RFD900 - New long range radio modem
Hi All,
I would like to introduce you to a new radio modem that we developed for very long range datalinks!
http://rfdesign.com.au/RFD900.php
Some of the key features of the RFD900 are as follows:
- Long range >40km depending on antennas and GCS setup
- 2 x RP-SMA RF connectors, diversity switched.
- 1 Watt (+30dBm) transmit power.
- Transmit low pass filter.
- > 20dB Low noise amplifier.
- RX SAW filter.
- Passive front end band pass filter.
- Open source firmware / tools, field upgradeable, easy to configure.
- Small (30 x 57 x 13 mm), light weight (14.5g).
- Compatible with 3DR / Hope-RF radio modules.
- License free use in Australia, Canada, USA, NZ.
These modems are designed to support long range applications, while being easy to use and affordable. Target pricing is in the region of $90 per unit.
They are 100% compatible with 900MHz Hope-RF based radios (3DR) and similar.
These modems have been flying in various platforms and have demonstrated excellent performance in real applications.
RFD900 modems are expected to be available in a few weeks time, before the end of June in production quantities.
Support within APM planner and the radio configurator from Michael Oborne is already available.
It works seamlessly with APM planner, all radio Mavlink parameters are available.
Seppo Saario
rfdesign.com.au
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Seppo on -
Now that the 2012 outback challenge is over for this year - there is some more time to get RCLink developed. Planning prototype release in a month or so and planning on having final versions available through early December :)
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Permalink Reply by Seppo on
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Hi All,
Out of the six teams who made it to the last stages of the UAV outback challenge 2012, three were using RFD900s for telemetry links! It was great to go to the competition and see the different airframes.
CompassUAV, Canberra UAV, and TGIF
TGIF (I am a member of) - was scrubbed due to a crash the day before the competition :(
Compass UAV made it through ground and flight scrutineering, but had autopilot problems through the flight.
Canberra UAV made it through, found joe!, and returned to the airfield!
Great flying teams :)
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Permalink Reply by Marcelo Gomes on -
Great news...!
My RFD900 is coming. My skywalker UAV soon will be flying.
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Permalink Reply by james sowell on -
sorry about your crash and hate to ask but what happened?
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Permalink Reply by Seppo on
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Crash was due to a short runway, longer, bushy grass at the end and aircraft clipping the grass just as getting airborne. It rapidly decelerated and swung around in the grass, snapping the tail boom. We still needed a couple of hours of running through all the final test cases in the code and about 6 hours or so for the Epoxy to set for a tail repair. Problem was this all happened early in the afternoon the day before the comp and ran out of time- !? Hopefully there is a comp in a couple of years time ! :)
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Permalink Reply by james sowell on
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man its always little stuff you can never see coming anyway good luck at the next one
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Permalink Reply by Hans Miller on
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I've received mine a few days ago, and I must say I am also impressed with the build quality of the product...
I will be conducting a few methodical tests of distance/speed/RSSI in the next few weeks and I'm looking forward to sharing my results...
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Permalink Reply by Seppo on
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Hello Hans,
Interested to hear how your testing has been going so far on the RFD900's !
If there's any more information that you need, let us know.
Cheers,
Seppo
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Permalink Reply by Hans Miller on
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Hi there,
Thanks for the advice below, that was exactly what I needed. Alas the testing hasn't happened yet, because I'm being plagued by an Arduplane bug... Until I can get the GPS coordinates to feed through to the mission planner, there is not much point in trying anything. All the other sensor data is getting through just fine, except for GPS, have opened an issue for this, but I imagine it may be quite a while yet...
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Permalink Reply by Hans Miller on
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Hi, I have an issue. My local unit seems to wipe the firmware every time it's turned off. After powering up I load the firmware and it connects to the remote unit ok. Also, does anyone have any ideas on how to connect it to an APM1? I am powering the remote from a separate power source. I have looked and re-looked at the pin layout one the APM and the RFD but am none the wiser. Ta
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Permalink Reply by James Churchill on
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The firmware can't be lost via a power failure, however reflashing the firmware will also clear the configuration. Some configuration registers only take effect after a reset, so you might be inadvertently putting something invalid or unexpected in there and the unit then comes up differently on next power-on.
The connection between an APM1 and the RFD900 should be the same as for the 3dr radio, using the bottom row of pins. Additionally, RX on the APM has to go to TX on the RFD900 and vice versa.
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Permalink Reply by Hans Miller on
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Sooo. Solved the problem with losing the FW. All you have to do is connect USB before you connect power (I'm using a separate power source).
As for the connection problem with the APM1: I have been able to connect to the APM, however I am not able to power the RFD900 from a separate source, as it requires a ground connection to the APM in order to work. I'm guessing that sharing grounds with a BEC is not exactly a good idea. Anyone care to enlighten me?
Thanks...
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