Systems and methods for providing communications using the candle of a
gaming machine are disclosed. A candle radio includes an antenna and
transceiver within a housing, as well as one or more light sources and a
mounting mechanism configured to mount the candle radio to a respective
gaming machine or terminal. The transceiver and antenna are adapted to
facilitate radio communications with at least one external
transponder/transceiver, which can include wireless system access points
and/or additional candle radios associated with other gaming machines.
The antenna can be located at the top of the candle radio, while the
transceiver can be located within a base at the bottom. An input
connector on the transceiver facilitates communications with the gaming
machine MGC. The candle radio can be adapted to split radio
communications into portions and retransmit one or more portions of a
communication, which may be done at differing radio frequencies.