I'm working on a project which uses very cheap transmitters to send data from sensors in the field, using an audio modulated carrier (1KHz modulation). This has not only allowed us to keep the transmitters very cheap, but also has allowed reception at a great distance because of the filtering that is possible at the Rx end.
For development purposes we've been using off-the-shelf scanners to tune and demodulate (AM) and then passed the audio out to our digital filters. We're now looking for a more practical solution (specifically we're looking to lower the power use of the receiver). There are abundant highly integrated ICs for receiving in the 300-450 MHz ballpark, but almost all contain integrated FSK demodulation, and don't provide access to either the IF, or analog RSSI.
What I'm looking for is ideally something like the TI CC1101:
http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/cc1101.pdfor the Semtech SX1213:
https://www.semtech.com/uploads/documents/sx1213.pdfi.e. something highly integrated (synth, amps, mixers) but these all seem to have integrated OOK/ASK/FSK demodulators, and no access to the signal before the demodulator. I'd be happy to take the IF out and though an AM demodulator, but I haven't found a chip which provides the IF out.
Specifically we want to cover 300-340 MHz - but up to 450 would be advantageous.
Current draw in Rx <40 mA.
Does anyone have any suggestions?