Help me find an ideal rf transciever?

Wireless & IoT
1

I need something with some range (150’+ indoors) and fast data transfer (250kbps)

I came across the Nordic chip on the sparkfun website, but I can’t find any range information on the datasheets for it.

Does anybody know what the range is for the nordic chip? I am looking to use it in a theatre setting with the transmitter in back of house (with sound/light board), and the reciever up on stage.

Has anybody tested the range, or know of a similar chip.

I am working with the XBee which is 115k, but I need more bandwidth ( I am wanting to send 128 bytes every 1mS)

Thanks.

2

The CC1100, by a TI subsidiary, is capable of 500Kbps at any frequency. At 10dB, the nominal range is just at 1000ft. A board containing all the support passives and the such can be made at just under a couple square inches.

You can find the CC1100 on digikey, for just under $5 for one. In reel quantity, the device costs just under $2 for one. Sparkfun does not offer the CC1100, nor do they sell a breakout.

The CC1100 is interfaced through SPI, and is capable of reduced power operation, but it is relatively low power anyway. An overview for the CC1100 may be found here:

http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/cc1100.html

3

According the sparkfun, the MiRF-v2 (with the ceramic antenna) has a range of 10m and the MiRF-v2 RP-SMA (with the coax jack) has a range of 80m. I am not a big fan of the boards that use the nRF2401, so you’re on your own with those guys. The MiRF-v2, which is based on the nRF24L01, has a data rate of 2 Mbps, which should certainly get you the data rate you want.

If you’re into making your own boards, Sparkfun also sells these chips for $3.50 in single quantities, which makes them extremely hard to beat on a price/performance basis.

4

ke7eha

…WOW…

Thank you so much!

I may have to do a board redesign in the next few months to get that going.

at 50Mhz, my processor will only be able to use 250k baud rates…but hey…rock and roll.

5

You can communicate to the 24L01 at any SPI data rate up to 8 Mbps, so the speed of your micro doesn’t really matter much. The RF link between the 24L01 chips can only be 1 or 2 Mbps, though.

6

The CC1100 is awesome for 500+ feet. It is a Biatch to set up, but once you’ve got all the registers right, it does rock.

7

If my host is sending UART Data to CC110 acting as a transmitter, can I still access that Data on the reciever through SPI, or do I need to use UART To access it from the reciever?

8

Steel:
If my host is sending UART Data to CC110 acting as a transmitter, can I still access that Data on the reciever through SPI, or do I need to use UART To access it from the reciever?

Sorry. I don’t understand your question.

9

Steel:
I need something with some range (150’+ indoors) and fast data transfer (250kbps)

I came across the Nordic chip on the sparkfun website, but I can’t find any range information on the datasheets for it.

Does anybody know what the range is for the nordic chip? I am looking to use it in a theatre setting with the transmitter in back of house (with sound/light board), and the reciever up on stage.

Has anybody tested the range, or know of a similar chip.

I am working with the XBee which is 115k, but I need more bandwidth ( I am wanting to send 128 bytes every 1mS)

Thanks.

IMO, 128 bytes in 1 msec, repeating, is unrealistic for anything of reasonable cost. If it repeats hundreds of times per second, you need to look at how to organize the data to be sent in larger and slower hunks, or rethink the overall design.

the 802.15.4 radios like you have with XBee use 250Kbps on the air link. I’ve achieved 80Kbps at the application layer.

If you really can’t compress or code your data to live in those constraints (and that seems doable) perhaps you need a

http://www.lantronix.com/device-network … iport.html

http://www.gridconnect.com/wiports.html … hgodpRBDAg

10

RonnyM:
The CC1100 is awesome for 500+ feet. It is a Biatch to set up, but once you’ve got all the registers right, it does rock.

500 feet line of sight?

Are there any amplifier chips that could be conveniently coupled with it to increase range?

11

Line of sight was over 1000’ for remote work @ 915 MHz (a few bytes,repeating). Connecting an amp chip in the transmit chain also means two switches in line to bypass the recieve chain.

Ron

12

RonnyM:
Line of sight was over 1000’ for remote work @ 915 MHz (a few bytes,repeating). Connecting an amp chip in the transmit chain also means two switches in line to bypass the recieve chain.

Ron

Were you still seeing 500kbps at that range? I'm aware of the need for rf switches - but am still interested in seeing if the range could be further increased.
13

Sorry to be full of questions…

Can anyone suggest an antenna to use with the TI CC1100? I am looking for something surface-mount, or compact.

(similar to: http://www.antennafactor.com/Products/Embeddable/ )

Thanks.

Shaun

14

I use the JJB series. Range to 1000’ .They work very well. I have the chips, but haven’t tried them yet.

Ron

15

Iwould find a SMA or BNC connector to put on your CC1100 board, which would allow you to try a variety of antennae. If you look, my board does have an SMA connector on-board for the RF output.

Oh, and make sure you get 50 ohm connectors, such as BNC-50 or SMA-50, to ensure impedance matching through your transmission line.