Qiachip WL101 + WL102 with external antenna ?

[iXo]

Hi,

I am new with the world of RFLink, but I have a question, I tried to use a RXB6, but failed, in the debug mode I had a few traces, but nothing was detected, so as I had ordered a bunch of different receiver and transmitter, I then tried to use the couple WL101 and WL102, with a way better result.


My question is : the WL101 and WL102 are both shipped with dedicated spring antennas that we must solder ourselves.

Is it possible to use a single dedicated 433Mhz antenna shared to both modules at the the same time ?

Thank you.

[bidrohini]

You can an RF switch compatible with 433 MHz, such as the HMC190 or similar. You have to use it to toggle the connection between the antenna and the receiver or transmitter, depending on the mode of operation.

[iXo]

I see, thank you. Does the rflink firmware provides a signal when it needs to send a message so that the antenna is then rooted to the transmitter, and switched back to the receiver when it's done ?

Is it something that is a good idea ? do you know if the firmware is made to be able to decode messages it received at the same time it may send something ?

Sorry if it's in french, but what about this kind of schematics I see a lot : https://timetotech.fr/domotique/faire-d ... 0e-rflink/

There is not switch between the antenna and the transmitter and the receiver ?

[bidrohini]

RFLink firmware does not natively manage a signal to toggle an antenna switch between transmitter and receiver. Most RFLink setups use a shared antenna without a switching mechanism.
Adding a switch to route the antenna between the transmitter and receiver can improve performance. However, such a system requires careful timing and control, which the RFLink firmware does not handle by default. RFLink is generally not designed to decode messages while actively transmitting. Most RF modules cannot transmit and receive simultaneously due to shared antenna paths or internal design constraints. Add an external RF switch from your microcontroller controlled by a GPIO pin. This requires modifying the RFLink firmware to provide a signal to control the switch. Using separate antennas for the transmitter and receiver could mitigate interference without requiring a switching mechanism, provided the antennas are sufficiently isolated.