RFD900 Datasheet - RFDesign Files
Contents
1. 750 d R 600 el F P 450 400 _ 350 P 300 y 4 Occupied Bandwidth kHz 250 li 0 50 100 150 200 250 Air Data Rate kbps Figure 4 3 Occupied Bandwidth vs Air Data Rate 8 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet 5 Pin Signals and Layout Pin Name Direction Description Max Voltage 1 GND Ground OV 2 GND Ground OV 3 CTS Either Clear to send 5V 4 Vcc Power supply 5V 5 Vusb Power supply from USB 5V 6 Vusb Power supply from USB 5V 7 RX Input UART Data In 5V 8 P2 3 Either Digital I O 5V 9 TX Output UART Data Out 5V 10 P2 2 Either Digital I O 5V 11 RTS Either Request to send 5V 12 P2 1 Either Digital I O 5V 13 PO 1 Either Digital 1 O 5V 14 P2 0 Either Digital 1 O 5V 15 P2 6 Either Digital 1 O 5V 16 GND Ground OV je CA QA le oO 5 TRC PA e Leo Xe Ke No Hoooooo Figure 5 1 Physical Pin Layout of the RFD900 Radio Modem The FTDI cable see Useful Links is compatible with the RFD900 modem Pin 1 of the FTDI cable black wire should connect to pin 1 of the RFD900 header In order to power the modem from the 5V USB power a jumper is needed to connect pins 4 and 6 To power the modem from an external 5V supply connect the power to pins 2 and 4 as shown in figure 5 1 In case there is need to force the modem into boot mode short circuit pads 12. V2 x or multipoint network V2 x Only Node 0 Node 1 Figure 10 1 Two node Network Setup Node 1 SyncAny 0 Node 4 SyncAny 1 Figure 10 2 Five node Network Setup A few notes on the multipoint network see Figure 10 2 e In order for Node 1 to communicate with Node 2 it has to be able to see Node 0 the base and Node 2 e f Node 4 cannot see Node 0 to communicate with Node 1 it has to be able to see Node 1 and set the SyncAny parameter to 1 refer to Figure 8 3 RFD900 parameters e Please note that there is a maximum number of one node which can have SyncAny 1 parameter in a network to avoid data corruption e More nodes will reduce the bandwidth 17 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet 11 RFD900 Modem Tools User Manual 11 1 Introduction This GUI is for changing RFD900 modem parameters as well as for uploading firmware 11 2 Requirements for End Users Download and copy two files from RFDesign website see Useful Links and put them in the same folder 1 RFD900ModemrTools exe 2 RFD900ModemrTools glade 18 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet 11 3 User Interface e Configuration Tab bad RFD900ModemTools exe RFD900 Modem Tools Ver 1 0 Connection COM Port Firmware Version Configuration Firmware Settings Baud Rate Min Freq Air Speed Net ID Max Freq Number of Channels Duty Cycle Node Count Tx
3. and 2 labelled BOOT on the 9 way test pads 9 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet 6 Software GCS Support The software solution see Useful Links is an open source development which is also compatible with RFD900 Modem Tools see Useful Links and the 3DR Radio Config see Useful Links from 3D Robotics It is called SiK and was created by Mike Smith and improved on by Andrew Tridgell and RFDesign A boot loader and interface is available using RFD900 Modem Tools and field upgrade of the modem firmware via the serial port The RFD900 Radio Modem is compatible with many configuration methods like the AT Commands and APM Planner The AT Commands can be used to change parameters such as power levels air data rates serial speeds etc Integrated support for configuring the RFD900 Radio Modem is supported by the APM Planner with other GCS solutions in development Its default serial port settings are as follows e 57600 baud rate e No parity e 8 data bits e 1 stop bit The RFD900 Radio Modem has many software features which include e Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum e Transparent Serial Link e Configuration by simple AT commands for local radio RT Commands for remote radio e User configurable serial data rates and air data rates Error correction routines Mavlink protocol framing user selectable e Mavlink radio status reporting Local RSSI Remote RSSI Local Noise Remote
4. and one Airborne platform with 3 modems 21 13 BEISMELDICH c Re 22 RFD90O FINITO aorar Ew 22 2 l RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet RFD900 Modem TOls ccccccccccccccceceeuecccccseuuecueecceceueseueueesceceeeeeeeueauaeseeeeseesueeseeeeeeseuaueuseceeeeueauees 22 Software Solution Sik VIX iier ceto ti cereo tert ceat e ee goes aee kane ree gua voce o p bee ra Ue gea erai 22 3DR Radio Configuration Tool seen enne nnns nennen nns ness ns 22 3 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet 1 Key Features RFD900 provides compact and yet powerful data communication The key features are e No configuration required for out of the box RF communications e Operating frequency range of 902 928MHz e Outdoor RF line of site range of 40km or more depending on antennas Air data rate speeds of up to 250kbps e Diversity antenna support e Operating temperature of 40 to 85 degrees Celsius e Dimensions of 30mm x 57mm x 12 8mm e Weight of 14 5g Compliances and Worldwide Acceptances The RFD900 is designed to be compliant to AS4268 2012 and FCC 15 247 It has not been certified as a standalone modem and should be compliance tested in the final product 4 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet 2 Specifications Supported RF Data Rates 4 8 16 19 24 3
5. milliwatts Pw 1005 10 1 To calculate Effective Isotropic Radiated Power EIRP you can use the equation 2 below EIRP dBm Transmit power dBm Cable loss dB Antenna Gain dBi 2 The FCC limit for EIRP is 4 Watts or 36dBm for frequency hopping radios in the ISM 900 MHz band The Australian EIRP limit is 30dBm as defined by ACMA 5 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet 4 Performance Characteristics Figure 4 1 shows how the output power of the RFD900 varies with supply voltage 29 6 Power Output dBm N o l Voc V Figure 4 1 Output Power of RFD900 vs Input Supply Voltage to the RFD900 6 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet Figure 4 2 shows how the current through the RFD900 varies with the transmit power level The current during transmission is shown by the High Level plot and that during receive mode is shown by the Low Level plot 1 4 T T T T T High Level Low Level 1 2 1 4 lt 0 8 E 3 0 6 j o 99r 7 L y 0 4 y Lap 0 2 Pe ett 4 SR I I I a ek EE 9 91 9 0 i i 5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Power Level dBm Figure 4 2 Current consumption of the RFD900 modem vs TX power level 7 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet Figure 4 3 shows the occupied bandwidth 20dB points against the air data rate
6. stations and one Airborne platform with 3 modems Set the Airborne platform as follows NODEID 0 NODEDESTINATION 65535 MAVLINK 1 Set the ground station as follows NODEID 10r2 NODEDESTINATION 0 MAVLINK 1 This will allow the airborne modem to handover to multiple ground stations as it flies from the coverage area of one ground station to another Both ground stations can be connected and can control the Airborne platform simultaneously APM Planner using Mavlink 21 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet 13 Useful Links RFD900 Firmware http rfdesign com au firmware V1 x firmware is standard SiK open source V2 x firmware is multipoint SiK MP SiK RFD900 Modem Tools http rfdesign com au downloads FTDI Cable http www ftdichip com Support Documents DataSheets Cables DS TTL 232R CABLES pdf Software Solution Sik V1 x https github com RFDesign SiK 3DR Radio Configuration Tool http vps oborne me 3drradioconfig zi 22 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013
7. 2 48 64 96 128 192 and 250 Indoor Range 500m 1km Line Of Sight Range 40km or more depending on antennas Transmit Power O to 30dBm in 1dBm steps Receiver Sensitivity gt 121dBm at low data rates gt TBA at high data rates Low Noise Amplifiervv gt 20dB Serial Data Interface 3 3V nominal 5V tolerant Configuration Method AT Commands APM Planner Customised Configuration Tool Frequency Band 902MHz 928MHz Interference Immunity FHSS Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum Serial Interface Data Rate 2400 4800 9600 19200 38400 57600 115200 baud Antenna Options Yagi Wave Dipole Wave Monopole Antenna GPIO 6 pins Digital ADC PWM capable Compliance Standards FCC Part 15 247 AS NZS 4268 2008 Networking and Security Addressing Options Network ID 0 499 Channels Up to 50 Frequency Hopping Channels Supported Network Topologies Point to point Multipoint 1 Only available in firmware version 2 x and later Power Requirements Supply Voltage 5V nominal 4V min 5 5V max Transmit Current 1 A peak at max power Receive Current 60mA 3 Power Levels Many countries have different legal power levels Be sure to operate within the legal power limits of the country that you are operating in The RFD900 modem can support the power levels between OdBm and 30dBm in 1dBm steps Formula 1 can be used to convert the power in dBm into
8. 20 27 30 0 No 30dBm 5 ECC Enables or disables the golay error 1 o 1 0 Yes correcting code T 6 MAVUNK Enables or disables the MAVLink 1 0 1 0 No framing and reporting OP RESEND OpportunicResend 1 0 1 0 No 8 MIN FREQ Min freq in KHz 915 000 927 000 902 000 Yes 9 MAX FREQ Max freq in KHz 928 000 928 000 903 000 Yes 10 NUM CHANNELS Number of frequency hopping channels 50 20 50 5 Yes 11 DUTY CYCLE The percentage of time to allow 100 100 10 No transmit 12 LBT RSSI Listen before talk threshold 0 1 0 Yes This parameter shouldn t be changed 13 MANCHESTER Manchester encoding This parameter 0 1 0 Yes shouldn t be changed 14 RTSCTS Ready To Send and Clear To Send This O 1 0 No parameter shouldn t be changed 15 NODEID Node ID Base node ID is 0 One node 27 29 0 N A must be acting as a base for a multipoint environment to work NODECOUNT must be updated first before updating this parameter with bigger number 16 NODEDESTINATION Remote node ID to communicate with 65535 29 0 No 15 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet Set the value to 65535 to broadcast to all nodes Cannot be the same as NODEID NODECOUNT must be updated first before updating this parameter with bigger number 17 SYNCANY If set to 1 allows the modem to send 0 1 0 No data to all non base nodes without finding the base It is str
9. Noise e Automatic antenna diversity switching on a packet basis in realtime e Automatic duty cycle throttling based on radio temperature in order to avoid overheating 10 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet 7 Antenna Connectivity 7 1 Diversity The RFD900 has two antenna ports and firmware which supports diversity operation of antennas During the receive sequence the modem will check both antennas and select the antenna with the best receive signal In the case of only one antenna connected it will automatically select the port with the antenna connected Testing by Silicon Labs has shown that link budgets can be improved in the order of 6 8dB by employing a diversity scheme e Spatial Diversity Spatial diversity is the case where the antennas are separated by some distance from one another It is recommended that two antennas connected to the RDF900 modem be separated by at least 25cm more if possible e Polarisation Diversity Polarisation diversity is the case where the antennas are perpendicular to each other i e one vertical and one horizontal This is effective in reducing multipath effects which affect one or the other polarisation 11 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet 7 2 Types of Antennas Below are some examples of antennas that can be used with the RFD900 modems e Yagi Antenna Figure 7 1 900MHz 6dBi Yagi Antenna Yagi anten
10. Power Node ID Node Destination 65535 ECC Sync Any Mavlink Op Resend Read Settings Write Settings Reset to Factory Settings Figure 11 1 Configuration Tab Modem Tools To communicate with the modem make sure you connect the modem to the computer using FTDI cable Use the COM Port combobox to choose the correct COM port to which the modem is connected Use the Refresh button to refresh the COM combobox list after connecting disconnecting a modem Set Node Destination to 65535 to send data to all nodes All other comboboxes and checkbuttons are self explanatory Use Update Settings button to write setting changes to the modem Initially this button is disabled and will be enabled once the Load Settings button is clicked Use the Load Settings button to load settings from the modem Use Reset Factory Settings button to reset the current modem settings to the factory settings 19 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet e Firmware Tab bad RFD900ModemTools exe RFD900 Modem Tools Ver 1 0 Connection COM Port Firmware Version Figure 11 2 Configuration Tab Modem Tools Use the COM Port combobox to choose the correct COM port to which the modem is connected Use the Refresh button to refresh the COM combobox list after connecting disconnecting a modem Download the firmware from the RFDesign website see Useful Links and put the file on the same folder as
11. RFD900 Radio Modem Data Sheet RFD900 Product Specifications and Performance RFD900 Configuration RFD900 Modem Tools User Manual RFDesign Pty Ltd 6 97 Jijaws Street Sumner Park QLD 4074 rfdesign com au RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet Contents 1 Key III 4 De Specifications esee iode io ecoute acta e ete i e Rd e c Praec oet iones 5 3 PowerLevels ne R RIEF PUT EKEUN ceedewensos chins aqavasaeaus aireta 5 4 Performance Characteristics ete emen ve TRE Eee e EE ve ves de ERN ERR eene 6 5 PinsSignals and Layout cie racc e ew er taco ene eade eee ee ed edes 9 6 Software GCS Support ccccccssccesseceesseecssececseecesseecseecsseeecsaecesseecsseeccsaeecesseeceseeecaeeecssecenseeeaes 10 7 Antenna ConnectiVIEy c oeocc codice aceite oce oet dead e pe uc va rad gue ou au deae a uc na oc de ee adus fci 11 Pls DIVERSITY s ce re he e e tese eve tese Pe Reese OPE Ee EN ee 11 LEME UEIRPATJEJIAEEETOTER TOIT TOOLS LT TARTE 11 e Polarisation Diversity eec cito ei eee et td Pipe bes ek euo eo aunts SSSAAA aan vire ee ev ree eu etuer eras 11 74 2 Typesof Antennas eee tee cae erede ee cR ERE E ERREUR Re Te cu PRA Screen emes so nS RO dct de 12 Yagi Antennas cic on oen WORD om bd n ete utei ee COR kA REA 12 e Quarter Wave Monopole Antenna esses enne enne nnne nnns en nnne entes nenne 12 e Half Wave Dipole ANtenna ccccccccccsssssscee
12. ilst in AT mode you can use the AT commands to control the local RFD900 modem or the RT commands to control the remote modem To set certain registers to a particular value follow these steps 1 Use the command ATSnzX where n is the register number and X is the actual value 2 Use the command AT amp W to write the new values to the RFD900 modem 3 Use the command ATZ to reboot the RFD900 modem Figure 8 1 shows a table that gives a list of AT commands and their description ATI Shows the radio version ATI2 Shows the board type ATI3 Shows board frequency ATIA Shows board version ATIS Shows all user settable EEPROM parameters ATI6 Displays TDM timing report ATI7 Displays RSSI signal report ATO Exits AT command mode ATSn Displays radio parameter number n ATSn X Sets radio parameter number n to X ATZ Reboots the radio AT amp W Writes current parameters to EEPROM AT amp F Resets all parameters to factory defaults AT amp T RSSI Enables RSSI debugging report AT amp T TDM Enables TDM debugging report AT amp T Disables debugging report Figure 8 1 AT Commands and their description Figure 8 2 shows a table that gives a list of RT commands and their description The x parameter is optional where x is the node ID For example use RTI 1 to get RTI value for node 1 or simply use RTI to get the RTI value for the node set in the local NODEDESTINATION see RFD900 Pa
13. nas are recommended for Ground Station applications due to their size They have approximately 6dBi gain and give significant link budget improvement when compared to standard dipole or monopole antennas e Quarter Wave Monopole Antenna Figure 7 2 900MHz Quarter Wave Monopole Antenna Quarter Wave Monopole Antennas are recommended for air borne or space constrained applications They are required to be mounted on a ground plane of approx 20cm diameter or more to operate as intended Using an RF extension cable with an RPSMA bulkhead connector will give good mounting options 12 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet e Half Wave Dipole Antenna Figure 7 3 900MHz Half Wave Dipole Antenna The half wave Dipole antenna has approx 3dBi gain with an omnidirectional radiation pattern It is suited for ground station or large airborne applications 13 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet 8 AT Commands The RFD900 modem can support the Hayes AT modem command set for configuration The AT command mode can be entered by using the sequence When doing this you have to wait for 1 second before and after entering the command mode in order to prevent data being interpreted as data When you are successfully in the AT command mode an OK prompt will be displayed on the screen and the RFD900 modem will stop displaying information from the other modem Wh
14. ongly recommended to set the value to 0 to avoid unwanted data communication confusion on a multipoint environment 18 NODECOUNT The total number of nodes 3 30 2 Yes Figure 8 3 RFD900 parameters Notes Defaults for firmware version 2 and later Available only for firmware version 2 and later SECC Software Detection and correction extra packet information twice the packet length is sent to allow the recovery of corrupted packets Injects RSSI packet when Mavlink protocol used and heartbeat packet detected Opportunicresend allows the node to resent packets if it has spare bandwith 9 Air Data Rate An air speed of 64kps will give a range of about 40km depending on antenna If the air speed is set to be lower the range of the wireless link increases but the amount of data that you can send will be limited Therefore one has to compromise between range and data rate The data rates that you can choose are only limited to 2 4 8 16 19 24 32 48 64 96 128 192 and 250 The air data rate is chosen depending on e the range that you need e the data rate that you will be sending e whether you send data in one direction or both e whether you have enabled ECC or not e whether you have APM firmware with adaptive flow control 16 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet 10 Network Options RFD900 can be implemented in either simple pair V1 x
15. rameters in figure 8 3 RTI x Shows the radio version RTI2L x Shows the board type RTI3L x Shows board frequency RTIAL x Shows board version RTI5Lx Shows all user settable EEPROM parameters RTI6 x Displays TDM timing report RTI7Lx Displays RSSI signal report 14 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet RTOLx Exits AT command mode on the remote node RTSn x Displays radio parameter number n RTSnzX x Sets radio parameter number n to X RTZ x Reboots the radio RT amp WLx Writes current parameters to EEPROM RT amp F x Resets all parameters to factory defaults RT amp T RSSI x Enables RSSI debugging report RT amp T TDML x Enables TDM debugging report RT amp TLX Disables debugging report Figure 8 2 RT Commands and their description Figure 8 3 shows a table with more details about the parameters that can be set in the RFD900 modem SReg S Register Description Default Va Should be the same at both ends of the link for successful communication 0 FORMAT This is for EEPROM version it should Firmware N A N A No not be changed dependant 1 SERIAL_SPEED Serial speed in one byte form 57 115 2 No 2 AIR_SPEED Air data rate in one byte form 64 128 250 2 Yes 3 NETID Network ID It should be the same on 25 499 0 Yes both modems 4 TXPOWER Transmit power in dBm Maximum is
16. ssseeecsssseeecssseeecsssaececseaaeceesesaeeeeeseaaeesesesaeeeensaas 13 8 AT Commiands tetas te itr o tein terat sees En e Bie taeda de di kde aspe ere cee E 14 9 A Data Rate cM 16 10 Network ODU ONS esscecces cat cesctcsecetessncstest oeae Eaa A EEUE NEE REEE EEEE EEEE REEE E EEEE deant ne 17 11 RFD900 Modem Tools User Manual sese nnne nennen nennen 18 11 1 Intro dUCtiON mt M 18 11 2 Requirements for End Users csccssssesssscesssecsscecssssessnsesseecseeeecsensessssecseaeecssnsesseees 18 11 3 User Interface teet or ten tel vto e COAR aea yv eR nth R de et ieu eed le nun e 19 e Configuration Tabor eeu e c bees reece eee ee Y Weber Ese te ER eee 19 6 HI Ecl 20 12 Frequently Asked Questions FAQ csccssssecssssecssscesseessssesseeeceesessaeessseesseeeeesaeessseesseneeseas 21 How many antennas do need to use ssessssssseeeee seen ener enne enne enn 21 How do I connect the FTDI cable to the modem essere 21 What do need to upload the firmware or to change the modem configuration 21 What should do if the RFD900 Modem Tools application keeps giving me back error messages ted 21 upgraded to V2 x firmware and the modems don t connect anymore eeesssss 21 How do configure 2 base stations
17. this RFD900 Modem Tools application Browse for the file using the button then click the Upload button to upload the new firmware to the modem 20 RFDesign Pty Ltd 31 05 2013 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD900 Data Sheet 12 Frequently Asked Questions FAQ How many antennas do need to use One is the minimum Two is recommended How do I connect the FTDI cable to the modem The black cable of the FTDI pin 1 should connect to pin 1 on the modem see above What do I need to upload the firmware or to change the modem configuration Download the latest firmware see Useful Links Download the RFD900 Modem Tools see Useful Links Connect the FTDI cable to the modem and to a computer Use the RFD900 Modem Tools to upload the latest firmware or to change the modem configuration see RFD900 Modem Tools User Manual What should I do if the RFD900 Modem Tools application keeps giving me back error messages Make sure to connect the FTDI cable firmly into the modem Make sure you choose the correct COM port from the COM dropdown box and the correct Baud Rate Try for two more trials and if it still doesn t work disconnect and reconnect the modem upgraded to V2 x firmware and the modems don t connect anymore The default setting for a modem is to have a NODEID set to 1 A network must have one node set to O to be the base The base node defines the synchronisation for the whole network of nodes How do configure 2 base
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