SX1211/1212 based radio modules


  • Hardware Contributor

    Hello,

    Did someone saw or know more about these radios: http://www.semtech.com/wireless-rf/rf-transceivers/sx1212/ ? They seem really low power - I never seen such a low RX current(3mA) in active mode(no sleeping) so far on any radio module in the MySensors history :simple_smile: . The radio modules used in this project take around 16mA in RX mode which is pretty much compared to the MCU current consumption(Atmega in most cases - around few milliamps or so).

    When used in battery powered nodes this doesn't matter much I know but when used in circuits which should stay active and power requirements must be at a minimum then it matters: for example for the Livolo switch which uses a series power supply that cannot provide more than 5-10mA. This is just a simple thought.

    The Semtech site even provides some libraries(written in C of course) as a starting point and some frequency hopping solution for use in a star network configuration based on these modules.


  • Hardware Contributor

    Interesting but unfortunately things are not so bright for TX with 25mA and a low speed that will require much more on time.


  • Hardware Contributor

    @Nca78

    I know that LORA modules require more TX time..but these are not specified as being LORA modules. Anyways that doesn't mean that your statement is not true - I didn't read all their specs in detail. I don't think TX current matters that much because usually transmissions are short because packets are short - we don't use Mysensors to send lots of data at once and it wasn't designed that way as far as I know. But yeah, it matters how fast the transmitter can do the modulation and which data rate is used.


  • Hardware Contributor

    Max speed is 150kbit/s so it's 10 times longer TX time at twice the max current compared to nrf24.
    That's the moment when the Livolo power supply can reach its limits so it doesn't sound like the right compromise to me. I never had problems while in RX mode.m with nrf24.


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