On 11 gru 2013, at 14:41, Nick <[email protected]> wrote: >> On Wednesday, 11 December 2013 12:38:52 UTC, Jan Rychter wrote: >> If you don't specifically need 802.15.4 for compatibility reasons and if you >> aren't extremely size-constrained, you might find that it is much cheaper to >> go with an MSP430 and a nRF24L01+ module. This is what I'm doing in a >> project right now: an MSP430G2412IRSA16T (about $1) and a Chinese nRF24L01+ >> module (complete module, with a PCB trace antenna, for about $1.15). The >> Nordic chips work fairly well and are suitable for many applications. And >> getting a complete radio-networked microcontroller solution for $2.15 is >> really hard to beat. >> >> To keep this on topic, I've been considering using those radio modules in a >> home automation system, to light up clocks whenever someone is present in >> the room :-) >> > Oddly, I've been looking at exactly those modules - the nRF24L01+ modules > are astonishingly good value for money - I just bought a bunch from > http://imall.iteadstudio.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=NRF24L01+ - 2 of each > type - my application may need the longer range of the LNA/PA version, but > for that sort of money I just bought a pair to try out.
If you decide they are right for you, I'd look for larger quantities on aliexpress.com — this is where I get my modules at $1.15 - $1.30 a piece. > The Nordic stuff is excellent and longer range generally than the > 802.15.4/ZigBee stuff, though I;ve noticed that TI do SoCs with inbuilt > wireless but normally with an ARM core - the MSP430 variants are <1GHz. > > So many extraordinarily cheap neat devices out there... You might want to keep an eye on the upcoming Freescale Kinetis W series, which is comparable, but with a 32-bit ARM core: http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/taxonomy.jsp?code=KINETIS_W_SERIES However, I decided these kinds of devices are not for me. First, you need to know at least a little bit about RF design, which at 2.4GHz isn't obvious. Second, last I checked the components were not easily to obtain: neither the wireless chips themselves, nor the surrounding elements (such as tiny inductors that you need for the balun). Given the price of complete working assembled modules it just didn't seem worth the effort. --J. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/290803A4-5528-4219-9DC7-707A61F01F67%40gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
