SparkFun Forums

[grabbo]

I would like to ask few questions. I've never touched RF before. My project is design oximeter (MSP430) sending data to PC wirelessly.

1. Which transceiver you used was easy to set up and work with?I did some research and find nrf905 quite interessting. Is it good choice to begin with? I was for cc1101 before but it's more complicated as some people say.
2. Which band do you suggest? 433Mhz or 868-915Mhz?
3. Antenna: the final device should be small therefore chip antenna is wise choice,isn't it? My schoolmate used : YAGEO (PHYCOMP) - CAN4311129200431K - ANTENNA, 12 X 4, 433MHZ . Do you know better or cheaper choice? Costs around 7 eur.

Thank you for any assistance.

[another-dave]

Though I doubt I can answer your question, a few things come to mind:

-how much info are you sending (in bytes) in the message to the PC? what is the rate is bytes/sec?
-is it a continuous stream or a periodic burst of data?
-are there plans for message ID as to the source of the transmission and the intended recipient?
-Handshaking between transceivers or blind broadcast from dedicated 'dumb' tx to any rx in range?
-how far away from the PC is the transmitter?
-is there a reason for using a msp430( I don't see a oximeter listed as an attribute of this microcontroller )?
-do you have a background in programming microcontrollers?
-do you know the radio transmission regulations of your country in regards to frequency, RF power level etc.?

this additional information may aid someone who can help you.

[teekay_tk]

hi grabbo
its all about what you really want to do. If I can get away with it I just use the bluetooth modules to send data as there is very little to set up. If however you are wanting to send small amout of data at limited power then again there is a lot of choice aorund. Best thing is to read about this as much aspossible and moake your choice. Try out differnt demo/evaluation boards to compare performance etc.

as for antenna, again, if you can get away with a wire/whip/monopole antenna there is nothing cheaper or better
all depends on what you want to do

[leon_heller]

The nRF24L01+ might be a good choice. SFE sells small modules using them, which will save a lot of work. They interface via SPI, and are quite easy to use.