Increasing Range, Reliability & Security for Wireless RF Modules
Achieving reliable, secure, and long-range wireless data communication is possible if you know what to look for in a RF module. Radiocrafts has off-the-shelf solutions to meet these operational demands on your wireless system.
Increasing Range via Higher Power
A transmitter’s signal strength (its travel range) is directly related to its output power. A 6 dB increase in output power (i.e. four times the power measured in mW) will double the transmitter’s range, given that all other parameters stay the same.
In a typical radio link, the TX power is determined by two factors: 1) The output power of the transmitter’s power amplifier and 2) The gain of the antenna, which directs the power to its desired direction.
Careful consideration should be taken when deciding upon the transmit power: To ensure that all radios have equal access to the frequency band (that is, that no radios block or interfere with other radios), local regulations limit the maximum transmit power.
Radiocrafts can help you stay within those maximum power limitations while still delivering long-range communications via our High Power RF modules. These modules, identified by the “HP” in their part number, maximize the transmitter’s output power to provide you longest signal range.
Ensuring Radio Reliability with Ultra Narrow Band
Ultra Narrow Band is a technology for high radio reliability. Narrowband RF is typically defined by an RF signal with a bandwidth of 25 kHz or less, which is referred to as “True” Narrowband, or Ultra Narrowband (UNB). This is very useful for applications that require high reliability, such as industrial remote controls, and other industrial applications where a robust radio link is required. A good Ultra Narrowband radio will easily get range performance measured in kilometers with very good noise suppression performance.
An Ultra Narrow Band radio receiver unit meets requirements that enable it to operate in an environment that has strong “unwanted” signals. Critical parameters include: Blocking, Adjacent Channel Selectivity, Receiver saturation, Spurious response rejection, and High wanted signal. The end result is a very reliable radio receiver that can work through radio frequency noise and other disturbing signals, making the communication link highly reliable.
The Radiocrafts RC12XX and RC17XX radio receiver support Ultra Narrow band.
Increasing Wireless Security with AES-128
Worldwide, computer hackers are becoming more creative as they plot ways to disturb, block, and/or steal your communications data, which is increasingly traveling by radio frequencies. Providing privacy — and ensuring data integrity as well as authenticity — has become a key consideration in the design of wireless systems.
Fortunately, data encryption can keep intercepted communications from being of value to hackers. Data encryption is not new: it has been around since 50 BC. But today the radio industry has an encryption standard: the AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) as defined by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The U.S. Secretary of Commerce approved the AES standard in 2002, and it is the only standard approved by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) to be used for top-secret information. The AES is now the industry standard for encrypting data for secure communication, and it is used widely in many different applications by numerous wireless companies.
To provide secure data communication, specify AES-128 wireless encryption: it’s available on most Radiocrafts RF modules. For additional information, see our RF module data sheets.
Boost Your Wireless Communication System — Starting Today
What’s your wireless performance challenge? Chances are, our radio engineers have already solved it. Our engineers can help you navigate the radio regulations in your area to pick the right High Power RF module. Have a “noisy radio” environment, like a factory? We’ll walk you through the necessary configurations for our Cat1 radio receiver (RC1701HP-MBUS4) to overcome noisy frequencies. And with computer hackers becoming more threatening every day, we’ll be happy to help you implement an encryption protocol that meets the AES-128 standard — protecting your system and your customers.