Easy-Radio modules provide "stressless wireless"

An all-new range of licence-exempt radio modules uses Easy-Radio technology to allow OEMs to add wireless capabilities to their products without the need to understand radio technology.

Low Power Radio Solutions has designed and developed an all-new range of licence-exempt radio modules that make the best use of its innovative Easy-Radio technology to allow OEMs to add wireless capabilities to their products without the need to understand radio technology.

The first products in the UK-manufactured range are the ER400TS transmitter and ER400RS receiver, a matched pair of compact SIL-packaged devices that can be supplied "ready-to-run out-of-the-box" from LPRS.

Alternatively, designers can make use of a range of user-programmable functions to customise their radio links to their own specifications using simple software commands.

In either case, the high-performance FM modules use their embedded Easy-Radio software to ensure that the datastream from transmitter to receiver is "efficiently" packaged to maximise both the range and the data transfer rate of the radio link.

The datarate of the link defaults to the industry standard of 19.2Kbit/s, but can be programmed to any rate between 4.8 and 76.8Kbit/s.

A line-of-site range of 250m is easily attainable.

All encoding and decoding functions are also handled onboard.

LPRS Managing Director Barry Gillibrand is confident that even a designer with a very basic knowledge of radio will be able to obtain maximum performance from the new devices.

"Foolproof is a frequently misused word", says Gillibrand.

"But so long as these devices are connected to the correct power and signal lines, OEMs cannot fail to realise their full potential.

It's as simple as that".

Gillibrand speaks from experience.

LPRS has more than ten years experience of the ways that users can abuse low-power radio systems.

He says: "The arrival of mass-market modules removed most of the hurdles to successful low-power radio links.

But there still remained the problem of packaging the data in a "radio-friendly" format for efficient transmission.

Easy-Radio solved that problem, and the ER400 family was designed from the ground up to maximise the performance of Easy-Radio".

Both the ER400 transmitter and receiver modules are designed to run from single 3.6V lithium cell supplies, but for added system flexibility can be used with any DC supply between 3.3 and 5.5V.

Power consumption is battery friendly, with maximum current drains for the transmitter and receiver of 23 and 17mA, respectively.

The modules are compliant with EN300-220-3 and EN301489-3 for unlicensed use in the pan-European 433-434MHz band.

The units can be user-programmed for use in one of ten channels within the band so that systems can avoid specific congested or "dirty" frequencies.

Both modules include a crystal-controlled synthesiser to guarantee their frequency accuracy.

The transmitter power output is also programmable up to the legal maximum ERP of 10mW.

Both the transmitter and receiver are screened single-inline modules which integrate radio, microcontroller and power supply circuitry in a space-saving outline.

The transmitter is a 5-pin device measuring 32 x 12.5 x 3.8mm, and the receiver comes in a 9-pin SIP measuring 37 x 14 x 4mm.

Both operate over an extended commercial temperature range from -20 to +60C.

Both devices require connection to a standard 50ohm antenna type, such as a whip, helical or PCB loop.

Back to top