Bluesky Telemetry - Animal Tracking

Radiometrix Collars Deal with BlueSky Telemetry
UHF radio module products integrated into animal tracking system

Case Study

UK-based radio module manufacturer Radiometrix is playing its part in nature conservation, with news that its transmitters are being used in an innovative animal tracking system. BlueSky Telemetry produces GPS collars for application in areas like satellite wildlife telemetry

The company’s founder, Dr Ian Hulbert, has high repute in the field of zoological research, publishing many papers on this subject. He explains, “To track down the collar quickly is essential to the success of projects. The radiometrix module allows tracking from ranges in excess of 8km.” In his opinion, “The Radiometrix LMT2-433-5 radio module has managed to tick all the boxes when it comes to meeting the stringent demands we set. It can deliver great frequency accuracy, which is vital in this type of application.”

The LMT2 transmitter series offer a low power, reliable data link in an industry standard pin out and footprint. This makes the device suitable for low power applications where existing wideband modules have insufficient range, or where low cost multi-channel operation is needed without compromising on RF performance.

It has a receiver sensitivity of -120dBm, allowing long distance data links to be achieved, and conforms to both the EN 300 220-3 and EN 301 489-3 standards. Covering the 432-435MHz frequency band, it supports 32 channels of data transmission at speeds of up to 5kbps.

Specifications for the WildTraX collar required an embedded UHF radio modem that could support transmission over 10 different frequencies. In addition, it was important that the module was very rugged and could handle a broad temperature range. The UHF radio which is incorporated into the collar had to be programmable to allow its active time periods and the return pulse rate to be set as desired. The LMT2’s ability to be re-programmable via its RS232 interface allowed this to be adequately realised.

The LMT2 radio modules are not just suited to employment in this sort of area. This family is capable of being applied handheld terminals, EPOS equipment, barcode scanners, data loggers, industrial telemetry/telecommand systems, environmental monitoring/control, high-end security/fire alarms, and heavy vehicle/machinery controls.

Radiometrix has been manufacturing radio modules for almost 40 years. In that time new designs have improved older ones, and technologies have changed. Some critical parts have even become obsolete. This has produced a family of legacy designs but Radiometrix does not just discontinue products and does not leave users options. Legacy modules can either still be manufactured (with some limitations and caveats) or technical support assistance can be provided to guide users towards more up to date (and often better, and cheaper) equivalents.
Our legacy product range includes the:
TX1, RX1, NRX1, NTX2, NRX2, BiM1 single channel crystal controlled narrowband modules
TX2, RX2, & BiM2 SAW based 433MHz radios. (Both supplanted by modern PLL based designs)
TX2A, RX2A, TX3A, RX3A, BiM2A, BiM3A, BiM2B, HVR2 (all with obsolescent part issues)
BHX2 (458MHz high power, transceiver superseded by SFX2).

LoRa LONG RANGE REMOTE CONTROL/MODEM

Many Radiometrix modules are conventional single frequency radios, transmitting their RF energy in one distinct channel (even multichannel units only use one channel at a time).
The LRM3 is different. It is a transceiver built around the highly innovative Semtech “LoRa” chip-set, which uses a spread-spectrum technique to distribute it's transmitted power over a much wider spectrum. Up to a MHz or more.
This method (in the past limited to high security military radios) gives a LoRa radio exceptional resistance to jamming and interception, and allows it to advantageously use very low data rates to get much longer range (for given transmit power). As an example, 10mW 869MHz LoRa radios can reach out 10km or more.
The LRM3 is an innovative solution for very long range control and low speed data transmission.

HF RANGE

The most well known low power wireless bands are in the VHF and UHF (400 and 870MHz) regions, but there is an often overlooked world wide allocation at 27MHz.

Radiometrix manufactures 27MHz versions of some of it's better known types of modules. These include the SIL footprint single channel NRX0 receiver and NTX0 transmitter, and the multichannel LMT0 transmitter and LMR0 receiver. With a suitable antenna, these HF units can easily rival the performance of the higher frequency modules.

COMPACT MODULES

The established ranges of Radiometrix products already put a lot of functionality into very small packages, but advances in RF devices in recent years has noticeably raised the game. Using state of the art RF silicon devices, the MTX2 (400MHz band) and MTX3 (869MHz) transmitters take the high performance narrowband multichannel performance of the LMT series and condense it into an uniquely compact 23 x 12.5mm footprint, with no performance trade-offs at all. These modules are ideally suited to integration into hand held “fob” sized products.

458MHz INDUSTRIAL HIGH POWER

In the UK, there is a specific allocation on 458MHz for long range, high reliability wireless links (targeting industrial telemetry, telecommand and machine control tasks). These links are narrowband (only) and are allowed to use up to 500mW TX power (for a practical range of well over 1km)

Radiometrix provides a wide range of 458MHz band capable products, but uniquely matched to this band are the SFX2-458 high power fast switching transmitter and the HMT2-458 500mW transmitter.

LOW COST DATA MODEMS

While the flexibility of a raw baseband interface radio is invaluable, there are occasions where a much simpler-to-use “serial cable replacement” is a better choice. These modules fulfil that requirement.
For the 433MHz band there is a choice of TDL2A (bidirectional), RXL2 (receive) and TXL2 (transmit), while on 869MHz the similar TDL3F and DWA3 (with integral antenna) transceivers are available.
Alternatively, Radiometrix offers a range of add-on modem chips, to turn a raw interface module into a radio modem. This range includes the TDL-compatible i9600, the simple i1200 and the more complex M48.

HIGH POWER VHF

Most wireless modules are relatively low power (typically 10mW) devices. A few bands permit higher power but there are VHF allocations (especially in the USA) where MUCH more powerful transmitters are permitted:

For the 169MHz (UK / EU) and 154MHz MURS (USA) allocations, the 500mW SHX1 transceiver is the module of choice. It combines the high performance circuitry of the LMT, and LMR1 with a higher power transmit power amplifier, in a modest 67x30mm footprint.

US part 90/ part 95 bands allow up to 2 watts. Here the robust aluminium extrusion cased QPT1 transmitter and QPX1 transceiver can provide impressive long-range performance.

Bluesky Telemetry - Animal Tracking

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