Long(ish) range UHF radio modules for UK/Europe??  >10km - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / rf-microwave

author: dazz1
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 02, 2019, 09:45:23 am
content: HiAt present I am using Digi International Digimesh 2.4GHz radio modules. They work well and are legal where I am.I need longer range (>10km) and the 900MHz versions would be perfect but they aren't certified for UK/Europe.Does anyone know an alternative?

author: georges80
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 02, 2019, 03:16:43 pm
content: Digi has 868MHz band digimesh radios. They should be legal in the UK/europe?You would likely need better antenna on them and obviously LOS.cheers,george.

author: dazz1
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 03, 2019, 08:46:18 am
content: HiThanks. They would work perfectly. Only problem is I will need to make a custom PCB for their form factor.Also found LTE which looks even more promising.

author: Wilksey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 03, 2019, 09:29:00 am
content: This looks OK, not sure on range (theoretical up to 14.5km):https://www.digi.com/products/embedded-systems/rf-modules/sub-1-ghz-modules/digi-xbee-sx-868It is RED compliant so it will be good for the UK.

author: Lord of nothing
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2019, 08:22:51 am
content: Please note UK will not long in the EU.Beside of that you must fit in the Duty Circly and low output power depend on the freq!

author: Wilksey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2019, 09:38:05 am
content: To be fair, at this point anything could happen with the UK and EU, and it doesn't mean that they will suddenly get rid of all EU legislation, they will keep most of them in place unless there is a really good reason to change it.And I think you meant duty cycle, which is typically 10% depending on frequency, some are 1% some can be lower, you will also find a select few higher than 10%, but again, depends on frequency. OFCOM have some charts and guidelines somewhere on the web lurking that you can look at.

author: dazz1
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2019, 10:57:08 am
content: HiI suspect the UK government will be worried about far more than changing frequency spectrum allocations.

author: Lord of nothing
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2019, 11:12:39 am
content: Well that is one of the problems. The problem will be that all freq allocation and general permit device are get maybe illegal from now on. The good think I dont care about...https://cept.org/files/4940/TCAM%20Subclasses%20(17)08%20rev%202%20-%20RED%20Subclasses%20of%20Class%201%20Valid%20as%20of%201%20January%202018.pdf

author: rahandford
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2019, 06:27:05 am
content: Could you use LoRa as it has a long range?Some good modules are available herehttps://www.rfsolutions.co.uk/

author: Wilksey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2019, 05:58:22 pm
content: LoRa is a bit of a odd one, I've used LoRa (not to be confused with LoRa WAN) and it struggles to get the distance, LoS 1km @ 17dB, 869MHz, but Non LoS it drops off significantly, we could reliably get about 0.5m @ 17dB, sending a few bytes, until it rained, then it fell off, we tried 4 different LoRa modules, all were the same, be prepared to fanny around with antennas though and the power amp settings to get the best results!! Oh and a shit ton of testing.RF Solutions are OK, for some reason their boards used to use a hell of a lot more power than the competitors, and we were running from battery, don't know if they have improved them since.

author: Lord of nothing
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2019, 06:03:51 pm
content: QuoteAmp the Outgoint Power? Illegal.Everyone can say what the want its just 0,5W legal. Its not made for long distance communication....

author: Wilksey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2019, 12:12:20 am
content: Quote from: Lord of nothing on April 17, 2019, 06:03:51 pmEh? Yes, you can lower the module power and amp the output, to get better RX. It is NOT illegal if you keep within the ERP range and duty cycle for the particular frequency, at the frequency I was using the legal power output is 26dBm, the module max was 17dBm / 100mW. So not sure what you are trying to say