Transceiver architectures for low-cost radios - Part I
9 April 2003
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Access Control & Identity Management
Steve Moore, director applications, Micro Linear
Anyone who has ever worked in the wireless field knows there are as many different wireless implementations as there are useful applications. Many of today's systems engineers continue to have difficulty specifying detailed radio requirements and evaluating possible trade-offs in performance. At times it seems easier to just select one of the popular wireless systems that we hear about everyday (eg, 802.11, Bluetooth) and not sweat the specifics of the wireless implementation.
For applications where interoperability is a requirement this is a logical (and necessary) choice, but for many other wireless applications (eg, cordless phones, industrial control, consumer game controllers, meter reading, wireless audio, security) systems designers can usually reduce size, cost, and power by using highly-integrated RF transceivers (like the Micro Linear ML2724) and developing simple radio protocols optimised to the specific application.
For example, using an 802.11 solution running at 11 Mbps with carrier sense multiple access, full TCP/IP stack, encryption, and PCMCIA host interface for anything other than a high-speed, Ethernet-compatible wireless network will almost certainly result in unnecessary cost, size, and power. Likewise, a Bluetooth solution, while much lower cost and lower power than 802.11, still carries the additional overhead associated with a complex peer-to-peer personal area network (PAN) designed with interoperability as its primary feature.
The downside of adopting standards-based solutions is that in a lot of wireless applications these solutions have many features not required resulting in unnecessary cost and power. Table 1 shows a simple comparison of the features, intended purpose, and relative cost between some of the more popular solutions.
To effectively realise an optimal wireless solution doesn't have to be complex and mysterious, especially with today's highly integrated radio transceiver ICs. Knowing basic radio specifications and how to choose a radio architecture and link protocol is all that is necessary.
Table 1. Comparison of common wireless systems
In a subsequent issue of Dataweek I will present Part II of this series that will describe some of the basic system-level radio specifications to consider along with a brief overview of common radio architectures found in today's integrated transceivers.
For more information contact Kevin Jurrius, Components & System Design, 011 979 4274.
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