Tandem and Dexcom should increase the range so they do not loose connection just because they are on opposite sides of the body. Range is not the greatest. Ah then the Fcc will get into the mix. Just a pipe dream
you wonder if its using am signal and maybe fm signal might be better ??? or put more power behind the signal
Albert @Al1 , neither Tandem nor Dexcon are permitted to change the signal length nor width - specifications for the signal are set by international regulation.
And personally, I think that 10 meter range is sufficient.
my iphone picks up my dexcom from THE NEXT ROOM. And itās not once in a whileā¦ it has to be 2+ rooms away for me to lose signal. The Dexcom transmitter, from my observations is not the problem.
The theoretical range of Bluetooth (low power) is <100 m (<330 ft), which IMO, is plenty.
Bluetooth is a gigahertz signal, AM is kilohertz and FM is megahertz Hereās Bluetooth radio spec if you are interested @Al1
Bluetooth operates at frequencies between 2.402 and 2.480 GHz, or 2.400 and 2.4835 GHz, including guard bands 2 MHz wide at the bottom end and 3.5 MHz wide at the top . This is in the globally unlicensed (but not unregulated) industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) 2.4 GHz short-range radio frequency band.
No, I hadnāt considered what kind of signal it is, I just meant that radio signals canāt penetrate metal or the water in our bodies. This is warned about in the instructions.
Comparing that to what range the signal can carry through the open air or a few walls is diverging from what I was discussing.
@Al1, I have found that I can leave my pump in a different room and still have connection. While there is a maximum distance, another factor is interference. I can be a couple of rooms away and still have connection; on the other hand there have been times Iāve rolled over on my pump and lost signal.
Iām no engineer so Iāll leave the technical explanations to @joe (greatly appreciated, by the way), but as it was explained in Omnipod training and their manual (probably with Tandem/Dexcom as well): the pump needs a good line of sight with the CGM transmitter to read the Bluetooth signal. That line of sight was broken when I rolled over on my Tandem, even though it was only several inches away because my body - my own body (insert emoji for ādramatically shakes fists towards the heavensā here) is causing the interference between the two. Apparently Bluetooth can carry through walls better than body tissue, at least in some instances.
Oh well, what can you do. Iām engaging my logic and problem solving figuring out line of sight and pod placement when pods must be changed every 3 days while Dexcom is every 10. I was no math genius but I do know theyāre not going to match upš¤Ŗ!
987jaj J,
Iām trying to catch up on this conversationā¦are you saying there was reportedly a child welfare issue in an ER because the Dexcom was placed on the arm?! Good grief! Iām not admitting anything in writing - says the mom of a 13 year old t1d-er. 
Oh and according to our endo, there is a Dexcom G7 waiting FDA approval. It is supposed to be a one piece unit with sensor and transmitter combined, and apparently can be worn for 14 days.
@WarriorMom13 , I have missed seeing your post from 10 days ago.
There are at least two situations I am aware of:
[1] an insurance company refused to pay for a Dexcom CGM sensor wire to be surgically removed from an arm because the endo failed to obtain a letter of variance (or what ever it is called - I know the term is used in land zoning permission changes) from Dexcom [a] explaining the need for arm placement, [b] obtaining Dexcomās consent, & [c] naming the patient specifically. So the patient ended up with the entire hospital and physician bills because the insurance company refused to cover āoff labelā placement.
[2] The other case was an item in the daily Child Welfare Information Gateway
(https://www.childwelfare.gov/) indicating an ER physician reported to child protective services the placement of a CGM in the arm in contradiction of the manufacturerās published guidelines. A
CPS case was reportedly begun, according to the post. The rest of the story was individuals and physicians cannot act as rogue agents when child welfare is in consideration. As I read the blurb, the thought of the āletter of varianceā naming the child would have deflated this fiasco.
Joanna, the takeaway for these, at minimum, two situations is to have a prescribing physician communicate the āmedicalā necessity for alternate placement to Dexcom and request acknowledgement for alternate placement. Such reply communication would immediately deflate any angst described above.
Thoughts?