Monday, 28 August 2017

microcontroller - Cheapest way to wirelessly synchronize two MCUs


I have two battery powered MCUs about 30cm apart, one will be the master, and one the slave. Each MCU has several LEDs connected which flash in a sequence.


All I want to do is synchronize the two MCUs so that the sequences don't drift out of phase.


Is there some super easy way to send a simple RF pulse from one MCU to the other?


Added:



  • The sequence lasts for approx 1 second, and repeats forever.

  • If the slave misses some sync pulses, it's not the end of the world, because it would take many cycles to drift noticeably out of phase.


  • For personal / religious / aesthetic reasons which I am not allowed to discuss, I do not wish to use IR, capacitive, acoustic means to transmit this pulse.

  • The range is very short, less than 30cm.

  • The signal will need to travel through open air. No concrete or metal in the way.

  • RF-like inductive coupling would be OK too.

  • Since the signal consists of only a single pulse, I imagine there must be a smaller, cheaper solution than those involving packet transmission (Xbee, etc.)

  • Ideally the solution would consist of some kind of PCB trace antenna, and a simple oscillator for the transmitter, and simple circuit (demodulator?) to detect the pulse at the receiver.




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