CEL announces the production release and availability of its new MeshConnect EM357 High Temperature Mini Modules and MeshConnect EM357 USB Sticks, both powered by the premier ZigBee® PRO stack from Silicon Labs. These new products provide additional ways to link into and control ZigBee network environments within the Connected Home, Lighting, Building Automation and Industrial Markets.
CEL’s High Temperature Mini Modules were specifically designed to address the thermal challenges associated with heat-intensive applications. LED lighting implementations within the Connected Home are especially daunting since the bulbs are often housed in recessed cans. These cans are typically insulated, and they tend to prevent the wicking away of heat from the light socket. In addition, the can itself acts like an RF containment vessel, making it imperative that the highest module output power of +20 dBm is used to overcome the can’s RF propagation limitations. CEL’s High Temp ZigBee modules overcome these challenges by supporting a maximum operating temperature of +110°C, a 29% improvement over the closest competitive product. The module can also deliver +20 dBm of output power despite the elevated temperature state. Competing modules with maximum ratings of +85°C will experience significant ‘power droop’ at elevated temperatures, and RF range will suffer as a result.
MeshConnect ZigBee USB Sticks
The MeshConnect EM357 USB Sticks also utilize Silicon Lab’s EmberZNet PRO stack, enabling monitoring and control for devices with USB 2.0 port connectivity. The USB Sticks are ideal for retrofitting existing products like satellite set top boxes, hubs, gateways, and white goods. They can also be used as Sniffers for Over-The-Air (OTA) Network logging. Each stick includes an additional 1MB of Flash memory that can be used for OTA upgrades or additional programming space. The USB Sticks are available in standard or long range options (+8 dBm and +20 dBm, respectively) to allow designers to choose the radio performance that best suits their link budget requirements. Among comparable ZigBee USB sticks that support +20 dBm of output power, the MeshConnect USB stick excels in terms of having the industry’s smallest form factor.
The USB Sticks and the High Temperature Mini Modules are targeted for ZigBee markets that include connected homes (Energy Management, Smart Home, Lighting Control and more) and other Machine-to-Machine applications.
