SMART Modular Technologies debuts its latest offering of wireless solutions that transmit and receive Bluetooth RF data. These solutions are available in an assortment of modular form factors, including a Type II PC card, a USB dongle, a serial port adapter, and a mini-module. These Bluetooth modules retrofit current and legacy machines to enable instant access to Bluetooth functionalities for mobile and desktop computer markets. For the small form-factor applications including personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellular telephones and similar portable devices, the company has developed the Bluetooth Mini Module. The Mini Module offers a system solution in a small (12.5 × 21.6mm) form factor allowing designers to significantly reduce time-to-market without comprising crucial board space.
SMART Modular Technologies
www.smartmodulartech.com

Motorola has developed a comprehensive Bluetooth RF transceiver in a 6 mm × 7 mm × 1.3 mm low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) module; and a stacked die RF-plus-baseband Bluetooth solution, that includes RF transceiver and baseband ICs. This highly integrated 2.4 GHz RF transceiver module is designed to provide a comprehensive, low-power Bluetooth 1.1 radio for Class 2 systems. The module's receiver features a low-noise amplifier, high/low image reject mixer, complete VCO, post mixer amplifier, self-adjusting channel filter, limiting amplifier, demodulator, and an A/D block. The transmitter function includes a direct modulation FM transmitter controlled by a dual-port fractional-N synthesizer and VCO, a low power amplifier (0 dBm), and a transmit/receive control function. Low current drain of 27 mA (transmit) and 33 mA (receive), with multiple power down modes conserve power; while an integrated electronic crystal trim provides the capability to compensate for as much as 50 ppm of crystal tolerance.
Motorola
www.motorola.com

Diamond Systems announces the introduction of the PC/104 carrier board, Pyxis-MM. It provides a low-cost, compact solution for embedding a GPS receiver module, a wireless modem module, and/or a landline modem module into a PC/104 embedded system. It offers the advantage of two modules on a single carrier (GPS and wireless modem), saving critical space for mobile applications. When used with GPS receiver and 2.4 GHz worldwide license-free wireless modem modules, it provides location identification and communications features for vehicle-based embedded systems around the world, such as vehicle tracking, navigation, and precision farming. It can also be configured for standalone operation without a CPU for low-cost applications. In this mode, all that is required is the carrier board, the modules, and a power supply. The GPS receiver and wireless modem are directly connected to each other, allowing the automatic real-time broadcast of GPS data to enable a base station to monitor the whereabouts of a vehicle. It includes all the necessary I/O circuitry to interface the selected modules onto the PC/104 bus, including serial ports and power supplies. A backup power connector is provided to maintain GPS almanac and minimize time-to-first-fix The board runs on +5V and operates over the industrial temperature range of -40 to +85° Model PXMM-XT is the full-featured carrier board for GPS, wireless, and/or landline modem. Pricing is $160 in single quantity and $136 in 100-499 (not including add-on modules). Modules and antennas are available from Diamond Systems or direct from their respective manufacturers.
Diamond Systems
www.diamondsystems.com

Royal Philips Electronics has added a low power Bluetooth system solution to its existing portfolio. The system enables wireless technology designers to focus on taking product functionality to the next level without worrying about complex design issues. The solution consists of the Blueberry DATA baseband IC (PCF87752) and its TrueBlue radio module (BGB101). This system makes Bluetooth wireless technology a practical option for communication, computing and consumer applications at home, in the office or on the move. Blueberry DATA is a new baseband family member suitable for hosted and several embedded applications for mobile communications, consumer and computing. It combines low power consumption levels with 224K bytes embedded flash and a USB 1.1 interface with embedded transceiver. The PCF87752 supports a wide range of discrete radio ICs and radio modules. Blueberry DATA's recognized Bluetooth core will help ensure interoperability with all major mobile phone and PC manufacturers' Bluetooth compliant devices. The BGB101 is a pre-qualified, fully tested and plug-and-play Bluetooth radio module.
Royal Philips Electronics
www.semiconductors.philips.com

Honeywell has announced a transceiver module, the Radio-On-Chip System-in-Package (ROC SIP), developed for battery powered wireless applications in digital data communications. The device combines a radio transceiver and a micro-controller for a single system-in-a-package unit offering wireless designers high levels of integration and a shortened, simpler transceiver design process. The chip design includes a half-duplex radio on a chip, a 900 MHz transceiver and a built-in 8051 based Cygnal C8051F300 micro-controller integrated into a single 52-pin leadless TAPP package. Customers can re-use their existing 80C51 code, without modification, in the ROC SIP product. The micro-controller and transceiver pair is a highly functioning set guaranteed to operate together. The micro-controller has an 8K ISP flash memory, a high-speed pipelined 8051 CPU, and on-chip JTAG based debug in each device. It's configurable with two flexible user inputs for easy connectivity. The transceiver has a high number of built-in digital features including Manchester encoder and decoder and message storage.
Honeywell
www.honeywell.com

ADTRAN announces its new wireless bi-directional repeater 2400 (BDR 2400). The BDR 2400 allows ADTRAN's T1 or E1 TRACER systems to transmit over and around microwave path obstacles, cutting the cost of additional equipment required for a repeated circuit by as much as 50 percent. Previously, obstacles to wireless signals were dealt with by deploying complete back-to-back radio systems. By combining two transceivers into one housing, TRACER can now relay voice and data through just one repeater, saving valuable networking dollars. TRACER features direct sequence, spread spectrum digital technology for point-to-point wireless connectivity. It operates in the 2.4 GHz band, license-free band. The TRACER product line is available in mastmount and rackmount configurations to provide E1 or dual T1 communication links.
Adtran
www.adtran.com.