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I am wondering whether I am free to use any transmit/receive methods on this particular frequency or do I need to stick to some standards.

I am willing to buy a chip with PHY layer of 868 MHz and we do have the software MAC provided with it ( it is a ZigBee standard access layer) I am wondering whether I need to use it and if not what can I do to make sure I wont disturb existing application of devices nearby using the ZigBee, and in fact I don't even know whether it should my mine concern or will the PHY make sure that the other devices in the area which are using the ZigBee will be fine.

Funkyguy
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cerkiewny
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  • RF output power? RF transmit bandwidth? Proximity to devices you want to avoid interfering with? Their operating frequencies and bandwidths? Your anticipated modulation method? The other devices modulation method? – Andy aka Aug 12 '14 at 12:21
  • @Andyaka I am not worried about PHY level interference as I am buying of the shelf product from chip manufacturer, I was trying to understand what MAC level limitation I will have to face and whether I can design my own protocol. – cerkiewny Aug 12 '14 at 12:40
  • I'm sure you know this, but 868 MHz is for Europe only. Based on your user name, I'm guessing that is your territory. – Mark Lakata Aug 12 '14 at 18:08

2 Answers2

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In Europe, you would have to comply with EN300220 which is an ETSI standard. If you use a library for the MAC layer of Zigbee, this will have been done for you, but if you write your own MAC layer, you have to take care of all the restrictions in this document yourself, and then get a test house to validate your product according to the telecomms regulations.

Martin
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This band is reserved for Short Range Devices by ETSI. There is a sub-allocation for streaming audio with 100% duty cycle and 10 mW ERP limit, and a few allocations for digital transmissions with 0.1% duty cycle and 25 mW ERP limit.

If you buy off-the-shelf components designed for this band, you should be safe.

Of course this will cause interference with other devices, but because of the "low duty cycle" requirement, there is always free time for retransmissions.

Simon Richter
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