RFD - is the flagship product of the Australian company RFDesign.
RFD is a long-range telemetry and communication system. The RFD system consists of RFD modems, a set of antennas and the cables necessary to connect the modules to other systems.
At the heart of each system are RFD modems, which are high-performance radio modems operating in the ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) band. They are designed for long-range communications applications requiring best-in-class radio link performance. One of the modems is always part of the GCS (Ground Control Station), while the other is part of the project with which communication is required, such as an unmanned aerial vehicle.
For more on RFD modems, their differences and applications, see our authoritative article.
PRODUCT FEATURES RFD900x Modem.
- Long range> 40 km depending on antennas and GCS configuration * 80 km demonstrated by Edge Research labs on balloon, 57 km in India, on Dipoles
- 2 x RP-SMA RF connectors, collectively switched,
- Transmission power of 1 W (+ 30 dBm),
- Low-pass filter transmission,
- >20dB amplifier with low noise, high IP3,
- RX SAW filter,
- All inputs / outputs protected from ESD and filtered,
- Re-implemented SiK and Multipoint SiK software, with field upgrades, easy to configure,
- Small, lightweight,
- License-free use in Australia, Canada, USA, New Zealand.
SPECIFICATION
INTERFACES:
- RF: 2 x RP-SMA connectors,
- Serial: TTL logic level (+ 3.3 v),
- Power: + 5 V, ~ 800 mA max Peak (at maximum transmit power),
- GPIOS: 6 general purpose IOs (with Digit support).
SOFTWARE OPERATION / GCS:
The software solution is an open source program called “SiK.” It has been re-implemented to fit the new processor architecture available on the 32-bit ARM processor core. The boot loader and interface are available for further development and firmware updates of the modem via the serial port. Most parameters can be configured via AT commands, such as baud rate (air / uart), frequency band, power levels. Integrated RFD900 radio configuration support is handled by APM Planner. Default settings are 57600 baud, data rate N, 8, 1 and 64k. The RFD900x SiK software manual can be found in the downloads.
SOFTWARE FEATURES INCLUDE:
- Frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS)
- Transparent serial link
- Point-to-point or multipoint network
- Configuration via simple AT commands for local radio, RT commands for remote radio
- User-configurable serial data rates and air data
- Error correction procedures, Mavlink protocol framing (user selectable)
- Mavlink radio status reporting (local RSSI, remote RSSI, local noise, remote noise)
- Automatic bulk switching of antennas based on real-time packets
- Automatic throttling of the duty cycle based on RF temperature to avoid overheating
INFO
PACKAGE DETAIL
- 2 x RFD900x-US Radio Modems
- 1 x Antenna, 900MHz Quarter wave monopole 2.1dBi
- 1 x Antenna, 900MHz Right Angle Quarter wave monopole 2.1dBi
- 4 x Antennas, 900MHz Half wave dipole 3dBi
- 1 x FTDI USB cable