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

RFD868 is no more a solution for Europe?

Hello,

I live in Turkey so we have 900MHz GSM and 800MHz 4G LTE signals as general in Europe. I am trying to setup a long range UAV for academic purposes. I already have ezUHF which works on 433MHz band. So 433MHz 3DR is no option or I'll use 2.4GHz rc.

900MHz is no-go in Europe, so thanks to Seppo, they made RFD868+ so everybody in Europe bought them and use them happly. My researchs says new 4G LTE bands interfere with 868MHz devices a lot and reduce more than half the range.

So, RFD868 is no more a solution for Europe? Can anybody with RFD868 can confirm they get good range within 4G LTE coverage?

Sources:

http://www.rfdesignuk.com/LTEoverview.htm

http://www.rfdesignuk.com/LTEETSI.htm

http://www.rfdesignuk.com/Documents/LTE%20800MHz%204G%20FAQ%20v1.pdf

In PDF it says:

What types of 868MHz SRD are prone to 4G interference, is it only low cost receivers?

Unfortunately it’s not. Whilst a small number of SRD receivers have particular weakness at the 800MHz 4G frequencies, 4G user equipment is permitted to radiate high levels of noise directly into the SRD channel. There is very limited technical scope to design a receiver that offers immunity to this noise. Consequently, almost all receiver types across a broad range of complexity and cost, will suffer significant degradation in areas where 4G products are in operation.

Replies

- Paul Meier > Emin Bu April 23, 2016 at 12:04pm
  
  Emin, I think you may use the same 433 or 868, just set them to different band, but if you feel rich use 1 433 and 1 868+
  - Emin Bu > Paul Meier April 23, 2016 at 12:12pm
    
    Hm...thanks for answer but i really doubt that....that would mean i can use DragonLink V3(http://dragonlinkrc.com/store/dragon-link-advanced-complete-system) for PPM control and also connection to pixhawk and ground station telemetry and also for communication with RTK...hope that day will come soon...
Mike Mac April 13, 2016 at 5:07pm

Multi-point setup

This is my first post on this thread so forgive me if the question has already been answered. I have three RFD900+ modems for airplane, GS, and Antenna tracker. I have Pixhawk on all three. I just programmed the RFD900 modems with B2.6 firmware and setup for node 0 aircraft, node 1 GS, node 2 antenna tracker.

Now for the questions. It all works on the ground and I plan on doing a flight test in the morning but the rssi and remrssi in MP don’t look like they are working correctly. They read between 6 and 8 when they are usually around 200.

Do I have something configured incorrectly?

Do I really have a very week signal?

Or does the current airplane firmware not support RFD900 with V2.x firmware?

　

.
- Ikaros > Mike Mac April 13, 2016 at 11:15pm
  
  Hi, the radio link reporting is not working on the multipoint fw. I contacted RFDesign and they are working on it.
  - Mike Mac > Ikaros April 14, 2016 at 6:09am
    
    Thanks for the reply. Did they say how long before the next firmware update?
    
    　
    
    I did some flying this morning and everything worked perfect. The Pixhawk based antenna tracker works very well.
    
    　
    
    .
    - Ikaros > Mike Mac April 15, 2016 at 5:48am
      
      No they didn't say how long it would take, but I am looking forward to it. None of my rfd868p modems work on the standard fw so I have to run them with MP fw. The link is solid but no RSSI reporting..
Marc MERLIN March 29, 2016 at 4:11pm

I'm not having any luck getting my RFD900+ talking to a 3DR clone (which talks very well with its other clone)

Is my problem format 25 vs 26, which I can't change? Do I need to flash different firmware?

Or do I need to disable ECC on both the RFD and the remote 3DR radio, even though ECC works fine on the 2 3DR radios together?

Thanks for suggestions.

https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3702215202?profile=original
- Don LeRoi > Marc MERLIN March 29, 2016 at 5:31pm
  
  Marc,
  
  Yes, you have to turn off ECC on both.
  
  -Don
  - Marc MERLIN > Don LeRoi March 29, 2016 at 10:06pm
    
    Thanks Don. Sure enough it works with ECC turned off.
    
    So the next questions are
    
    1) How bad is it to lose ECC for mavlink/ardupilot?
    
    2) Is there a firmware I can put on either radio so that they are compatible with ECC turned on? Or should I forget about it/not bother?
    
    Thanks,
    
    Marc
Ersin Gürel February 15, 2016 at 6:05am

RFD868 is no more a solution for Europe?

Hello,

I live in Turkey so we have 900MHz GSM and 800MHz 4G LTE signals as general in Europe. I am trying to setup a long range UAV for academic purposes. I already have ezUHF which works on 433MHz band. So 433MHz 3DR is no option or I'll use 2.4GHz rc.

900MHz is no-go in Europe, so thanks to Seppo, they made RFD868+ so everybody in Europe bought them and use them happly. My researchs says new 4G LTE bands interfere with 868MHz devices a lot and reduce more than half the range.

So, RFD868 is no more a solution for Europe? Can anybody with RFD868 can confirm they get good range within 4G LTE coverage?

Sources:

http://www.rfdesignuk.com/LTEoverview.htm

http://www.rfdesignuk.com/LTEETSI.htm

http://www.rfdesignuk.com/Documents/LTE%20800MHz%204G%20FAQ%20v1.pdf

In PDF it says:

What types of 868MHz SRD are prone to 4G interference, is it only low cost receivers?

Unfortunately it’s not. Whilst a small number of SRD receivers have particular weakness at the 800MHz 4G frequencies, 4G user equipment is permitted to radiate high levels of noise directly into the SRD channel. There is very limited technical scope to design a receiver that offers immunity to this noise. Consequently, almost all receiver types across a broad range of complexity and cost, will suffer significant degradation in areas where 4G products are in operation.

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