Posted by Rick Berube, Engineer on team #121, Rhode Warriors, from MiddleTown H.S. and Naval Undersea Warfare Center.
Posted on 3/15/99 4:32 PM MST
In Reply to: Need info on how to build temp. receiver and transmitter posted by Paul Michalczuk on 3/10/99 7:21 PM MST:
: Hi,
: I was wondering if anyone out there knows how to make a transmitter and receiver so we could test out another robot with. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
: Paul Michalczuk
Paul,
there's no need to roll your own RF reciever/transmitter!
More than likely, all you need is a pair of cheap FM data modules. These are both readily available and cheap today (providing you operate in a resonably RF-benign area).
Two sources come to mind immediately:
AbaCom Technologies (
http://www.abacom-tech.com)
RadioMetrix (
http://www.radiometrix.co.uk)
I'm sure their are plenty of others as well. Because FIRST doesn't provide feedback (currently -although Eric Rasmusen did hint @Philly that he had some ideas for next year which might provide feedback), you really only need a Tx/Rx pair operating in a simplex mode.
I'm sure these two source can answer your questions regarding their products better than I could. A few things are required however:
You must ensure the power supply for the Rx unit is compatible with the robot (+5v or +13.5-12V)and that the noise rejection is reasonble. Also you must provide at least a 9600 baud rate. Any slower and you'll notice the difference. You'll also need to ensure an RS232 compatible interface. That's it in a nutshell.
Good hunting,
Rick