LPRS has started mass producing its latest generation of wireless modules, EasyRadio Advanced (ERA), for use in building and home automation, sports and leisure systems, security, vehicle logistics and asset tracking, environmental monitoring and energy control, industrial control, and smart metering.
Made in the UK, ERA incorporates the latest version of the company’s EasyRadio software protocol. This removes the complexities of developing a software interface to the wireless modules, reducing product development times. Existing users will find ERA pin-compatible for upgrading. Free flash firmware upgrade tools are available for installing updates.
The software lets developers change many parameters of the radio to suit the application. The bandwidth of the module may be adjusted between 100 and 12.5kHz, giving narrow-band performance on a wide-band budget and a user configurable self-coding system enables interfacing to other raw data modules in FSK (FM) and ASK (AM) modulation modes.
Other added features include a digital received signal strength indication (RSSI), reducing the requirement of the host system to handle A-D measurements. The RSSI signal may be delivered as a simple command for either the current RSSI level or the signal strength of the last received packet.
It also allows a temporary channel selection, letting the host scan other channels in real time without storing settings on the internal eeprom thereby increasing the life of the eeprom.
Users can programme transmission frequency (up to 132 channels), output power (up to 10mW), serial data rate (up to 115.20kbit/s maximum), digital RSSI, carrier detect, FSK and ASK modulation, and bandwidths (12.5, 25, 50 and 100kHz).
To maintain frequency accuracy within ±1kHz over the module’s full operating temperature range of -40 to +85˚C, temperature compensation of the crystal-controlled synthesiser is accomplished using the on-board temperature sensor, which may be used by the host system.
The range is comprised of 433 to 434MHz and an 868 to 920MHz multi-frequency transmitter and transceiver modules plus a development kit with a USB interface.
