Ready-certified transceiver eases radio design

Together the MRF24J40MA module and MiWi stack can be used in a variety of wireless networking applications, such as industrial monitoring and control.

Microchip has released an FCC-certified RF transceiver module and a peer-to-peer (P2P) wireless protocol stack based on the IEEE802.15.4 specification.

Together the MRF24J40MA module and MiWi (P2P) stack can be used in a variety of wireless networking applications, such as industrial monitoring and control, home and building automation, remote control, low-power wireless sensor networks, lighting control and automated meter reading.

Providing a complete short-range IEEE802.15.4 wireless networking solution, the MRF24J40MA transceiver module is surface mountable and can be used with any one of hundreds of 8, 16 or 32bit PIC microcontrollers.

It includes discrete biasing components and an integrated PCB antenna to be used in sensor and control network environments.

The module is fully regulatory-agency certified for the USA (FCC), Canada (IC) and Europe (ETSI), and is expected to save designers time and money by eliminating the need to receive FCC certification for their wireless products.

The MiWi P2P protocol stack supports star and peer-to-peer wireless-network topologies with an ultrasmall code implementation of 3Kbyte for Microchip's PIC microcontrollers.

As a result, the stack provides short-range wireless customers with hundreds of possible MCU implementations for applications that require simple node-to-node communication.

Additionally, the new MiWi P2P stack provides sleeping-node, active-scan and energy-detect features that enable robust operation while supporting the low-power requirements of battery-operated devices.

Available as a free download from Microchip's new online Wireless Design Centre, the small-footprint, proprietary stack complements the new MRF24J40MA 2.4GHz FCC-certified transceiver module.

It represents Microchip's third free software protocol stack for IEEE802.15.4 transceivers, joining its ZigBee stack and existing MiWi stack.

As well as Microchip's free ZigBee, MiWi and new MiWi P2P software-protocol stacks, the module is supported by Microchip's PICDEM Z Demo Kit and the ZENA wireless network analyser.

When combined with these development tools, the module enables designers with little or no RF design experience to design low-power wireless networking products quickly and inexpensively.

Production quantities of the MRF24J40MA module can be ordered at today.

The MiWi P2P stack and Microchip's ZigBee and MiWi stacks can be downloaded for free from Microchip's online Wireless Design Centre.

Designers can also use Microchip's PICDEM Z Demonstration Kit with all the company's free stacks and MRF24J40MA module.

The kit includes a pair of development boards with a PIC18LF4620 MCU, along with the ZENA network analyser and wireless network configuration utility.

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