There is a degree of uncertainty at the moment regarding the future availability of HopeRF’s RFM22B and RFM23B modules. Having been in touch with a number of HopeRF’s European distributors the message appears to be that while they are indeed “not recommended for new designs”, there has been no end-of-life notification for either of these products. Both modules will continue to be available for the foreseeable future, although they may be subject to minimum order quantities once distributor stocks run dry.
Recommended replacements are the RFM69W and RFM69HW. These new modules appear to be based on Semtech SX1231H, which means they are not an ideal equivalent because of a 2.4 V minimum Vcc (the RFM23B can work down to 1.8 V). Fingers crossed that HopeRF has actually used the 1.8 V capable non-H version of the chip on the lower power RFM69W.
Several EU distributors have indicated that they will be carrying the new modules within a month or so. Pricing looks like it will be slightly cheaper than that of the older modules, so that plus the addition of hardware AES should make these a welcome upgrade.
I’m just getting started with the RFM12b. If they are going to be hard to find, I want a backup plan. What do you think the acceptance is for the RFM69W?
I can buy some to play with, but I’m not a dedicated programmer and would need help of a library example.
I’ve not really seen anyone using them yet, but they are still pretty hard to find in Europe at least. I’m actually working on a general purpose transceiver library that aims to target various radios, and the RFM69W will be one of them. You might also want to check out Low Power Lab, as I know that he has been looking at them.
I’ve purchased one of the moteinos. I’ve only started to get the library to work. I want to use my netduino as a web enabled base station for the sensor/control nodes. This is centered around a home automation theme.