RFD900, RFD900+ - New long range radio modem - Discussions

Rana August 19, 2012 at 2:47am

Few hours back RFD900 tested for 58.5KM @57600 baud on APM1, done ten times read & write of 50 Waypoints sucessfully, one location was at ground (285mt from sea level) and other location was in hilly area in Kasauli at 1865mt from sea level. 3dBi, single antenna used on both modems.

Amazing performance.

Seppo August 18, 2012 at 2:20am

We're looking into cable assemblies ! :)

RPSMA RF extension cables to make installation into airframes and ground installations easier.

I was thinking about two lengths:, 15cm, and 50cm.
15cm would be short enough to get out to the outside of an airframe with minimal loss, and 50cm would give some length to relocate antennas further away.

Longer cables could be made by stacking cables end to end.

Any thoughts on what would be the most convenient lengths?

Frederique Pivot August 17, 2012 at 4:20pm

Nice product! However, I had an interesting conversation with an inspector from Industry Canada today. I am applying for a SFOC and therefore, I had to verify with this inspector if the radio-equipment I intend to use can be used in Canada.

This is what I discovered about what licence-exempt radio equipment means.

According to IC: "All licence-exempt radio equipment must meet specific Industry Canada regulatory requirements and technical standards before it can be imported, sold or used in Canada. The process whereby equipment manufacturers demonstrate compliance with Industry Canada's technical Standards is referred to as certification.

Industry Canada's Certification and Engineering Bureau provides up-to-date information on all radiocommunication equipment certified for use in Canada. Certification information for specific types of radio devices can be obtained directly by reviewing Industry Canada's Radio Equipment List (REL) database or by contacting the Bureau.".

So, basically, if your radio equipment, even licence-exempt complies with IC RSS- 210 Annex 8.1, but is not certified (that means, you cannot find while searching there: http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/sitt/reltel/srch/nwRdSrch.do;jsessionid=000...), then you are not allowed to import it, sell it, or use it in Canada.

Just purchasing it and bringing it in Canada is illegal, if it is not certified. To know if it is IC certified, it is easy: either you search the database I linked above or you check if your equipment bears a label with an Industry Canada certification/registration number.

You can verify everything I wrote by calling an IC inspector or visit this FAQ page: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf08655.html#D1

In conclusion, the only inexpensive telemetry system you can use in Canada on a UAV at the moment is XBEE based (as they are IC certified). Unless, you know any other with comparable capabilities and price.

Believe me or not... you learn a lot when you have to go through an SFOC application!!!

Fred.

Home - Certification and Engineering Bureau

The Certification and Engineering Bureau of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada provides a certification service for both radio and t…

Seppo August 14, 2012 at 10:16pm

Hi Jake,

The SMT on the boards is lead free for all boards at the moment, during the manufacture I was personally on the line in Melbourne, Australia - checking out the operators/process/inspection and am happy with the result.

They are definitely compliant with IPC-A-610, and Seppo QA, which is sometimes more stringent :). I have worked with a few high volume production houses (Solectron/Flextronics etc.) manufacturing handsets and am able to identify issues in most cases.

For the through hole parts, we do these back in Brisbane and if you send though a "Jake Request" for leaded solder on the through hole / rf connectors I will be happy to accommodate your request :) - The current batch has already been fully assembled, but expect a new batch will be going through in around 3 weeks time.

Cheers,

Seppo

SaadT August 14, 2012 at 4:44am

Hi,

I've been trying to find this, but not much help so far. My question is, the UART interface on APM2 (that the telemetry radios connect to) 3.3v or 5v logic?? I have a 3.3v module which is NOT 5V tolerant. Can i connect it directly to APM UART or do i need level shifters?

Thanks

Seppo August 13, 2012 at 10:07am

By now there are a fair number of RFD900 modems out in the field ! - I have heard from some customers by direct email some of the results that can be achieved :). It would be cool to hear the in-field performance on different platforms and in different setups. Let us know how they go in your application ! :)

If there is any wish-list items for the RFD900's also let us know.

Cheers,

Seppo

Cong Do August 11, 2012 at 3:24am

I just got my DNT900 yesterday, It's pretty dam easy to set-up and get going.

Pretty impress it did 500-600 Meters.

The base station was inside a house on the bottom of the hill operating at 1watts.

Both the transmitter had the Quarter wave monopole.

I was walking uphill around the the suburb fill with trees and buildings.

It's going to be fun testing RFD900 out in the open.

I notice there are 6 GPIO, do I program the GPIO via the firmware?

I have a 1.5GHz Toy that I want to connect to this transceiver but it's logic is 3.3V. Is it possible to alter the serial of the RFD900 to work at 3.3. If not I would need ones of these right http://www.adafruit.com/products/395

Thanks,

Seppo August 7, 2012 at 5:43am

How to cook and freeze a modem.

The RFD900 modems are specified from -40 to +85 deg C. This was tested, and performance across this range was verified prior to release. But, we wondered how far can they *really* operate?

Setting the radios to transmit at full power (1 Watt), continuous spam of data, with duty cycle thermal limiting turned off we ran them through our environmental chamber.

Going cold, we got to -73 degC before we started to reach chamber lower limits, and the radios were happily sending data. The radio was allowed to cold soak at -73 for 30 mins, then turned on and blasted at full power. -- No issues were seen!

Going hot, we had the radio transmitting at full power, while stepping up in 10 degree increments.

At 120 deg C things were all fine, on the way up to 130 deg C, the radio dropped link at 125 degC. Ramping back down, the RFD900 locked on and recovered a full power link cooling through 123 deg C or so.

Running through performance tests back at room temperature, no adverse effects were noted from the extreme temperature torture :)

Delfin Magote III July 28, 2012 at 12:17am

How's the RCLink going? We will be using this for long range telemetry and RCLink would be a great addition. Good results so far from the tests you've done.

By the way, what is the best or recommended setup for this?

Cong Do July 27, 2012 at 11:56pm

Hi,

Could some one tell me how fast this little toy can operate and at what W.

My order for the DNT900 is coming in a week times. But they have restriction, running 500kb/s you are allow 85mW.

Thanks,

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RFD900, RFD900+ - New long range radio modem

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