PIC Microcontroller Eases RF Design

The rfPIC family of microcontrollers significantly eases the RF design process while reducing component count and board space. The rfPIC12C509AG is an 18-pin PICmicro microcontroller that features an integrated 315/433-MHz transmitter. The rfPIC125C509AF is a 20-pin PICmicro microcontroller with an integrated 315/433-MHz FSK/ASK transmitter.

Both contain 1024 words of program memory with 41 bytes of user RAM. The devices offer six I/O pins with an on-chip clock oscillator, 33 single-word instructions, a full-speed 1-µs instruction cycle at 4 MHz, and seven special-function hardware registers. They also feature a two-level deep hardware stack, an 8-bit real-time clock/counter with 8-bit programmable prescaler, a watchdog timer, and a direct LED drive. The on-chip transmitter enables designs to conform to US FCC Part 15 regulations.

The rfPIC12C509AG costs $1.94 each in 10,000-unit quantities.

Microchip Technology Inc.
(480) 786-7200; www.microchip.com