This is the ideal solution for long range telemetry or communications.

Two RFD868ux-EU modems with antennas for all antenna ports.

The kit consists of:

• 2 x RFD868ux-EU 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
• 4 x RFD900u antenna cable (RPSMA)
• 1 x 900ux to 8 way socket cable (900ux) also suitable for 868ux
• 1 x PIXH2 to RFD900ux Telemetry Cable 150 mm – also suitable for 868ux

RFD868ux EU:

This is the RFD868ux EU on a double sided mini carrier board.  It comes with a mini JST connector and 2x u.Fl RF connectors and heat sink.

RFD868ux EU New Features:

• Fully compatible with RFD868x modems.
• Air data rate up to: 500kbit/s.
• AES Hardware accelerated encryption.
• RC PPM Passthrough with telemetry at the same time.
• SiK point to point firmware.
• Note: Currently due to the bandwidth limitations of the 868 modems Asynchronous Mesh and Multipoint Firmware are not officially supported for the 868X modems and correct operation of this code cannot be guaranteed

Features:

• Long range >40km depending on antennas and GCS setup
• 2 x u.FL RF connectors, diversity switched.
• 1 Watt (+30dBm) transmit power.
• Transmit low pass filter.
• > 15dB Low noise amplifier, high IP3.
• RX SAW filter.
• All I/O ESD protected and filtered.
• Re implemented SiK firmware, field upgradable, easy to configure.
• Small, light weight.
• License free use in Europe, India

 Interfaces:

• RF : 2x u.FL RF connectors
• Serial: Logic level TTL (+3.3v)
• Power: +5v, ~800mA max peak (at maximum transmit power)
• GPIO: General purpose IO (Digital capable).

Specifications:

• Frequency Range:  869-870 MHz
• Output Power: 500mW (+27dBm), controllable in 1dB steps ( +/- 1dB @=20dBm typical )
• Air Data transfer rates: 12, 56, 64, 100, 125, 200, 224, kbit/sec (User settable, 64kbit default)*
• UART data transfer rates: 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200, 230400, 460800, 1M baud (User settable, 57600 default)* as per 868x EU

*note these values are correct as of version 3.16 SiK firmware

• Output Power: 500mW (+27dBm) max
• Receive Sensitivity: >111 dBm at 12kbps, 105 at 64 kbps and 98 at 200 kbps
• Size: 25 mm (wide) x 33 mm (long) x 10.4 mm (thick) – Including RF Shield, PCB and Heatsink.
• Weight: 10g
• Mounting: Stand alone cable connection
• Power Supply: +5 V nominal, (+3.5 V min, +5.5 V max), ~800 mA peak at maximum power
• Temp. Range: -40 to +85 deg C

Software / GCS Support:

The software solution is an open source development called “SiK”.  It has been re implemented to suit the new processor architecture available on the 32bit ARM processor core.  A boot loader and interface is available for further development and field upgrade of the modem firmware via the serial port.

Most parameters are configurable via AT commands, Eg. baud rate (air/uart), frequency band, power levels.

Integrated support for configuring the RFD900 radios is supported by APM Planner.

The default settings are at 57600 baud, N, 8, 1, and 200k air data rate.

The RFD868ux EU manual is here: RFD900ux Manual

The RFD868ux EU SiK software manual is here : RFD900x Peer-to-peer Manual

Software features include:

• Frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS)
• Transparent serial link
• Point to Point
• Configuration by simple AT commands for local radio, RT commands for remote radio
• User configurable serial data rates and air data rates
• Error correction routines, Mavlink protocol framing (user selectable)
• Mavlink radio status reporting (Local RSSI, Remote RSSI, Local Noise, Remote Noise)
• Automatic antenna diversity switching on a packet basis in real time
• Automatic duty cycle throttling based on radio temperature to avoid overheating

Compliance:

The RFD868ux-EU is compliant with the following standards:

• EN 301 489-3 V2.1.1
• EN 300 220-2 V3.1.1
• EN 62311:2008

*Please note that some newer versions of the FTDI VCP driver namely version 2.12.36.1 have been reported as possibly incompatible with the FTDI cables we stock.  If you are experiencing issues, we recommend reverting to version 2.12.28 or before.