SparkFun YARD Stick One – USB Wireless Transceiver

The YARD Stick One (Yet Another Radio Dongle) is a palm-sized, low-speed USB wireless transceiver (similar to a Software Defined Radio or SDR) from Great Scott Gadgets that can transmit or receive digital wireless signals at frequencies below 1GHz. It uses the same radio circuit as the popular IM-Me. The radio functions that are possible by customizing IM-Me firmware are now at your fingertips when you attach YARD Stick One to a computer via USB.

With official operating frequencies of 300-348MHz, 391-464MHz, and 782-928MHz, the YARD Stick One is a half-duplex SDR that can transmit and receive under ASK, OOK, GFSK, 2-FSK, 4-FSK, MSK at data rates up to 500kb per second. The YARD Stick One is equipped with a simple SMA connector for external antennas, an antenna port power control for compatibility with antenna port accessories, GIMME-compatible programming test points, as well as a GoodFET-compatible expansion and programming header. Luckily, the YARD Stick One features strong RF performance across the entire operating frequency range with a low pass filter for elimination of harmonics when operating in the 800MHz and 900MHz bands.

The YARD Stick One also comes with RfCat firmware installed. RfCat allows you to control the wireless transceiver from an interactive Python shell or your own program running on your computer. YARD Stick One also has CC Bootloader installed, so you can upgrade RFCat or install your own firmware without any additional programming hardware.

Note: Please keep in mind that an antenna is not included with the YARD Stick One. If you are looking for a good starter antenna, the ANT500 is recommended.

Features:

• Half-Duplex Transmit and Receive
• Official Operating Frequencies: 300-348MHz, 391-464MHz, and 782-928MHz
• Unofficial Operating Frequencies: 281-361MHz, 378-481MHz, and 749-962MHz (As found by Great Scott Gadgets)
• Modulations: ASK, OOK, GFSK, 2-FSK, 4-FSK, MSK
• Data Rates up to 500kbps
• Full-Speed USB 2.0
• SMA Female Antenna Connector (50 ohms)
• Software-Controlled Antenna Port Power (Max 50mA @ 3.3V)
• Low Pass Filter for Elimination of Harmonics When Operating in the 800MHz and 900MHz Bands
• GoodFET-Compatible Expansion and Programming Header
• GIMME-Compatible Programming Test Points

Documents:

• YARD Stick One Wiki
• YARD Stick One GitHub
• RfCat GitHub (Courtesy of atlas)
• CC-Bootloader
• Introduction Page
• Product Page

Videos

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