Stan - another question. All the modules we have all played with work on AC signals - put in an AC waveform and it comes out the other end, but don't transmit highs or lows. Do these modules transmit highs and lows directly - ie can you put a 10 second high pulse on the input and have the same signal come out the other end?
433mhz transparent wireless data module
- Thread starter yamato96
- Start date
Dr_A: I'm not quite sure what you mean here, or why the need! Being RS232 units, with resulting multiple hi/lo 10101010 etc data streams, I guess an extended 11111111 could be sent. Surely however an attached PICAXE can just suitably decode the serial generated by a locally switched high, & then make an output high at the far end?
I've written an intro. article for the July(?) Silicon Chip on these units, which IMHO ultimately show great potential for "2nd generation UHF telemetry", especially since the quality SMA antenna socket supports higher gain antenna. Even a "cotanga" Yagi of course gives ~6dB gain ( enough for range doubling), so 1 at each end will give x4 the omni-directional range for a point to point link-good for maybe a few km LOS.
Aust/NZ distributors may well emerge, especially if they retail at ~Aust$10 each, & since each HM-TR is both a tx & rx ,they're ~½ the price of 1st generation Jaycar etc offerings. HopeRF have been most responsive to ideas & distribution, so hands up any Ozzies who'd go for a couple at say Aust$20 a pair? Stan.
I've written an intro. article for the July(?) Silicon Chip on these units, which IMHO ultimately show great potential for "2nd generation UHF telemetry", especially since the quality SMA antenna socket supports higher gain antenna. Even a "cotanga" Yagi of course gives ~6dB gain ( enough for range doubling), so 1 at each end will give x4 the omni-directional range for a point to point link-good for maybe a few km LOS.
Aust/NZ distributors may well emerge, especially if they retail at ~Aust$10 each, & since each HM-TR is both a tx & rx ,they're ~½ the price of 1st generation Jaycar etc offerings. HopeRF have been most responsive to ideas & distribution, so hands up any Ozzies who'd go for a couple at say Aust$20 a pair? Stan.
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Stan - sounds like it is really moving ahead. Great you have turned it into a SC article.
I'd be interested in some units but I'd be much more interested in their high power 500mW ones - do you have a price on those?
The reason for asking about sending "DC data" is twofold. Firstly is the idea of programming picaxes via radio that has been discussed many times - it would be great to do it just to show it could be done. Plus it could be useful for reprogramming picaxes in the field. The second reason relates to a project I am working on with generic picaxe routers. I have a board with 4 9pin RS232 connections on it and a picaxe 18X polls these to see if a neighbouring board is ready to send data. The serin hang problem means that a serin can only be executed if data is definitely on the way, so I've got a protocol where lines go high for 100ms before the data packet is sent. The length of that high signal is a compromise between polling cycle speed, the maximum time a complex subroutine might take, and the need to get data through a network at a reasonable speed. One can send lots of 255s for hardwire connections, but that may not work quite so well with RF, and the limitations of the maxiumum length of a DC high pulse (even after some "U"s) adds another complexity to the equation. A device that sent DC data could be a big advantage. But if they don't work like that then it is no big deal - this can still be done with code tweaking.
I'm working towards a self configuring, self healing (in the case of nodes going down) wireless and wired mesh with each node capable of 8 analog inputs, 4 relay outputs, 1 differential op amp (for pressure transducers) and an LCD display. Will publish once all working - am soldering boards at present.
Just reading through your notes I'm pretty sure these Hope units would work well with this system.
I'd be interested in some units but I'd be much more interested in their high power 500mW ones - do you have a price on those?
The reason for asking about sending "DC data" is twofold. Firstly is the idea of programming picaxes via radio that has been discussed many times - it would be great to do it just to show it could be done. Plus it could be useful for reprogramming picaxes in the field. The second reason relates to a project I am working on with generic picaxe routers. I have a board with 4 9pin RS232 connections on it and a picaxe 18X polls these to see if a neighbouring board is ready to send data. The serin hang problem means that a serin can only be executed if data is definitely on the way, so I've got a protocol where lines go high for 100ms before the data packet is sent. The length of that high signal is a compromise between polling cycle speed, the maximum time a complex subroutine might take, and the need to get data through a network at a reasonable speed. One can send lots of 255s for hardwire connections, but that may not work quite so well with RF, and the limitations of the maxiumum length of a DC high pulse (even after some "U"s) adds another complexity to the equation. A device that sent DC data could be a big advantage. But if they don't work like that then it is no big deal - this can still be done with code tweaking.
I'm working towards a self configuring, self healing (in the case of nodes going down) wireless and wired mesh with each node capable of 8 analog inputs, 4 relay outputs, 1 differential op amp (for pressure transducers) and an LCD display. Will publish once all working - am soldering boards at present.
Just reading through your notes I'm pretty sure these Hope units would work well with this system.
"Self healing" = very appropriate -I like it! Bet you wish such a spontaneous recovery rate applied more reliably in your day job however...
OK on the need- I'd forgotten about the RF programming idea. I've taken an intro slant with this SChip article, & implied further on the way, for which your angle may well be suitable. Time I bundled them up & sent the Hope TRs to you maybe ? Stan
EXTRA: Just waved a swish $$$$$ spectrum analyzer over the the output, & find it pleasingly very clean- refer pix.
OK on the need- I'd forgotten about the RF programming idea. I've taken an intro slant with this SChip article, & implied further on the way, for which your angle may well be suitable. Time I bundled them up & sent the Hope TRs to you maybe ? Stan
EXTRA: Just waved a swish $$$$$ spectrum analyzer over the the output, & find it pleasingly very clean- refer pix.
Attachments
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alexthefox
Senior Member
I paid them via PAYPAL no probs when I bought mine
Re the ones from "SURE" on ebay - they have nice products and I'm talking to them about qty buy on those modules as well - I'll keep you posted!
Thanks Stocky. Will talk to HopeRF.
I bought some chips from Sure the other day with no problems. From an Australian perspective, these emerging electronics manufacturers/distributers to our North are proving most beneficial. Better get back to loading up another export shipload of iron ore...
I bought some chips from Sure the other day with no problems. From an Australian perspective, these emerging electronics manufacturers/distributers to our North are proving most beneficial. Better get back to loading up another export shipload of iron ore...
I bought a bit of stuff from SURE first to see if it was rubbish - it wasnt!
Great source of little modules for R&D work - I buy small adjustable reg modules from them - I remove the screw terms and solder header pins on and plug them straight into my breadboards.
http://www.sure-electronics.net/measure,tools/PT-PC004-1.jpg
http://www.sure-electronics.net/measure,tools/PT-PC004-2.jpg
you can see the pads where you solder on the std 0.1" header to the left in the 2nd pic
This is an LT1117 LDO Adj Reg module - $5 USD!
cheap MCU programmers, breadboards - great jumper wire kits at times (flexible with solid pins on the end), accel chips, gps, SMD to DIP adaptors etc etc!!
Not affiliated - just a happy customer!
Well worth looking up on Evilbay
Great source of little modules for R&D work - I buy small adjustable reg modules from them - I remove the screw terms and solder header pins on and plug them straight into my breadboards.
http://www.sure-electronics.net/measure,tools/PT-PC004-1.jpg
http://www.sure-electronics.net/measure,tools/PT-PC004-2.jpg
you can see the pads where you solder on the std 0.1" header to the left in the 2nd pic
This is an LT1117 LDO Adj Reg module - $5 USD!
cheap MCU programmers, breadboards - great jumper wire kits at times (flexible with solid pins on the end), accel chips, gps, SMD to DIP adaptors etc etc!!
Not affiliated - just a happy customer!
Well worth looking up on Evilbay
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alexthefox
Senior Member
Alexthefox - Direct from the Hope-RF web site.
http://www.hoperf.com/order.asp
There is a bloke called James who deals with most incoming mail.
He usually responds within the hour to any questions you may have
and will send you a pro-forma invoice for goods.
Goods frome Hope are generally sent that day or next day and arrive in
Australia 3 days from order date. They use Pay-Pal for money transfer.
Hooter
http://www.hoperf.com/order.asp
There is a bloke called James who deals with most incoming mail.
He usually responds within the hour to any questions you may have
and will send you a pro-forma invoice for goods.
Goods frome Hope are generally sent that day or next day and arrive in
Australia 3 days from order date. They use Pay-Pal for money transfer.
Hooter
They're all FSK so AFAIK that's YES, but the other way (HM-TR to HM-R etc) maybe qualified. This arises due to the HM-TR being able to be programmed to freqs (& with deviations etc) beyond that of the non programmable HM-T & HM-R. Overall I'd say the HM-TR transceiver is far better value. Stan
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correct - but if you only need the *basics* (ie one way simple link)they would be fine & power consumption is lower
the HM-TR are a "transparent" link where you get the benefit of NOT having to play with your data to get it to work reliably - just pour it in one end and it pours out the other - albeit with a power consumption cost.
Stocky
the HM-TR are a "transparent" link where you get the benefit of NOT having to play with your data to get it to work reliably - just pour it in one end and it pours out the other - albeit with a power consumption cost.
Stocky
I already have a small network of HM-TR's running. I was just thinking of having a mixed network including HM-TR's and TX and RX units. Some devices may only need to transmit whereas others may need to receive only. Having said that, the difference in price between the transmit/receive only and the HM-TR's is really negligible anyway - may as well use the HM-TR for both ends, with their ease of connection to the Picaxe.
Hooter
Hooter
Hmm, just pondering out loud but I prefer all modules to have Tx and Rx. At the very least you might want to shut a noisy Tx module up for a while when the network is congested. I'm sure other reasons come to mind - eg sending a module to sleep to conserve power. Like you say, the difference in price is negligible.
CrunchTime
New Member
How true is this really? Can I just plug one into my PC's serial port, and attach another to my picaxe serial port (specifically AXE110 DataLink), and get the data out?
(I've been waiting for someone to comment on this feature...)
Andrew
Crunchy - This is indeed true. Just connect the HM-TR directly to an RS232 port on your PC. Connect the other HM-TR to a couple of pins on yer PicAxe and away yer go.
There is a configuration pin on the HM-TR which you take high/low for config and normal use. Once configured - with the software available on the Hope-Rf site - just use Serin on one pin and Serout on another and get sending.There are a couple of leds to indicate send/rec traffic. It really is that easy.
Hooter
There is a configuration pin on the HM-TR which you take high/low for config and normal use. Once configured - with the software available on the Hope-Rf site - just use Serin on one pin and Serout on another and get sending.There are a couple of leds to indicate send/rec traffic. It really is that easy.
Hooter
As mentioned some posts back, I've written the HM-TR up,along with pix, as a "Silicon Chip" article. It's now being type set for July publication, but I guess some teasers wouldn't hurt & also may spare Hooter the task. The pix below pretty much show the tx/rx setups & config. I've used with a 08M. For intro. work you can use them out of the box with default settings. Stan
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Am fully aware of the distinction between PICAXE Program "pin" and the chip "leg". It just had not occured to me that as this was a schematic, the PICAXE program "pin" designation would appear - was looking for a relationship to the physical pins on the actual schematic and the Rx,Tx setups.
Here's your chance to recognize HopeRF's goodies, & maybe help create more lucid Chinese sourced info. sheets for native English speakers!
I've been in steady contact with HopeRF in China,& have teasingly offered an "English for chips" tidy up of several data sheets, which they are quite keen about. Their initial HM-TR Ver 2.1 revamp has just been organised, but it's still very stilted with numerous bugs (ISB for ISM etc)- sigh... They're open to improved presentation etc & may well treat the PICAXE community very favourably accordingly- HINT! HINT! Anyone with beady eyes maybe care to scan the .pdf below & make comments ? Stan (in Queen's English speaking New Zealand)
I've been in steady contact with HopeRF in China,& have teasingly offered an "English for chips" tidy up of several data sheets, which they are quite keen about. Their initial HM-TR Ver 2.1 revamp has just been organised, but it's still very stilted with numerous bugs (ISB for ISM etc)- sigh... They're open to improved presentation etc & may well treat the PICAXE community very favourably accordingly- HINT! HINT! Anyone with beady eyes maybe care to scan the .pdf below & make comments ? Stan (in Queen's English speaking New Zealand)
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CrunchTime
New Member
alexthefox
Senior Member
$US8 ok, but ask $US22 for ship.
Expressions of interest HM-TR bulk order?
OK-I've pretty well initially tamed the HM-TR HopeRF 433 MHz transceiver units supplied by Hooter, & even managed a reliable clear 1km across water link using their supplied rubber duckie antenna. A simple Yagi (~6 dB gain) at each end could hence push a LOS point to point link out to 3-5km I feel.
It's crossed my mind, as they're just ~US$8 each, that in many ways they represent a "Poor Man's ZigBee", but at a fraction of the price. This of course raises the prospect of us fuel taxed "poor men" grabbing a few for PICAXE persuasion. Naturally TWO should be grabbed so a full gambit of wireless datacomms can be explored.
Since I'm apparently flavour of the month with HopeRF at the moment, I'm happy to capitalize on this & organise a bulk import & distribute at cost to Oz/NZ enthusiasts. Trans-Tasman freight in fact is modest (have just sent a PICAXE kit across for A$5), & as a ball part figure they should be deliverable to Oz from NZ for ~A$15 each. What may be most feasible is if someone like Dr_A acts as an Oz. clearing house for them- that's IF he can be bothered! MicroZed (the Oz. PICAXE agents) may in fact be persuaded to stock them commercially as well.
Expressions of interest for a bulk order please. Stan
OK-I've pretty well initially tamed the HM-TR HopeRF 433 MHz transceiver units supplied by Hooter, & even managed a reliable clear 1km across water link using their supplied rubber duckie antenna. A simple Yagi (~6 dB gain) at each end could hence push a LOS point to point link out to 3-5km I feel.
It's crossed my mind, as they're just ~US$8 each, that in many ways they represent a "Poor Man's ZigBee", but at a fraction of the price. This of course raises the prospect of us fuel taxed "poor men" grabbing a few for PICAXE persuasion. Naturally TWO should be grabbed so a full gambit of wireless datacomms can be explored.
Since I'm apparently flavour of the month with HopeRF at the moment, I'm happy to capitalize on this & organise a bulk import & distribute at cost to Oz/NZ enthusiasts. Trans-Tasman freight in fact is modest (have just sent a PICAXE kit across for A$5), & as a ball part figure they should be deliverable to Oz from NZ for ~A$15 each. What may be most feasible is if someone like Dr_A acts as an Oz. clearing house for them- that's IF he can be bothered! MicroZed (the Oz. PICAXE agents) may in fact be persuaded to stock them commercially as well.
Expressions of interest for a bulk order please. Stan