RFDesign Pty Ltd
About RFDesign
RFDesign is an electronics design and manufacturing company specialising in Embedded systems, Radios, Antennas and high frequency electronics.
We are located in Brisbane, Australia with our office located in Archerfield, QLD. Please visit RFDesign main website, http://rfdesign.com.au for more information.
RFD900x
New Features
New Processor, ARM 32 bit core.
Air data rate: 500kbit/s
AES Hardware accelerated encryption. *Fully working*
RC PPM Passthrough with telemetry at the same time.
Fully ESD protected + filtered - Every IO port is protected and filtered.
Original SiK point to point firmware implemented.
Asynchronous multipoint firmware, *Beta release*
Features
Long range >40km depending on antennas and GCS setup
*80km demonstrated by Edge Research labs on a balloon, 57km in India, on Dipoles.
2 x RP-SMA RF connectors, diversity switched.
1 Watt (+30dBm) transmit power.
Transmit low pass filter.
> 20dB Low noise amplifier, high IP3.
RX SAW filter.
All I/O ESD protected and filtered.
Re implemented SiK and Multipoint SiK firmware, field upgradeable, easy to
configure.
Small, lightweight.
License free use in Australia, Canada, USA, NZ
Note: Not compatible with older modems
Interfaces
RF
2 x RP-SMA connectors
Serial
Logic level TTL (+3.3v)
Power
+5v, ~800mA max peak (at maximum transmit power)
GPIO
6 General purpose IO (Digita capable)
Specifications
Frequency Range
902 - 928 MHz (USA)
915 - 928 MHz (Australia)
Output Power
1W (+30dBm), controllable in 1dB steps
( +/- 1dB @=20dBm typical )
Air Data transfer rates
12, 56, 64, 100, 125, 200, 224, 500 and 750 kbit/sec (User settable, 64kbit default)*
UART data transfer rates
1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200, 230400, 460800, 1M baud (User settable, 57600 default)*
*note these values are correct as of version 3.16 SiK firmware
Output Power
1W (+30dBm)
Receive Sensitivity
>111 dBm at 12kbps, 105 at 64 kbps and 98 at 200 kbps
Size
30 mm (wide) x 57 mm (long) x 12.8 mm (thick) - Including RF Shield,
Heatsink and connector extremeties
Weight
14.5g
Mounting
3 x M2.5 screws, 3 x header pin solder points
Power Supply
+5 V nominal (+3.5 V min, +5.5 V max)
~800 mA peak at maximum power
Temp. Range
-40 to +85 °C
tested operational from -73 to +123 °C
Software / GCS Support
The software solution is an open source development called "SiK". It has been re implemented to suit the new processor architecture available on the 32bit ARM processor core. A boot loader and interface is available for further development and field upgrade of the modem firmware via the serial port.
Most parameters are configurable via AT commands, Eg. baud rate (air/uart), frequency band, power levels.
Integrated support for configuring the RFD900 radios is supported by APM Planner. The default settings are at 57600 baud, N, 8, 1, and 64k air data rate.
The RFD900x manual is here: RFD900x Manual
The RFD900x SiK software manual is here : RFD900x Peer-to-peer Manual
Software features include
Frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS)
Transparent serial link
Point to Point, or Multipoint networking
Configuration by simple AT commands for local radio, RT commands for remote
radio
User configurable serial data rates and air data rates
MAVLink protocol framing (user selectable)
MAVLink radio status reporting (Local RSSI, Remote RSSI, Local Noise, Remote
Noise)
Automatic antenna diversity switching on a packet basis in realtime
Automatic duty cycle throttling based on radio temperature to avoid overheating
Compliance
The RFD900 is designed to be compliant with the following standards:
FCC Part 15.247 (Frequency hopping and digitally modulated intentional radiators)
AS/NZS 4268:2012 (Radio equipment and systems - short range devices)
The modem is designed for system integrators who will integrate the modem into their own projects and product prototypes. The user is responsible for compliance with local regulations for radio transmitters.
Contact Information
RFDesign Pty Ltd
Unit 7/1 Stockwell Place
Archerfield QLD 4108
Tel: +61 (0)7 3255 6042
Email: [email protected]
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