FrequentlyAskedQuestions

PowercastdevelopswirelesspowerandRFenergyharvestingsolutionstoprovidepoweroverdistanceforlow powerapplications(lowmicrowattsandlowmilliwatts).Devicesthattypicallyoperateonbatteriesformonths oryearscanbenefitfromPowercastspatented,highefficiencyRFenergyharvestingtechnology.Thecostof wiringorbatteryreplacementcanbeeliminatedinlowpowerdevicesthroughwireless,remotetricklecharging, ordevicescanbemadecompletelybatteryfree.

GeneralQuestions
WherecanIbuyPowercastproducts? PowercasttechnologyisdesignedforOriginalEquipmentManufacturers(OEMs)toembeddirectlyintheir productsandsystems.ProductscanbepurchasedthroughFutureElectronics(www.FutureElectronics.com), MouserElectronics(Mouser.com),andMicrochipDirect.com.IfyourcompanyisanOEMandisseekingsales support,pleasecontactusoryourlocalrepresentativefromFutureElectronicstodiscussyourapplicationin moredetail. DoyouofferanyproductsforchargingconsumerelectronicsdevicessuchasmobilephonesorMP3players? Powercastdoesnothaveanyofftheshelfproductsforchargingconsumerelectronicdevices. DoesPowercastengageincustomdevelopmentprojects? Yes.PowercasthascompletedmultiplecustomdevelopmentprojectsrelatedtoRFbasedwirelesspowerandRF energyharvesting.Pleasecontactustoprovidedetailsonyourprojectsothatwemayprovideaquote. WhataretheintendedapplicationsforPowercasttechnology? ThereareanumberofapplicationsthatcanbenefitfromusingPowercaststechnology.Theamountofreceived power,theusecase,antennaformfactor,andchargeratemustbeconsidered.Devicesthatoperateonasetof batteriesforweeks,months,oryearsarecandidatesforPowercaststechnology.Powercastiscurrentlyfocused onlowpowerapplicationssuchaswirelesssensors.

PowerQuestions
Howmuchpowercanbetransmitted? Governmentregulationslimittheamountofpowerthatcanbetransmitted.IntheUnitedStatesandCanada themaximumis4WattsEIRP,andourTX91501transmitterbroadcastsamaximumof3WattsEIRP. Howmuchpowerisreceived? Thereceivedpowerisdeterminedbyseveralfactors,includingdistanceandreceivingantennaperformance. Availableenergyafterconversioninthelowmilliwattandmicrowattrangeshouldbeexpected.Pleaseseethe wirelesspowercalculatoravailableonourwebsite:http://www.powercastco.com/resources/ Whatistheefficiencyofthepowertransmission?
FrequentlyAskedQuestions Updated:May16,2011 www.powercastco.com +17242383700 Page1

Powercaststechnologyenablesuniqueapplicationsforremotecharging,andmultipledevicescanbecharged simultaneously.Theendtoendefficiencyofpowertransferisnotarelevantmetricofcomparison. WhatistheefficiencyoftheRFtoDCpowerconversion? Pleaseseethedatasheetsforperformancegraphs.RFtoDCconversionefficiencyisashigha70%insome scenarios. Whatisthemaximumdistancethatyourtransmitterwillwork? Thetransmitteroutputpowerislimitedbygovernmentregulation,sothereceivingantennaisaprimaryfactorin operatingrange.Antennaswithhighergainprovidebetterrange.Thedirectionalantennaprovidedwiththe evaluationboardshasagainof6dBiandwillenablearangeof4045feet(1214meters)lineofsightwiththe P2110component.

RadioFrequencyQuestions
Whatfrequenciesaresupported? TheP1110andP2110Powerharvesterreceiversaredesignedforacenterfrequencyof915MHz,buthavea reasonableoperatingrangefrom850950MHz.Pleaseseethedatasheetsforperformancedetails.The PowerharvestetechnologycanbeadaptedtootherfrequenciesandPowercastwillconsidercustom developmentprojectsforfrequencymodification. CanIusetheP1110orP2110componentsforharvestingfromWiFi? Thesecomponentsaredesignedwithacenterfrequencyof915MHzandcannotbeusedtoharvestenergyfrom WiFirouters. Doyouhaveanycomponentsforharvestingfrom2.4GHz/WiFi? Standardcomponentsfor2.4GHzarenotofferedatthistime.TypicalWiFiroutersbroadcastonlyabout50 100mWofenergy,andthereceivedpowerwouldbeverylowevenincloseproximity.

AntennaQuestions
Whattypeofantennascanbeused? Powerharvesterreceiversaredesignedtoworkwithstandard50ohmantennas.Anantennashouldbematched ascloselyaspossibletothefrequencybeingreceived. DoesPowercastdesigncustomantennas? Powercasthasantennadesignexpertise.Wewillconsidercustomantennadevelopmentprojects.

TransmitterQuestions
CanImakeanyadjustmentstoyourtransmitter? TherearenousercontrolsontheexistingTX91501Powercastertransmitter.Makingmodificationsinsideofthe devicewouldbeaviolationofFCCandIndustryCanadaregulationsandalsovoidtheproductwarranty. Isyourtransmitterrequiredforthistowork?
FrequentlyAskedQuestions Updated:May16,2011 www.powercastco.com +17242383700 Page2

PowercaststransmitterproductsarenotrequiredtooperatethePowerharvesterreceivers,butsomesourceof RFenergymustbeprovided.Ambientenergyfromsourcessuchasmobilebasestations(i.e.cellsites)are typicallynotstrongenoughtooperateexistingPowerharvesterreceiversatausefuldistance. CanIuseyourtransmitterinanycountry? PowercastsTX91501transmittersarecertifiedforuseonlyintheUnitedStatesandCanada,othercountries havedifferentfrequencyrequirementsandpowerlimitations.Somecountriesallowfordemonstrationor experimentalusewithoutregulatorycertification. WhatmodulationcanbeusedtooperatethePowerharvesterreceivers? ThePowerharvesterreceiversworkindependentofthetypeofmodulationused(FHSS,DSSS,etc)froma transmitter,andcanreceivepowerfromoneormoretransmittersusinganytypeofmodulation. Howdoesyourtransmittersenddata? ThePowercastTX91501transmitterbroadcastsdataaswellaspower.ThedataiscurrentlyatransmitterID implementedusing8bits.Futureversionsmayincludeatimingbroadcastfornetworksynchronization.The dataissentusingAmplitudeShiftKeying(ASK)modulationandisrecoveredthroughthePowerharvesterreceiver inconjunctionwithexternalcircuitryandamicrocontroller.Thedataisfactorysetandnotuseradjustable. WillyourtransmitterinterferewithotherRFdevices(CellPhones,WiFirouters,etc.)? AlldevicesthatgenerateRFfrequencieshavethepotentialtointerferewithotherRFdevices.Theinterference potentialisdependentonnumerousfactorsincludingthefieldstrengthoftheunwantedsignal,thefrequency bandofoperation,andtheabilityofthereceivertorejecttheunwantedsignal.TheTX91501Powercaster TransmitterisFCCapprovedasFCCID:YESTX91501andIndustryCanada(IC)approvedasIC:8985ATX91501. The915MHzoutputpowerisapproximately0.5W(3WEIRP)andusesDirectSequenceSpreadSpectrum(DSSS) tospreadthepowerovermorethan500kHzasrequiredbytheFCCandIC.ThePowercastDSSSsignalallows devicestomoreeasilyrejectthePowercastsignal.Powercasthasdoneempiricaltestingwithmobilephones, WiFidevices,and915MHztransceiversandfoundnodegradationindeviceperformanceatpracticalseparation distances. Howmuchpowerdoesyourtransmitteruse? The3WversionoftheTX91501transmitterdrawsabout1.5Wofenergyfromawalloutlet,whichislessenergy thanatypicalnightlight.Itwouldtake40transmitterstohavethesametotalpowerasasingle60Wlightbulb.

TechnologyQuestions
IsPowercasttechnologypatented? Yes.Powercasttechnologyiscoveredbynumerouspatents. IsPowercasttechnologysafe? Powercasttechnologyisbasedonradiowavesthatarealsogeneratedbymanycommonlyuseddevices, includingmobilephones,cordlessphones,wirelesssensors,securitysystems,etc.Governmentregulationslimit theamountofpowerthatcanbetransmitted,andintheUnitedStatesalltransmittersmustbeapprovedbythe FCC.RFenergydeclinesinrelationtotheinversesquareofthedistancefromthetransmitter,meaningitdeclines rapidly.AtypicalmobilephoneuserwillreceivefarmoreRFenergyfromtheirownmobilephonethantheywill fromaproperlyinstalledPowercasttransmitter. CanPowercasttechnologytransmitpowerthroughwallsorotherobstructions?
FrequentlyAskedQuestions Updated:May16,2011 www.powercastco.com +17242383700 Page3

Radiowavespassthroughmanytypesofmaterials,includingwalls.Wallsandobstructionsattenuate(or absorb)radiowaves,andthiswillreducetheamountofenergyavailableforreception.Radiowavesreflectoff ofmetalwallswhichprohibitpowertransfer. HowdoesPowercasttechnologycomparetoinductionbasedchargingsolutions? Typicalinductionchargingsolutionslikepowermatsandelectrictoothbrushesrequirethatthepowersource andreceivingdevicebeinverycloseproximitytooneanothertotransferpowerefficiently,usuallywithin millimeters,andisessentiallyzerodistance.Thesetypesofsolutionstypicallyrequirespecialalignmentand chargingcradles.PowercastsRFbasedtechnologyprovidespoweroverdistancetooneormoredevicesfor micropowerapplicationsanddoesnotdirectlycompetewithinductionbasedchargingtechnologies.

FrequentlyAskedQuestions Updated:May16,2011

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