500mW ultra-narrowband radio modules optimised for noisy Industrial environments

Jon Lawson

Assisting innovation in wireless communication system design and installation, Solid State Supplies Ltd is now in a position to offer its customers the RC17xxHP series from Radiocrafts.

These compact radio modules are capable of delivering RF output levels beyond those of the competition.

Supporting +27dBm transmission power and +118dBm receiver sensitivity, they have a line-of-sight range reaching up to 20km.

Using them reliable, fully encrypted radio links can be established, with a maximum data rate of 100kbps.

The energy efficiency of these units is another key factor. At full transmission power, they only draw 407mA of current and when sleep mode is activated their current consumption is a maximum of 2.0uA.

Their elevated performance parameters and low power operation mean that these ultra-narrowband units are highly suited to a wide variety of modern industrial applications - including telemetry systems, process monitoring, industrial remote controls, automatic meter reading, crane manoeuvre, logistics/asset tracking and fleet management.

They cover all sub-1GHz ISM bands (169MHz, 433MHz, 868MHz, etc.), plus certain specific national bands (such as 444MHz, 458MHz and 465MHz).

Thanks to the embedded RC232 bi-directional radio protocol employed, RC17xxHP modules can support both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint operation. This is also responsible for their 128byte data buffering capabilities. The strong selectivity and advanced blocking mechanisms utilised by these units gives them heightened interference robustness.

Members of the RC17xxHP series each come in a compact surface mount package, with a footprint that measures only 12.8mm x 25.4mm. They are compliant with ETSI’s EN 300 220, EN 301 489 and EN 60950 standards.

The thermally stabilised crystal oscillators incorporated into these units ensure that dependable and consistent performance is maintained across the whole of their extensive -40°C to +85°C operational temperature range.