Rabbit Goes Wireless

Rabbit Semiconductor is boldly going wireless by offering two new wireless technologies directly integrated in new RabbitCore® modules. Customers can now connect their products to the Internet and network their devices without wiring headaches. The new RCM4400W is a Wi-Fi/802.11 based core module that leverages the increasing penetration of Wi-Fi in businesses around the world. The RCM4510W is a ZigBee/802.15.4 based module that taps into the exciting, high growth ZigBee market for low cost, low power wireless sensor networks. These modules add to the powerful list of embedded control features that have made RabbitCore modules so appealing to design engineers around the world.

These wireless solutions have been engineered into the Rabbit product line as part of a fundamental goal to provide easy-to-use connectivity built upon proven platforms that can accommodate the typically long embedded product life cycles. The RCM4400W and RCM4510W expand on the family of pin-compatible modules already based on the Rabbit 4000 microprocessor, giving customers greater freedom to now select from serial, wired Ethernet, wireless Ethernet / Wi-Fi or wireless ZigBee / 802.15.4 as their communication link in their Industrial Control, RTU or Building Automation applications.

The RCM4400W features Wi-Fi / 802.11 connectivity and is powered by the Rabbit® 4000 microprocessor, running at 58.98 MHz. Features include up to 35 GPIO lines shared with 6 serial ports, hardware DMA, quadrature decoders, PWM, and up to four levels of alternate pin functions. The RCM4400W supports an operating temperature range of -20°C to +85°C.

The RCM4510W features ZigBee/802.15.4 connectivity and uses MaxStream® technology with the integration of the XBee Series 2 ZigBee module as part of the RabbitCore design. It is also powered by the Rabbit 4000 running at 29.49 MHz. Features include up to 49 GPIO lines shared with 6 serial ports and 4 channels of analog inputs, hardware DMA, quadrature decoders, PWM, and up to four levels of alternate pin functions. The RCM4510W supports an operating temperature range of -40°C to +85°C.

Because the RCM4400W and the RCM4510W are designed to be electrically pin-compatible with all other Rabbit 4000-based RabbitCore modules, engineers can support numerous applications with the same motherboard design by simply changing the RabbitCore module to meet each application’s specific requirement.

Development Kits for the RCM4400W and RCM4510W are immediately available for shipment. Each contains the appropriate full-featured wireless RabbitCore, a development board, the latest Dynamic C integrated development software with hundreds of samples and libraries, and all the accessories that are needed for a quick start on development. The RCM4400W module is priced at $99/Qty100, the RCM4510 is priced at $72/Qty 100. Both the RCM4400W Development Kit and RCM4510W Development Kit are available for a limited time at $199 each