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

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:

Multi point and point to point link capability.
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.

These modems have been flying in various platforms and have demonstrated excellent performance in real applications.

RFD900 modems are now available at: http://store.rfdesign.com.au

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.

Update, December 2014: The RFD900+ with improved specifications is available now at:

http://store.rfdesign.com.au/rfd-900p-modem/

Seppo Saario

rfdesign.com.au

Hi Seppo,

I am using two RFD 900+ for radio control.

I have question about how to get the RSSI value. As I know I can get the RSSI value by entering the AT command mode. but that will interrupt the communication. So currently I enable the RSSI debugging and parse the debugging text from radio module to get the RSSI value.

However, there are two problems. one is the RSSI debugging text is reported too often, about 6 messages every second, that result in too much data. The other one is that RSSI debugging text can be mixed in the application message sometimes, that will cause corrupted application message.

Do you have any suggestion on how get RSSI value while application communication is on going?

Thank you very much!

Replies

- - - - IronDOME > David Boulanger May 9, 2016 at 12:46pm
        
        Thanks mate!
        
        I'm doing a lot of research and so when i read something that is unclear I tend to ask just like I did here. Thanks all. Yes, the current Talon I have uses RFD, at some point I had some problems with the link quality even when the plane was close to the GCS. Updating the firmware/drivers solved the problem. I'm yet to range test the plane, I have not flown it any further than 5km. So, I’m ken to see how these antennas perform.
        
        Thanks
Jason May 4, 2016 at 7:52pm

Hi Seppo,

I am using two RFD 900+ for radio control.

I have question about how to get the RSSI value. As I know I can get the RSSI value by entering the AT command mode. but that will interrupt the communication. So currently I enable the RSSI debugging and parse the debugging text from radio module to get the RSSI value.

However, there are two problems. one is the RSSI debugging text is reported too often, about 6 messages every second, that result in too much data. The other one is that RSSI debugging text can be mixed in the application message sometimes, that will cause corrupted application message.

Do you have any suggestion on how get RSSI value while application communication is on going?

Thank you very much!
- Chris > Jason May 4, 2016 at 8:36pm
  
  Are you using MAVLink? If so why not have it inject the MAVLink messages with the RSSI?
  - Jason > Chris May 5, 2016 at 5:39am
    
    thank for your reply. Chris.
    
    No, the MAVLink is not used. Do you mean that if MAVLink is used, RSSI value can be in MAVLink message?
    
    I am a little confused. I'd like to get the RSSI from RS232 interface and show it on a display.
    
    Could you please explain a bit more? Thank you!
    - Chris > Jason May 5, 2016 at 6:45am
      
      Hi Jason,
      
      Yes if the data stream going across is MAVLink and you have inject MAVLink RSSI turned on (it's a config option) then yes it will automatically inject MavLink RSSI tags into the data stream. I was very happy to see this on a test setup last year. The test was a pixhawk connected to a companion PC running MavProxy which was connected to an RFD900+ to another RFD900+ which was connected to a PC running Mission Planner. All RSSI readings were coming from the RFD900's which was great.
      
      I plan to have a look at the firmware on how it's doing this but yet to get to it. If you need the data but dont want to use MAVLINK packets maybe have a look at how the firmware does it and write your own custom version.
      
      Chris
      - Jason > Chris May 10, 2016 at 4:52pm
        
        Hi Chris,
        
        Thank you for your advice. I use the 3DRRadio config for configuration. But I did not found the option to inject the MAVLink RSSI. Could you tell me which configuration tool you use?
        
        Jason
        
        Chris > Jason May 10, 2016 at 5:12pm
        
        Hi Jason,
        
        No probs, we are all here to help each other. Try the RFDesign site. http://files.rfdesign.com.au/tools/ should have the RFD config tool which has the option 'Mavlink' in the lower left side. This should inject mavlink RSSI messages in if it detects MAVLink is being used, it seems to strip the other RSSI messages out so it doesn't confuse the GCS.
        
        Also I was running an SSH session over the link at the same time and it worked well.
        
        Chris
        
        Modem Tools | RFDesign Files
        
        Here you will find Supporting files, Binaries and Tools to use our products
        
        Jason > Chris May 11, 2016 at 8:08pm
        
        Hi Chris,
        
        I am building the firmware for RFD 9000+ (i think it is RDF 900p as well). I downloaded the source code from branch :https://github.com/RFDesign/SiK/tree/SiK. And Compiling is OK. Then I uploaded the new firmware onto one of my two radio modules.
        
        I found the new firmware version is 1.13. seems that this version has some problem when using 3DRRadio for configuration.
        
        Another thing is https://github.com/RFDesign/SiK/tree/900p_v1.9. Is this the latest version for RFD 900p? I am compiling it. but get some error.
        
        Could you please tell me which branch is better for RFD 900p?
        
        Thank you very much.
        
        RFDesign/SiK
        
        Tools and firmware for the Si1000 - Si102x/3x. Contribute to RFDesign/SiK development by creating an account on GitHub.
        
        Chris > Jason May 12, 2016 at 9:30pm
        
        I used their prepared binaries (http://files.rfdesign.com.au/firmware/) - choose the one for the 900+, I believe I'm using the 1.9 binaries and they are working well for me. I also have tried the v2 for multipoint comms.
        
        Try the v1.12 they have on the site, if no good drop back to the v1.9.
        
        I haven't had a need to build the firmware from them at this stage. I've had a quick look but thats as far as it goes on that one.
        
        Firmware | RFDesign Files
        
        Here you will find Supporting files, Binaries and Tools to use our products
Emin Bu April 23, 2016 at 11:38am

Noob in RTK question;can i use 868+ modems for both telemetry and connection to RTK GPS...or i have to use 433 for telemetry and 868+ for rtk?

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