In my blog I have been discussing new Hoperf modules which were performing very well however in one application I needed really long range, therefore I was looking for suitable modules.

Sure enough Hoperf has got a great module that operates on 868 MHz which here in the EU is a band that is available for users like myself. Allowed transmitted power is up to 0.5W, which is a lot of power.

For other regions other frequency ranges can be ordered from Hoperf, also the output power may be lowered with a simple command - see datasheet for more info.

Module that I used has 100 mW of output power and it's transceiver, which is great for my application.

The module has also one nice feature: RSSI. Read more if interested...

The module itself has built-in the Rx & Tx UART pins which means that one can simply send/receive data to/from suitable pin and the module will do the rest. A simple test showed that with this module I was reaching 2.4 km range where houses & trees were in sight. I have a plan to ask my friend who flies a small plane to take this module with him on the plane while one module will stay on the ground to see what is the range of it if no obstacles are in sight.

Bascom-AVR code is very basic, just to test the module and to turn LED On/Off if received information is correct.

Here is a part of a code that shows how to read RSSI:

I will send the code to anyone that sends me an email.

Modules can be purchased on this link.

Best regards

Jurij