Re: [dev] Simpler WiFi alternatives

From: Josuah Demangeon <me_AT_josuah.net>
Date: Sun, 14 May 2023 13:40:47 +0200

To anyone who was genuinely interested in the topic:

Since Arduino was pointed out, something on that level that is very widely used is the ESP32:
https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esp-idf/en/latest/esp32/hw-reference/esp32/get-started-ethernet-kit.html

It happens that WiFi is cheap: a piece of PCB trace does an antenna, and a tiny inductor acts as a balun, that's it, you mostly have your WiFi transceiver.

The other way around is also possible: An MCU supporting Ethernet, and adding WiFi to it:

https://community.st.com/s/question/0D53W000005qaHySAI/adding-wifi-to-stm32

Maybe some MCU with both Ethernet and a WiFi interface would work too:

https://www.nxp.com/products/wireless/wi-fi-plus-bluetooth-plus-802-15-4/wireless-mcu-with-integrated-radiobr-1x1-wi-fi-6-plus-bluetooth-low-energy-5-3-radios:RW610

Ultimately, looking at what an existing product has could be insightful:

https://mikrotik.com/product/RB911-5HnD

> These days even embedded systems will likely use an RTOS which may
> include an existing protocol stack, e.g. RTEMS [2] uses a port of the
> FreeBSD stack.

RTEMS is doing great work! Never tried it though.

Zephyr is getting a lot of contributions/popularity.
Possibly because it got a fancy website and is having the Linux Foundation logo on it.
Possibly because a few vendors (Nordic in particular) dropped their own proprietary
RTOS in favor of it.

There might eventually be examples on how to plug things together and get something like that working.

Last but not least, it is always possible to try to find a part with both ethernet and wifi support:

https://octopart.com/electronic-parts/integrated-circuits-ics/embedded-processors-and-controllers/microcontrollers
https://octopart.com/electronic-parts/integrated-circuits-ics/embedded-processors-and-controllers/microprocessors


Sagar Acharya <sagaracharya_AT_tutanota.com> wrote:
> Yep. That is true. I didn't think of that at all! But then, why do current WiFi, etc. work at 2.4GHz, if device speeds aren't at those levels?
>
> I'll try wireless transmissions of files at 10MHz then in the lower frequency regions. Then by replacing hardware, maybe I'll just have to change a single number!
>
> I already use just wired connections but today's extreme use of mobile phones has made securing wireless networks a compulsion!
> Thanking you
> Sagar Acharya
> http://humaaraartha.in <https://humaaraartha.in>
>
>
>
> 13 May 2023, 15:20 by dwm_AT_dbrooke.me.uk:
>
> > A simpler alternative to WiFi is to use wires 8-)
> >
> > Seriously, the radio frequency techniques necessary to provide
> > sufficient throughput for today's applications are inevitably complex.
> >
> > On Fri, May 12, 2023 at 05:43:04PM +0200, Sagar Acharya wrote:
> >
> >> What I'm trying to find is a simple C program which can be run on Arduino and analog pins connected to an antenna.
> >>
> >
> > The lowest frequency at which WiFi operates is the 2.4GHz band, an
> > Arduino (there are many variants, of which some will be faster) is
> > likely to be clocked at 10s of MHz so will be unable to generate
> > suitable radio frequency signals at its analogue pins.
> >
> > Back in the '90s I was running TCP/IP over amateur radio at low data
> > rates (9600 bps) using KA9Q NOS [1] which was a single C program for
> > DOS. It's probably close to the minimum needed for a router, although it
> > does typically include some application level features.
> >
> > These days even embedded systems will likely use an RTOS which may
> > include an existing protocol stack, e.g. RTEMS [2] uses a port of the
> > FreeBSD stack.
> >
> > David
> >
> > [1] http://www.ka9q.net/code/ka9qnos/
> > [2] https://www.rtems.org/
Received on Sun May 14 2023 - 13:40:47 CEST

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