FreeWave unveils Ethernet-enabled 900 MHz radio
FreeWave Technologies yesterday unveiled the MM2 900 MHz data radio that features an Ethernet interface. It was developed for integration by original equipment manufacturers into military systems, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned ground vehicles and guided parachutes.
“We developed a radio with a smaller form factor that was needed for military applications,” said Colin Lippincott, the company’s spokesperson.
The MM2 900 leverages frequency-hopping, spread-spectrum technology. At the slower speeds, the device hops through the band at 100 times per second in a random fashion, Lippincott said. At higher speeds, it hops at more than 500 times per second.
The device measures 101 x 51 x 13 millimeters and weighs 42 grams. It has a line-of-sight range of 60 miles at standard data rates and 30 miles at high-speed data rates. It also offers 128-bit AES encryption and an operating temperature range of -40 degrees to +85 degrees Celsius, (-40 degrees to +185 degrees Fahrenheit), Lippincott said.
The company also announced a suite of OEM development kits for its line of MM2 TTL and the MM2-IP radios. The kits are designed to assess the radios and test their capabilities. Lippincott said that each kit includes two fully tested radios, all required cabling, manuals and documentation, and an interface board that converts the radios’ native data port to a RS-232C mode for programming and connection to a personal computer.—Mary Rose Roberts