Robotic Mowers use a lot of electronic sensors, that’s why they’re classified as robotic. But going through all the sensors is another topic. This topic is all about how the mower communicates with its base (charging) station.

RobotZoo mowers, like a lot of others, use a low power radio signal between the mower and the charging station. This can be compared to that of a cordless phone handset to its station, or how a home WiFi works, but maybe a little stronger, because it needs to travel a greater distance. But if there are solid objects, such as large trees or structures, in between the base station and the mower, then the signal may not get through, just like with WiFi.

This means that there is a limit as to how far away the mower can be from the base station to allow certain functions. There are some good reason for this: We don’t want the mower to go ‘rogue’; we don’t want someone to be able to simply take your mower away and use it, and we don’t want to interfere with other nearby radio communications.

But it does mean that for the communications to work properly there should be a clear line of sight from whatever point in your yard that you may wish to start the mower off, and the charging station.

And for best results, the small antenna wire inside the charging station should be straight and vertical.