I'm working on project that lets industrial machines communicate to each other wirelessly. It seems that Zigbee at 868MHz is the best choice (if you have any other suggestion it would be great), considering range ad penetration capabilities.
Recently I've been asked if it could be easier to communicate over radio waves and create on top of it an ad hoc protocol, instead of buying Xbees modules which are expensive.
That would allow me to buy cheaper radio modules.
I don't have much experience in radio communication and protocols, but it sounds complicated to me.
What do you think? Does it make any sense? Thanks!
Best Answer
One of the disadvantage associated with zigbee modules for communication is the high cost. Moreover Zigbee is intended for short range.
Radio links are the cheapest and long range solutions. NRF24L01 is one such radio link solution. NRF24L01 comprises 2Mbps RF transceiver IC for the 2.4GHz ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) band. Extremely low power and reliable. I have once worked with these modules and result was good. I recommend you to search for the latest version.