Long time ago...in a galaxy...wait...thats a movie.

Long time ago...when the guru Andrew Warren was around, he and I had some
discussions on what needed a license, and what did not.

Basically, anything that is telemetry, like alarms, or an "are you alive"
signal does not need a license.  If it was a RS232 link, it would because
now its data, and data eats up bandwidth, etc.

I have used DVP modules, with good success (external antenna tho).

-----Original Message-----
From: John Payson [mailto:supercat@CIRCAD.COM]
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 1999 11:19 AM
To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Subject: Cheap 900MHz RF low-speed short-range data solutions?


Does anyone here have any experience with using 900MHz RF data devices?
I'm looking for a short range (<20ft) transmit/receiver pair that can
easily be used to send an "activation" signal.  This would be for use in
a consumer product, so FCC approval is essential.  I've seen various 314Mhz
devices [e.g. the Ming thingies] which would be adequate except that they're
not FCC approved and I can't find any specs about what one can transmit at
that frequency.  The 900Mhz band is basically a free-for-all, and at 20' it
shouldn't be too hard for a transmitter to win out over other users of that
band.

BTW, this application won't necessarily be line-of-sight.  If it were, I'd
use infra-red.