FreeWave adds to military-radio suite
FreeWave Technologies today unveiled two new additions to its MM2 family of high-performance, tiny-form-factor radios: the MM2-M13 and the MM2-MU. The MM2-M13 product line operates in the 1.3 GHz band and the MM2-MU operates in the UHF band and complements the company’s earlier MM2 family of products that operate in the 900 MHz band with both serial and Ethernet interfaces, said Harold Christopher, the company’s product manager of MM2 Systems.
“We wanted to continue building products that could serve our nation’s military personnel,” Christopher said. “The new radios’ size, weight and functionality ensure we can meet this market’s needs.”
Christopher said the company’s aim was to provide additional products to the military market within the United States, as well as to expand its global reach. In addition, he said the radios’ form factor, 2 inches x 2 inches and with a weight of 21 grams, makes it ideal for unmanned aerial vehicles. The radios feature a full 2W (1W for the MM2-M13) transmitter power that extends the range of the radio to more than 60 miles and provides increased operating voltage to 8-32 VDC for broader compatibility with various unmanned systems. 5 VDC versions also are available, he said.
The radios also can operate as a slave/repeater, further extending network range and coverage, and offer 230.4 kbps throughput for transferring data, Christopher said. They are also backward compatible with the company’s P Series family of radios, and the MM2-MU family is backward compatible with the company’s F series wideband family of radios.
The radios will be available next quarter and cost around $2,500, Christopher said.
