ELEC 332

Goals

In Exercise 10 we were able to combine the modules and knowledge we acquired in Exercises 8 and 9 to build a radio receiver. We already have a transmitter from Exercise 8 so in theory we have everything we need to build a complete wireless data link. However, if we tried to build one out of what we have, we would run into a number of problems:

  1. Our highly modular approach means we will need to use a large number of modules. The radio link could take up most of the breadboard, leaving insufficient room for the rest of the system.
  2. We don't have enough connectors on the MSP430 module to plug everything into. Even if we had enough hardware functionality, we will need additional interconnect functionality.
  3. We still need to implement demodulation and synchronization for a digital channel.
  4. We can only generate fairly low frequencies, so reasonably sized antennas will be very inefficient.

This means that if we want to add wireless communication to our repertoire, we will either need to do a lot more work, or take the easy way out and let someone else put everything on a single chip then just buy one. Since the end of the semester is rapidly approaching, the second alternative seems the best choice.