Hi guys,
I know the Pro 900 XSC has about 4x the range of the Pro 900, but that it's data rate is only 9.6kbps.
Is this enough for full duplex telemetry and on the fly route updates from the mission planner or am I better off going for the Pro 900?
I'd love the Xtend 900 but it's a little pricey compared :( but who wouldn't love a 60km+ range?!?
I'm just not too keen on the 3DR radio so I've decided to stick with the Xbees which I've used before.
Also how much difference in range would you expect to get using the wire whip vs the RPSMA connector with an omni antenna?
Replies
Encryption is certainly needed and should be one of the core features of the data stream protocol.
91 bytes of ram and 3156 bytes of flash for a complete encryption solution is a trivial amount.
The Si1000 chip has 64kb of flash and 4.25k of ram.
91 / 4352 = 2% of ram.
3156 / 65536 = 5% of flash.
Encryption is more like a 25% value feature, so it is a bargain for 5%. Because the 3DR/SiK firmware is tied to the MP, we need to rely on cooperation from the devs to remove code bloat and prioritize features. It would have been really nice if they had budgeted some free space for others to use and for new features. Hogging up all the space right away makes it hard to move forward.
43 bytes of ram and 1056 bytes of code space for the encryption module, and 48/2100
I wouldn't invest in old tech when the new generation of radios (like the 3DR) are so much better in every spec and cheaper to boot.
There are 1W 3DR type radios coming out that will perform a lot better than even the Xtend.
At 9.6kbps you're not going to be happy.