I recently looked in my parts bin and realized that I had accumulated over 10 pairs of ASK RF Modules. These are cheap "dumb" modules, but if care is taken, can be used with a Picaxe to create a fairly robust RF link.
One way to make a reliable & robust RF link with these cheap modules is to add an NKM2401 Manchester Encoder/Decoder chip. This chip was originally developed by Mike Meakin back in the 90's. Rev Ed uses these in the AXE 213 Wireless Radio Boards and for good reason. They really work and are particularly useful on the RX side when combined with a Picaxe using "RFOUT" on the TX side. It frees up the Picaxe on the RX side to do other things while waiting for RF data. You cannot do that with RFIN, since it is a blocking command.
The NKM2401 is really just a PIC12F508 programmed with firmware to make it an encoder/decoder. Rev Ed sells the NKM2401 chips at an almost giveaway price, but has also shared the firmware code in the form of a hex file. So if you want to make your own, all you need is a PIC12F508, a programmer, and the hex file.
There is not a US supplier for these little gems, so I tagged 10 PIC12F508's to an order from my supplier (Mouser) & dug out the old PICKIT2 and programmed them using the supplied hex file. They work perfectly.
If you want to make your own NKM2401, the hex file can be found ====> HERE.
Thanks Rev Ed.
One way to make a reliable & robust RF link with these cheap modules is to add an NKM2401 Manchester Encoder/Decoder chip. This chip was originally developed by Mike Meakin back in the 90's. Rev Ed uses these in the AXE 213 Wireless Radio Boards and for good reason. They really work and are particularly useful on the RX side when combined with a Picaxe using "RFOUT" on the TX side. It frees up the Picaxe on the RX side to do other things while waiting for RF data. You cannot do that with RFIN, since it is a blocking command.
The NKM2401 is really just a PIC12F508 programmed with firmware to make it an encoder/decoder. Rev Ed sells the NKM2401 chips at an almost giveaway price, but has also shared the firmware code in the form of a hex file. So if you want to make your own, all you need is a PIC12F508, a programmer, and the hex file.
There is not a US supplier for these little gems, so I tagged 10 PIC12F508's to an order from my supplier (Mouser) & dug out the old PICKIT2 and programmed them using the supplied hex file. They work perfectly.
If you want to make your own NKM2401, the hex file can be found ====> HERE.
Thanks Rev Ed.