Testing the GAMMA-868R Modules for Race Car Telemetry

The GAMMA-868R Modules (122-5255) and (122-5256) are popular because they’re versatile. They utilise the latest OFDM, spread spectrum technology and extensive algorithm enhancements to achieve an industry-leading 16km (10miles) range.

Being transceiver modules, they offer bi-directional or modem remote control for use in a number of applications, like long-distance industrial switching environments; or for race car telemetry, for example.

In this case study, race car enthusiast John Rees uses the GAMMA-868R modules (122-5255) on an electric car-racing track to record data.

John Rees:

“I’m a member of a school Greenpower electric car racing team. We urgently needed to get radio telemetry from our race car to the pits.

At race tracks, the range achieved is more likely to be influenced by obstructions, rather than distance. However, the maximum range required was not likely to be much over 1 kilometre. We chose the GAMMA-868R modules as a ‘starter for ten’ to commence our experience and as a learning curve, but ultimately, we found no reason to change the modules thereafter.

The control board on the car squirts out a string of serial data every three seconds or so to one GAMMA module (used as the transmitter). The other GAMMA (used as a receiver) in the pit feeds the data string into an Excel routine that gives us a live ‘dashboard’ in real-time, showing the various sensor readings from the car, displayed either as numbers or travelling graphs. Excel also carries out numerous calculations in real-time to estimate battery life and tell us, for example, the average current being taken over a selectable period of time.

The sample rate may seem a little slow, as it was chosen to suit our rather low spec laptop in the pit! But the resolution over the last couple of years has proved adequate for the purpose.

We’re not talking Formula 1 here!

The GAMMA units were wired and set up exactly as in the serial section of the GAMMA manual, so there’s no reason to repeat anything here.

The antenna on the car is the basic vertical antenna (FLEXI-SMA90-868) (054-2563) supplied by RF Solutions, and the GAMMA module used as a receiver uses a homemade antenna version with the addition of a ground plane.

At the track, the receiver antenna is usually mounted around six feet above the ground.

In conclusion, the simplicity of setup, the total reliability and exceptional performance of the GAMMA-868R has proved to be a good choice”.

John Rees

RF Solutions are excited to hear more of any of John’s future projects using RF technology!