TS601 vs TS602: built-in sensor or external probe?

Short answer: Both are LTE Cat.1 cellular temperature loggers, so neither needs a LoRaWAN gateway: put a SIM in and they report over the mobile network. The TS601 measures with a built-in sensor and covers -35°C to +70°C. The TS602 has no built-in sensor and instead takes an external probe on an M12 connector, which is what lets it reach -200°C or +500°C, and it adds a 0.96-inch OLED screen.

Cellular is the point, and it changes the economics

Before comparing the two, be clear about why you would choose either over a LoRaWAN TS201 or TS302. A cellular sensor needs no gateway and no network coverage plan, which makes it the right answer for a vehicle, a single remote cabinet, a customer site you do not control, or a one-off trailer or shipping container. What it costs you is a SIM and a data plan per device, forever.

For a building with more than a handful of points, a gateway plus LoRaWAN sensors is cheaper to run. For assets that move, or for one or two isolated points, these are the correct products. Both add base station positioning, giving latitude and longitude with a typical deviation of 1 km, and a 3-axis accelerometer reporting Normal or Tilt, which is a strong hint about the intended use: things in transit.

Which one do I need?

Choose the TS601 for ambient monitoring where -35°C to +70°C is enough. That covers chilled and frozen transport, storerooms, cabinets and most cold chain work. Accuracy is typically plus or minus 0.2°C between 0 and 65°C. Because the sensing element is inside the housing there is no probe to specify, no probe to order and nothing to snag, and battery life is slightly better: around 4.8 years on MQTT or TCP against 4.2 for the TS602.

Choose the TS602 when the measurement point is not where the box can go, or when you need a range the TS601 cannot reach. The probe options set the range: the low temperature PT100 reaches -200°C, the industrial PT100 reaches +500°C, and food-grade and DS18B20 options sit between. It also has the OLED screen, so someone standing in front of the unit can read the value without a phone or a dashboard, which is often what an auditor or a driver actually needs.

Order the probe deliberately

The TS602 probes are separate part numbers and they are not interchangeable in what they cover. The regular SP11-B05-125-200 is Class B, -40°C to 125°C. The food application SP11-AF10-125-150 is Class A at plus or minus 0.4°C. The low temperature SP11-A03-050-150 covers -200°C to 50°C. The industrial SP11-A05-500-150 covers -50°C to 500°C. There is also a DS18B20 option and a combined temperature and humidity probe. Confirm the combination when you order, because a TS602 without the right probe measures nothing.

What is the same

Both are IP67 in a food-grade ABS and PC housing, 112 x 72 x 29 mm, running on two 2500 mAh CR18505 cells. Both store 5,000 entries with retransmission, support TCP, UDP, MQTT, AWS and the Milesight platform, take a Nano SIM, and carry the light sensor that detects a cargo box being opened. Both are limited to a 15 minute minimum reporting interval above 0°C and 30 minutes at or below 0°C, which is worth checking against any monitoring regime that specifies more frequent logging.

Milesight TS601 Cellular Temperature Sensor

TS601-L0DEU

£74.82 ex VAT (£89.78 inc. VAT)

Connector Type (external probe support)None — integrated sensor only. TS602 adds a 5-pin M12 A-coded male connector for TH/DS18B20/PT100 probes and a 0.96-inch OLED display

View the TS601-L0DEU

Milesight TS602 Cellular Temperature Sensor

TS602-L0DEU

£89.78 ex VAT (£107.74 inc. VAT)

Connector Type / Number5-pin M12 A-Coded Male Connector — 1 × connector for an external TH / DS18B20 / PT100 probe (the TS601 has no connector and uses a built-in sensor)

View the TS602-L0DEU