT402 applies in open areas within line of sight. A 2.4 GHz signal is noticeably attenuated behind steel structures, concrete walls, vehicle bodies, and dense metal stacks. If the signal is lost, the system does not wait: within 250 ms the motor returns to the safe center position and oil flow stops.
Range figures are always measured under ideal conditions. In the field, what matters is not the distance but what is in between.
Attenuating effects in the 2.4 GHz band:
- Metal: steel sheet, container walls, truck bodies, and crane booms reflect the signal. When the operator moves behind the equipment, range drops significantly.
- Concrete and rebar: being behind a reinforced concrete wall is the toughest scenario.
- Ground: holding the antenna close to the ground shortens the range; keeping the remote control above waist height makes a noticeable difference.
- Other 2.4 GHz sources: in dense Wi-Fi environments the band gets crowded.
For this reason, treat 100 meters as an upper limit, not as a working target. Standing within a distance where the operator can see the hydraulic motion is correct working practice anyway. On the HCT402, pairing must additionally be performed within 50 m. On signal loss, a 250 ms timeout takes effect; this threshold is well below the 1.5 second upper limit expected for wireless machine remote controls.
Full coverage of this topic: What Does the HCT402 Achieve, How, and How Much? A Technical Review