Wireless Design
A particular focus for Ionocom is design of wireless products, using our broad experience over a wide range of technologies and frequency bands, with emphasis on short-range communications.
13.56MHz RFID
We have designed several products using the 13.56MHz RFID band, including
active asset tracking systems and a multi-antenna tag reader for passive
tags.
88-108MHz Broadcast FM
We have designed several low-power licence-exempt FM transmitter products
for use with portable music players. In addition to stereo audio we have
designed products that transmit RDS data.
433MHz Proprietary Short-Range Devices
We have designed many products using the common 433MHz ISM band for short-range
communication. Our experience includes systems with antenna and frequency
diversity.
433MHz and 915MHz LoRa
We have designed products using Semtech's LoRa standard, which provides for extremely long
range and low power at low bit rates.
850-2100MHz Cellular
We have designed products including cellular voice and data functionality,
using solutions from suppliers such as MultiTech, Wavecom and Qualcomm,
in all of the major North American frequency bands, on CDMA and GSM networks.
1575MHz GPS
We have designed products with GPS receivers from suppliers such as Telit,
Qualcomm and Ublox. Products have included gyroscopes and other methods to
enhance location performance. We have used both patch and helical antennas.
2.4GHz ZigBee
We have designed ZigBee radios into products to provide wireless data
transfer, using modular solutions and also discrete component designs
based on chips from Ember Corp. Our work has included firmware as well as
hardware, and we are familiar with the ZigBee stack.
2.4GHz Bluetooth
We have designed Bluetooth links into products to provide wireless data
transfer, using modules from companies including Free2Move and National
Semiconductor. We have also dealt directly with chip supplier Cambridge
Silicon Radio. Ionocom is an Adopter Member of the
Bluetooth SIG and as such has
access to all the latest standards and specifications.
2.4GHz Proprietary Short-Range Devices
We have designed many products using proprietary protocols in the 2.4GHz ISM
band, typically using chips from Nordic Semiconductor. Projects have ranged
from parking management systems through wireless mice and keyboards to
iPhone accessories.
Other
We also have experience with other systems and frequencies ranging from
shortwave (3-30MHz) through VHF and UHF to radar (5GHz).
In all these frequency bands we can select and design-in off-the-shelf antenna solutions. We have used monopoles, dipoles, loops, patch, helical and PIFA solutions. We also have the capability to design, model and simulate custom wire and planar (PCB trace) antennas for low-cost applications.
Ionocom has a variety of RF engineering design software available including SPICE, Touchstone, NEC-Win, EZNEC and Sonnet.
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