Nrf24L01-2.4GHz-HowTo (/Nrf24L01-2.

4GHz-HowTo)
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RF24L01 2.4GHz Radio/Wireless Transceivers How-To

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UPDATES: (Comments,Critique to [email protected] )

PROBLEMS getting nRF24L01 Working: CLICK HERE

Pinout for TMRh20 Library useage added. See table below
Example sketches:

Getting Started Example from the RF24 Library

Bare Minimum Example
Transmit Joystick data to another Arduino/nRF24L01 to run Servos Updated

Having two or more Arduinos be able to communicate with each other wirelessly over a
distance opens lots of possibilities:

Remote sensors for temperature, pressure, alarms, much more

Robot control and monitoring from 50 feet to 2000 feet distances
Remote control and monitoring of nearby or neighborhood buildings
Autonomous vehicles of all kinds

These are a series of low-cost 2.4 GHz Radio modules that are all based on the Nordic
Semiconductor nRF24L01+ chip.
(Details) The Nordic nRF24L01+ integrates a complete
2.4GHz RF transceiver, RF synthesizer, and baseband
logic including the Enhanced ShockBurst™ hardware
protocol accelerator supporting a high-speed SPI
interface for the application controller. The low-power
short-range (50-200 feet or so)Transceiver is available on
a board with Arduino interface and built-in Antenna for
less than $3! There is also a high-power version (right).

nRF24L01 Modules (Left to Right)

With built-in Antenna
Base module with voltage regulator and bypass
capacitors for stability
With added Transmit Power Amplifier, Low
Noise Receiver Preamplifier, External Antenna

Click images for details and example prices. Widely available on Ebay, Amazon too.

Below are a couple of kits with multiple nRF24L01 versions.

3 low-cost nRF24L01 with built-in Antenna, 2 base modules(left)

2 High Power nRF24L01 with external Antennas, plus 1 Low-cost nRF24L01, 2 base
modules (right)
Examples of Arduino to nRF24L01 Connections (Pin Table with colors
below):

Low-Power nRF24L01s with Base Modules connected to YourDuino RoboREDs

NOTE! If using the Base Module, power it from 5V not 3.3 like in these photos...
 NOTE! If using the Base Module,
power it from 5V not 3.3 like in these photos...

NOTE! Power Problems:

Many users have had trouble getting the nRF24L01 modules to work. Many times the problem is
that the 3.3V Power to the module does not have enough current capability, or current surges cause
problems. Here are suggestions:

Use the RF24 Library from TMRH20 (below) and set power
low to minimize power requirements:
radio.setPALevel(RF24_PA_MIN); Space the two radios
about a meter apart. After you have things working, and
if you know you have enough 3.3V current (up to 250 mA
or more) then try higher power. The possibilities are:
RF24_PA_MIN, RF24_PA_LOW, RF24_PA_HIGH and
RF24_PA_MAX
Connect a 3.3 uF to 10 uF (MicroFarad) capacitor directly
on the module from +3.3V to Gnd (Watch + and - !) [Some users say 10 uF in parallel with
0.1uF is best] This is especially important if you are connecting the module with jumper
wires. Or you are using the regular Arduino UNO which provides only 50 mA at 3.3V
Use a YourDuinoRoboRED Arduino UNO compatible, which has an added 3.3V regulator
(But add a .1 uF capacitor on the radio module).
 There are also nice low-cost base modules like THIS (RIGHT) that you can plug
nRF24L01 modules into. These have a 3.3V regulator built in, AND good power bypass
capacitors. You can also find these on Ebay etc. They make it easier to get started and
keep operation reliable.
A separate 3.3V power supply (Maybe this one?)
If you design a printed circuit board that the module plugs into, add .1uf and 10uf capacitors
close to the GND and 3.3V pins. See the schematic of the base board shown on the right on
this page. as an example.
These instability problems are particularly noticeable when 3.3V power comes from a UNO, MEGA,
Nano etc. that has only 50 ma of 3.3V power available. Newer boards like the YourDuinoRoboRED
have 350 ma or more available and can run even the high-power modules directly.

nRF24L01 SOFTWARE AND LIBRARIES: (Jump Ahead IF you're ready for that...)

Range
Range is very dependent on the situation and is much more with clear line of sight outdoors than
indoors with effects of walls and materials. The usual distance quoted by different suppliers for the
low-power version module with the single chip is 200 Feet or 100 Meters. This is for open
spaaaaaace between units operating at a Data Rate of 250KHz. Indoors the range will be less due
to walls etc... The example with radio.setPALevel(RF24_PA_LOW); will be only 10 feet or so. But
reliable. You can do these things to get better range:

1. Make sure you have good 3.3V power (not just plain UNO, Mega etc. on USB power). You
can use a separate 3.3V supply, or a Base Module powered from 5V that has a 3.3V
regulator, or a YourDuino RoboRED.
2. After you have good 3.3V power, set the RF "Power Amplifier Level" to MAX. Like
this:radio.setPALevel(RF24_PA_MAX); Or try intermediate settings first:
RF24_PA_MIN, RF24_PA_LOW, RF24_PA_HIGH and RF24_PA_MAX
3. Set radio.setDataRate(RF24_250KBPS); Fast enough.. Better range
4. Set radio.setChannel(108); 2.508 Ghz - Above most Wifi Channels

We suggest you test two units at your actual locations before making a decision. There are units
with an Antenna Preamplifier for the receiver and transmitter power amplifier and external antenna.
The range between that type unit and several low-power units will be better than between two low-
power units. Every situation is a little different and difficult to get an exact number without actual
tests.

Link to nRF24L01+ Data Sheet. You don't have to, but if you want to understand more about what
you can do with this "little" radio, download the data sheet. In particular you may want to read pages
7-8-9 ( For Overview and Features), and page 39 (MultiCeiver, which allows 6 Arduinos to talk to a
Primary Arduino in an organized manner). Fortunately the board-level products we have take care
of many of the physical and electrical details and Antenna Impedance Matching etc., and this library
takes care of lots of register initialization and operational details.

There are other types of nRF24L01 modules which add Transmitter power amplifiers and Receiver
preamplifiers for longer distances.. up to 1 Km (3000 feet). See them all here. These modules use
an external antenna which can be a simple directly-attached one or a cable-connected antenna with
more gain or directivity. Here's what some of these look like:

Above is the low-power version, with it's built-in zig-zag antenna. On the right you can see the pins
sticking down (up in this photo) that connect to Arduino. Later we will show the pinout. NOTE!!
Different Libraries use different pinouts from nRF24L01 to Arduino!!
Above is the version with Transmit Power amplifier and Receive Preamplifier. Our low-cost antenna
is on the unit in the middle. The same 8 pins connect to Arduino and the base module. Same
software is used. On the right is the antenna connected with a 3M cable. Connectors are "Reverse
SMA".

You might find a similar cable HERE

Here's a link to a Home-Brew antenna design:

These transceivers use the 2.4 GHz unlicensed band like many WiFi routers, BlueTooth, some
cordless phones etc. The range is 2.400 to 2.525 Ghz which is 2400 to 2525 MHz (MegaHz). The
nRF24L01 channel spacing is 1 Mhz which gives 125 possible channels numbered 0 .. 124. WiFi
uses most of the lower channels and we suggest using the highest 25 channels for nRF24L01
projects.

Transceivers like these both send and receive data in 'packets' of several bytes at a time. There is
built-in error correction and resending, and it is possible to have one unit communicate with up to 6
other similar units at the same time. The RF24 Network Library extends this to multiple 'layers' of
interconnected transceivers.

These amazing low-cost units have a lot of internal complexity but some talented people have
written Arduino libraries that make them easy to us. They all use the same pinout as shown in the
following diagram, which is a TOP VIEW (Correction!):
Here are details of the Pinout and connections to Arduino (updated):
BOTTOM VIEW
Signal RF Cable "Base Arduino Arduino Arduino MEGA2560 Arduino Pin MEGA2560
Module COLOR Module" pin for pin for pin for pin for Pin for
PIN PIN TMRh20 RF24 Mirf RF24 RH_NRF24 RH_NRF24
RF24 Library Library Library RadioHead RadioHead
Library Library Library
GND 1 Brown GND GND GND * GND GND * GND * GND *
VCC 2 Red VCC 3.3 V 3.3V * 3.3V 3.3V * 3.3V * 3.3V *
CE 3 Orange CE 7 9 8 9 8 8
CSN 4 Yellow CSN 8 10 7 53 10 53

SCK 5 Green SCK 13 13 13 52 13 52

MOSI6 Blue MO 11 11 11 51 11 51
MISO7 Violet MI 12 12 12 50 12 50
IRQ 8 Gray IRQ - 2 per library N/C N/C

NOTE!! Most * problems with intermittent operation are because of insufficient current or
electrical noise on the 3.3V Power supply. The MEGA is more of a problem with this.
Solution: ADD bypass capacitors across GND and 3.3V ON the radio modules or use the
Base Modules shown above. One user said, "Just Solder a 100nF ceramic cap across the
gnd and 3.3v pins direct on the nrf24l01+ modules!" Some have used a 1uF to 10uF
capacitor.
NOTE: Pin 8 IRQ is Unused by most software, but the RF24 library has an example that
utilizes it.
The COLOR is for optional color-coded flat cable such as THIS. Photos above show an example.

NOTE: These units VCC connection must go to 3.3V not 5.0V, although the Arduino itself may run
at 5.0V and the signals will be OK. The NRF24L01+ IC is a 3.3V device, but its I/O pins are 5 V
tolerant , which makes it easier to interface to Arduino/YourDuino.
Arduino UNO and earlier versions have a 3.3V output that can run the low-power version of these
modules (See Power Problems at the top of this page!), but the high-power versions must have a
separate 3.3V supply or use a Base Module with a 3.3V regulator. The YourDuino RoboRED has a
higher power 3.3V regulator and can be used to run the high-power Power Amplifier type module
without a separate 3.3V regulator.

nRF24L01 SOFTWARE AND LIBRARIES:

We will show an example of transmit and receive software below, and there are many examples on
the RF24 Library download page. You will need a library of software to run the nRF24L01 radios.
There has been a progression of improvements to the RF24 libraries by many people. TMRH20
(Who IS he/she, anyway??) has done a great job on the current library and network additions.
There are lots of details but you can ignore many of them that the library will take care of.

Get TMRh20's excellent RF24 Library that supports both Arduino and RaspberryPi:
NOTE!! If you have an earlier version of an RF24 Library, COMPLETELY REMOVE IT and
install this version.
Read about it and Download it HERE: (Click "Download ZIP" on the upper right of the page)
Read the detailed documentation HERE
Read his BLOG with advanced projects HERE
Once you have downloaded the ZIP, you should see a folder called RF24-master.ZIP. Change the
name of this file to just RF24.ZIP. Double click on the ZIP and you should see a folder inside also
called RF24-master. Rename this to just RF24 as well.

Then see our page about installing libraries HERE:

When you have the library installed, you can run some examples. A ways below we discuss the
individual commands (methods) in the RF24 Library and show how to use them to make a simple
transmit-receive system. But to get you started we suggest you start with one of the Examples in
the RF24 Library from TMRh20. See this page:

https://github.com/TMRh20/RF24/tree/master/examples When you install the RF24 library, those

examples are loaded on your computer. You don't have to download them.

We suggest you start with, um, "GettingStarted". You need to set up two arduinos, with two
nRF24L01's like in the photo above. Separate them by 5 feet or so, though. . You can run two
instances of the Arduino IDE on the same machine, with two nRF24L01's on separate USBs with
separate COM#. I suggest this sequence:

1. Connect one nRF24L01 to your first Arduino according to the table above (Use the
TMRh20 RF24 Library column connections).
 2. Start the Arduino IDE .. connect the first Arduino with USB. Find the COM number
(Tools>Port) and select it.
3. Load the GettingStarted example (<File>Examples>RF24>) and make sure it compiles OK.
UPLOAD to your Arduino
4. Open the Serial Monitor (right side if the dark green bar) and SET IT TO 115200 .
Close it and open it again. you should see:

5. RF24/examples/GettingStarted
*** PRESS 'T' to begin transmitting to the other node

6. Connect the second nRF24L01 to your second Arduino with same connections according
to the table above.
7. Start another instance of the Arduino IDE .. connect second Arduino with a second
USB cable. Find the COM number (Tools>Port) and select it.
8. Load the example and make sure it compiles OK. UPLOAD to your Arduino
9. Open the Serial Monitor (right side if the dark green bar) and SET IT TO 115200 .
Close it and open it again. you should see the Same output.
10. Close the Serial Monitor, look at the code in the second IDE window and CHANGE one
line to look like this:

11. /****************** User Config ***************************/

/*** Set this radio as radio number 0 or 1 ***/
bool radioNumber = 1;

12. Upload that version to the second Arduino.

13. Now, open both Serial Monitor windows, and type "T" in the top of the first Arduino
window.
14. You should see some thing like:

15. RF24/examples/GettingStarted
*** PRESS 'T' to begin transmitting to the other node
*** CHANGING TO TRANSMIT ROLE -- PRESS 'R' TO SWITCH BACK
Now sending
Sent 523513060, Got response 523511232, Round-trip delay 1828 microseconds
Now sending
Sent 524519544, Got response 524517728, Round-trip delay 1816 microseconds

And the other Serial Port window should look like:

RF24/examples/GettingStarted
*** PRESS 'T' to begin transmitting to the other node
Sent response 523511232
Sent response 524517728
Sent response 525521620

You can reverse the actions by type R in the transmitting side and then T in the opposite side.

OK? You can always revert to this test when things seem to stop working. NOTE: See the "POWER
PROBLEMS" section above if nothing works!
You can run some other examples, but when you want to understand the RF24 library and it's
Methods better, see the section below.

See: Other Example Sketches at top of this page. Also see the very good example by Robin on
THIS PAGE.

The reader will find more details and additional examples here

RF24 LIBRARIES: Information, Documentation, Network, Mesh Network and more!

TMRH20 has been busy!
RF24 Library : Main Page. Download ZIP file at right
RF24 Library detailed Documentation
RF24 Library CLASS Documentation (details of a funcions and their valid parameters)
RF24 Library Examples Many examples of the capabilities of the RF24 Library
RF24 Network System A many-node Network Library
RF24 library for mesh networking A Mesh Network Library
RF24 Library for transmitting Audio

RF24 LIBRARIES: Commonly Used Commands (Methods):

NOTE: If you wish, see ALL the details HERE.
We will try to understand the commands to set up and operate an nRF24L01 radio and build a
very simple working example.
First we will look at the minimum needed to set up and transmit or receive data. Later we will
write more complete examples and get them working with real radios..

CREATE AND START UP A RADIO (For either transmit or receive):

RF24 (uint8_t _cepin, uint8_t _cspin) Create a radio and set the Arduino pins to be used for
CE and CS)

EXAMPLE: (Create an instance of a radio, specifying the CE and CS pins. )

RF24 myRadio (7,8); "myRadio" is the identifier you will use in the following examples

NOTE: The following pins are fixed and unchangeable. AND Vcc (supply voltage MUST be
3.3V)
SCK to Arduino pin 13
MOSI to Arduino pin 11
MISO to Arduino pin 12

NOTE: In all following commands, you must use the same identifying name you used in the
RF24 statement that created the radio. ("myRadio" in the example above) You will use that
identifier followed by (dot) followed by the method (command), followed by parameters. This
is "object oriented programming". The OBJECT in this case is the Radio, and there are many
METHODS that can operate on the Object. A METHOD is much like a Function or a
Subroutine.

EXAMPLE: myRadio.begin(); Start up the actual radio module with the "begin" method

NOTE: "PIPES" : This is often confusing. nRF24L01 uses "pipes" that connect from
transmitter to receiver. Pipes have an address you need to set. The Transmitter pipe must
have the same address as the Receiver pipe. Later it's possible to use multiple "pipes" at once

EXAMPLE OF RECEIVING DATA:

myRadio.openReadingPipe (1, const uint8_t *address) Pipe number (usually 1), pipe address
(which is usually 5 bytes in an array structure).

EXAMPLE:
byte addresses[][6] = {"1Node"}; Create address for 1 pipe.
myRadio.openReadingPipe(1, addresses[0]); Use the first entry in array 'addresses' (Only 1
right now)

myRadio.startListening (); Turn on the receiver and listen for received data. You MUST have
opened a reading pipe FIRST.

if( myRadio.available()) Check for available incoming data from transmitter

{
while (myRadio.available()) While there is data ready
{
myRadio.read( &myData, sizeof(myData) ) ; Get the data payload (You must have defined that
already!)
}
myRadio.stopListening(); stop listening

EXAMPLE OF TRANSMITTING DATA:

byte addresses[][6] = {"1Node"}; Create address for 1 pipe.
myRadio.openWritingPipe(1, addresses[0]); Use the first entry in array 'addresses' (Only 1
right now)

myRadio.write( &myData, sizeof(myData) )

We have written working examples of Transmit and Receive sketches using these methods.
See them HERE
SET SOME OTHER OPERATING OPTIONS AND PARAMETERS:
NOTE: Many of these methods have default values you can usually use.

radio.printDetails();
Prints out a LOT of debugging information.

radio.setDataRate(RF24_250KBPS);
speed RF24_250KBPS for 250kbs, RF24_1MBPS for 1Mbps, or RF24_2MBPS for 2Mbps.
250K Bits per second gives longest range.

radio.setPALevel(RF24_PA_MAX);
Set Power Amplifier (PA) level to one of four levels: RF24_PA_MIN, RF24_PA_LOW,
RF24_PA_HIGH and RF24_PA_MAX
The power levels correspond to the following output levels respectively: NRF24L01: -18dBm,
-12dBm,-6dBM, and 0dBm
0 dBm is equal to 1 milliwatt. Each 3 dB is a 2:1 ratio. 6 dB is 4:1 10 dB is 10:1 So -18 dBm is
0.0000158489 watts !
To calculate all this dBm Stuff (Which us old Radio Engineers love) See THIS..
The "High Power" nRF24L01 modules like THIS have a gain of 100, so their output is +20 dBm
(100 milliwatts)

radio.setChannel(108);

Which RF channel to communicate on, 0-124 Can operate on frequencies from 2.400GHz to
2.524GHz.
Programming resolution of channel frequency is 1Mhz
This is the same unlicensed band WiFi operates in (WiFi uses 2.400 to 2.500 gHz). Usually
frequencies above channel 100 are best.
NOTE: In most countries the allowed frequencies are from 2.400GHz to 2.483.5GHz
which you must not exceed. In USA it's best to use channels from 70 to 80.

You can scan the channels in your environment to find a channel that is clear... See this
Scanner sketch.
radio.enableDynamicPayloads();

Enable custom length payloads on the acknowledge packets. Ack payloads are a handy way to
return data back to senders without manually changing the radio modes on both units.

radio.setRetries(15,15);

Set the number and delay of retries upon failed transmit. Parameters:
delay: How long to wait between each retry, in multiples of 250us, max is 15. 0 means 250us,
15 means 4000us.
count: How many retries before giving up, max 15

radio.setCRCLength(RF24_CRC_16);

length: RF24_CRC_8 for 8-bit or RF24_CRC_16 for 16-bit Cyclic Redundancy Check (Error
checking)

NEWS: RaspberryPi is now supported! I need to show a working

example... Phew..
RadioHead: A very full-featured Library with support for may different radios, not
just nRF24L01:
http://www.airspayce.com/mikem/arduino/RadioHead/index.html

Another interesting example: Chat between radios:

https://github.com/stanleyseow/RF24/tree/master/examples

HERE is another good How-To example from Robin on arduino.cc

---------------------( COPY: Post for people having nRF24L01 Problems )---------------------

nRF24L01 Intermittent / No operation.

ALWAYS check 3.3V power. Many times intermittent operation is due to power supply regulation
issues. Even though the average current may be less than 15ma, apparently there are quick
transients when each transmit burst happens. The first examples in the RF24 TMRH20 library run
low power and this is less of a problem.
I used to have nRF24L01 problems. Worked one day / one minute, failed the next. Now I put a 0.1uf
AND 10uf capacitor right from GND to 3.3V pins on the modules, and things are MUCH better. An
excellent solution is the base module shown at the top of this page.
These modules are designed to plug into a baseboard that usually has significant bypass
capacitors. If you have them on the end of jumper wires you need extra bypass capacitors.
Try it and let us know here!
-----------------( END COPY )----------------------

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/Edwin381)
make code to send analog data $
Edwin381 (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/Edwin381) Apr 16, 2017

@sanjudevassy
You probably could have done that yourself. If you look at the example you
see the following piece of code:
dataTransmitted = 100;
in which dataTransmidded is an integer.
If you read an analog value with analogRead(A0) you can just assign that to
'dataTransmitted' like this
dataTransmitted=analogRead(A0);
Easy Peasy

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/Edwin381)
make code to send analog data $
Edwin381 (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/Edwin381) Apr 16, 2017

@sanjudevassy
You probably could have done that yourself. If you look at the example you
see the following piece of code:
dataTransmitted = 100;
in which dataTransmidded is an integer.
If you read an analog value with analogRead(A0) you can just assign that to
'dataTransmitted' like this
dataTransmitted=analogRead(A0);
Easy Peasy

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/sanjudevassy)
make code to send analoge data $
sanjudevassy (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/sanjudevassy) Mar 11, 2017

help me with a code to read analoge values from analogue pins of arduino
mega and transmitte it and receive it

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/furtwenty)
Power issues and Issues With Getting Started. $
furtwenty (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/furtwenty) Feb 25, 2017

I found an interesting detail i notice that might help people having issues with
the getting started phase of these radios. When attempting to power with an
external device the radios would not work at all. After purchasing the base
units and providing supply to the base units via an external 5v source the
radios would still not work despite every attempt.

It was not until i thought why not run the base unit off the 5v pin on the
arduino, it should be capped for current draw and the supply will still be 5
volts.

Magic. It works. So i unplug and retry my original 5v supply (industrial

adjustable power supply) and low and behold nothing... the serial monitor
 would hang and nothing would transmit.

So i came to the conclusion that a voltage low must be necessary on device

reset to properly allow the radios to initialize when the sketch loads and/or
when the serial monitor loads.

With out fully researching the exact cause, this is only a theory, but i do believe
this is something to be noted.

I hope this helps.

Furtwenty
CprE//EE

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/khbilen)
Working fine with Nano, not even initialised with Mega. $
khbilen (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/khbilen) Dec 17, 2016

Thanks for this very informative wiki. I followed it step by step; used RadioHead
as software library. Installed on Nano (clone), connected cables as shown (for
generic Arduino). It worked at once, no problem. Two Nanos can communicate
as I like. But I need the server to run on Mega. So, followed the same routine.
Connected the pins differently as shown on the table for Mega. It fails at the very
beginnng and I receive Init Failed message. OK, may be it needs a cap on 3.3V I
said. I soldered 3.3 mF cap on +/- pins directly on the module. No chance,
same problem. When I take back it to Nano, it works at once, no problem. On
Mega, nothing. Do you think using TMRH20 will help? It looks moe like HW thing
to me. Should I keep increasing uFarads up to 100, like one guy did? Should I
try using 5V DC, hoping there is more stable current over there?

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/khbilen) khbilen
(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/khbilen)
Dec 17, 2016
OK. Solved. Tried 100uF, and
100uF+0.1uF in parallel. No
chance. Then looked backed into
the code again. There is one line
about Leonardo initialisation;
commented out, it says:
RH_NRF24 nrf24(8, 10); For
Leonardo, need explicit SS pin
For Nano I was using 8,10 pin
connection (not definition) as per
table above; so I said let me try
explicit definition as:

RH_NRF24 nrf24(8, 53);

Bingo, everything works fine. For

the moment. I have not done
extensive tests, so should not
commit on stability, etc. But I can
send/receive messages OK.

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/khbilen) khbilen
(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/khbilen)
Dec 17, 2016
OK. Solved. Tried 100uF, and
100uF+0.1uF in parallel. No
chance. Then looked backed into
the code again. There is one line
about Leonardo initialisation;
commented out, it says:
RH_NRF24 nrf24(8, 10); For
Leonardo, need explicit SS pin
For Nano I was using 8,10 pin
connection (not definition) as per
table above; so I said let me try
 explicit definition as:

RH_NRF24 nrf24(8, 53);

Bingo, everything works fine. For

the moment. I have not done
extensive tests, so should not
commit on stability, etc. But I can
send/receive messages OK.

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/MrPaulo2)
Unable to get radio working... Help? :) $
MrPaulo2 (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/MrPaulo2) Nov 30, 2016

Hi,
Terry - thanks for the tutorial, it is easy to follow and very informative... but I've
been unable to make it work. I've resorted to the simplest "Bare Minimum"
example and suffer from the same issue each time. The call to
myRadio.write( &dataTransmitted, sizeof(dataTransmitted) )
always returns 0 (error).
I have the suggested base modules, and so I'm assuming 3V3 power isn't an
issue?
I'm using a RobotDyn Arduino Uno R3 (and a RobotDyn Mega2560 as the
receiver).
One question that will help me trouble shoot... if there is only one nRF24L01
transmitting and no receiver, should I still expect the write command to not
error (or is there some ACK that it looks for). That may help me know if it is
the tx or tx&rx combination that isn't working.
I've got printDetails output - but not sure it adds anything:
STATUS = 0x0e RX_DR=0 TX_DS=0 MAX_RT=0 RX_P_NO=7 TX_FULL=0
RX_ADDR_P0-1 = 0x65646f4e31 0xc2c2c2c2c2
RX_ADDR_P2-5 = 0xc3 0xc4 0xc5 0xc6
TX_ADDR = 0x65646f4e31
RX_PW_P0-6 = 0x20 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
EN_AA = 0x3f
EN_RXADDR = 0x03
RF_CH = 0x6c
RF_SETUP = 0x01
CONFIG = 0x0e
DYNPD/FEATURE = 0x00 0x00
Data Rate = 1MBPS
Model = nRF24L01+
CRC Length = 16 bits
PA Power = PA_MIN

So... where can I look next?

Thanks for any assistance,

Paul.

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/MrPaulo2) MrPaulo2
(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/Mr
Nov 30, 2016
OK - answered my own
question with a bit more
research...
here:http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?
topic=421081
(http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?
topic=421081) shows that
"Data validation
The nRF24s automatically
include sophisticated systems
to identify whether the data
received matches the data that
was sent. If the data is not
received correctly the RX will
 not show data available() and
will not send an
acknowledgment. That means
the TX will consider the
transmission to have failed.
You will see in the example
programs that the TX is
instructed automatically to
retry the transmission up to 5
time before giving up. (The
max is 15)."

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/VangNguyen1992)
Project not running... $
VangNguyen1992 (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/VangNguyen1992)
Nov 15, 2016

Hi,
I'm Vang, thank you for your project.
I've followed the steps in your project, but the device can not
operating. I use Arduino Uno (pin 7, 8, 11, 12, 13) and RF NRF24L01
+ PA LNA 2.4GHz, RF is supplied 3.3V (with 1uF capacitors) from
Arduino and RF24 library.
But code not running :
"
Failed, response timed out.
Now sending
failed
Failed, response timed out.
Now sending
"
Can you help me?
Thanks!

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/LuisTolentino) LuisTolentino
(https://www.wikispaces.com/u
Nov 18, 2016
I have the same
problem

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/VangNguyen1992) VangNguyen1992
(https://www.wikispaces.co
Nov 27, 2016
Can anyone
help me !!!

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/Kermit_66) Kermit_66
(https://www.wikispaces.com/user
May 15, 2017
stesso problema

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/Kermit_66) Kermit_66
(https://www.wikispaces.com/user
May 15, 2017
Problema risolto...la
numerazione dei pin
parte da zero... tutte
le connessioni erano
spostate di un pin.

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/chrisj21)
Voltage supply dropping too quickly $
chrisj21 (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/chrisj21) Sep 19, 2016
 Terry - excellent info on this website. Well done and thanks.

My questions about voltage usage. I've built a transmitter / receiver now

(prototype) using the NRF24L01 and breakout board. In the transmitter, I have a
12V 23A size battery, LM7805 voltage regulator to drop to 5V (with 10uF and
0.1uF on voltage in and out, transmitter parts as noted above, atmega 328,
capacitors, crystal, reset button and in my case a keypad (to drive a
scoreboard).
Problem: The voltage drops from 12V to 10V quite quickly making it inoperative.
Any suggestions?

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/Bokio)
Capacitor to stabilize 3.3V $
Bokio (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/Bokio) Sep 4, 2016

I have tried several capacitors 100nF, 1uF, 10uf but no response but than I tried a
100uF and ... it worked. I have to try bigger capacitor and maybe they work
better but don't give up trying till it works ;)

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/kroome88)
thank you TERRY... $
kroome88 (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/kroome88) Sep 3, 2016

nice, thank you for this tutorial... got it working ... just following the
instructions... lesson learned: never under estimate "RADIO signal" ... the
note on POWER is very important!!!! cheers!!

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/Sucrac)
Thank you. $
Sucrac (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/Sucrac) Aug 22, 2016

Just popped on to say thank you. I really appreciate everything you've done
here.

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/sanjudevassy)
make code to send analoge data $
sanjudevassy (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/sanjudevassy) Mar 11, 2017

help me with a code to read analoge values from analogue pins of arduino
mega and transmitte it and receive it

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/furtwenty)
Power issues and Issues With Getting Started. $
furtwenty (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/furtwenty) Feb 25, 2017

I found an interesting detail i notice that might help people having issues with
the getting started phase of these radios. When attempting to power with an
external device the radios would not work at all. After purchasing the base
units and providing supply to the base units via an external 5v source the
radios would still not work despite every attempt.

It was not until i thought why not run the base unit off the 5v pin on the
arduino, it should be capped for current draw and the supply will still be 5
volts.

Magic. It works. So i unplug and retry my original 5v supply (industrial

adjustable power supply) and low and behold nothing... the serial monitor
would hang and nothing would transmit.

So i came to the conclusion that a voltage low must be necessary on device

 reset to properly allow the radios to initialize when the sketch loads and/or
when the serial monitor loads.

With out fully researching the exact cause, this is only a theory, but i do believe
this is something to be noted.

I hope this helps.

Furtwenty
CprE//EE

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/khbilen)
Working fine with Nano, not even initialised with Mega. $
khbilen (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/khbilen) Dec 17, 2016

Thanks for this very informative wiki. I followed it step by step; used RadioHead
as software library. Installed on Nano (clone), connected cables as shown (for
generic Arduino). It worked at once, no problem. Two Nanos can communicate
as I like. But I need the server to run on Mega. So, followed the same routine.
Connected the pins differently as shown on the table for Mega. It fails at the very
beginnng and I receive Init Failed message. OK, may be it needs a cap on 3.3V I
said. I soldered 3.3 mF cap on +/- pins directly on the module. No chance,
same problem. When I take back it to Nano, it works at once, no problem. On
Mega, nothing. Do you think using TMRH20 will help? It looks moe like HW thing
to me. Should I keep increasing uFarads up to 100, like one guy did? Should I
try using 5V DC, hoping there is more stable current over there?

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/khbilen) khbilen
(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/khbilen)
Dec 17, 2016
OK. Solved. Tried 100uF, and
100uF+0.1uF in parallel. No
chance. Then looked backed into
the code again. There is one line
about Leonardo initialisation;
commented out, it says:
RH_NRF24 nrf24(8, 10); For
Leonardo, need explicit SS pin
For Nano I was using 8,10 pin
connection (not definition) as per
table above; so I said let me try
explicit definition as:

RH_NRF24 nrf24(8, 53);

Bingo, everything works fine. For

the moment. I have not done
extensive tests, so should not
commit on stability, etc. But I can
send/receive messages OK.

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/khbilen) khbilen
(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/khbilen)
Dec 17, 2016
OK. Solved. Tried 100uF, and
100uF+0.1uF in parallel. No
chance. Then looked backed into
the code again. There is one line
about Leonardo initialisation;
commented out, it says:
RH_NRF24 nrf24(8, 10); For
Leonardo, need explicit SS pin
For Nano I was using 8,10 pin
connection (not definition) as per
table above; so I said let me try
explicit definition as:

RH_NRF24 nrf24(8, 53);

 Bingo, everything works fine. For
the moment. I have not done
extensive tests, so should not
commit on stability, etc. But I can
send/receive messages OK.

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/MrPaulo2)
Unable to get radio working... Help? :) $
MrPaulo2 (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/MrPaulo2) Nov 30, 2016

Hi,
Terry - thanks for the tutorial, it is easy to follow and very informative... but I've
been unable to make it work. I've resorted to the simplest "Bare Minimum"
example and suffer from the same issue each time. The call to
myRadio.write( &dataTransmitted, sizeof(dataTransmitted) )
always returns 0 (error).
I have the suggested base modules, and so I'm assuming 3V3 power isn't an
issue?
I'm using a RobotDyn Arduino Uno R3 (and a RobotDyn Mega2560 as the
receiver).
One question that will help me trouble shoot... if there is only one nRF24L01
transmitting and no receiver, should I still expect the write command to not
error (or is there some ACK that it looks for). That may help me know if it is
the tx or tx&rx combination that isn't working.
I've got printDetails output - but not sure it adds anything:
STATUS = 0x0e RX_DR=0 TX_DS=0 MAX_RT=0 RX_P_NO=7 TX_FULL=0
RX_ADDR_P0-1 = 0x65646f4e31 0xc2c2c2c2c2
RX_ADDR_P2-5 = 0xc3 0xc4 0xc5 0xc6
TX_ADDR = 0x65646f4e31
RX_PW_P0-6 = 0x20 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
EN_AA = 0x3f
EN_RXADDR = 0x03
RF_CH = 0x6c
RF_SETUP = 0x01
CONFIG = 0x0e
DYNPD/FEATURE = 0x00 0x00
Data Rate = 1MBPS
Model = nRF24L01+
CRC Length = 16 bits
PA Power = PA_MIN

So... where can I look next?

Thanks for any assistance,

Paul.

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/MrPaulo2) MrPaulo2
(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/Mr
Nov 30, 2016
OK - answered my own
question with a bit more
research...
here:http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?
topic=421081
(http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?
topic=421081) shows that
"Data validation
The nRF24s automatically
include sophisticated systems
to identify whether the data
received matches the data that
was sent. If the data is not
received correctly the RX will
not show data available() and
will not send an
acknowledgment. That means
 the TX will consider the
transmission to have failed.
You will see in the example
programs that the TX is
instructed automatically to
retry the transmission up to 5
time before giving up. (The
max is 15)."

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/VangNguyen1992)
Project not running... $
VangNguyen1992 (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/VangNguyen1992)
Nov 15, 2016

Hi,
I'm Vang, thank you for your project.
I've followed the steps in your project, but the device can not
operating. I use Arduino Uno (pin 7, 8, 11, 12, 13) and RF NRF24L01
+ PA LNA 2.4GHz, RF is supplied 3.3V (with 1uF capacitors) from
Arduino and RF24 library.
But code not running :
"
Failed, response timed out.
Now sending
failed
Failed, response timed out.
Now sending
"
Can you help me?
Thanks!

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/LuisTolentino) LuisTolentino
(https://www.wikispaces.com/u
Nov 18, 2016
I have the same
problem

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/VangNguyen1992) VangNguyen1992
(https://www.wikispaces.co
Nov 27, 2016
Can anyone
help me !!!

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/Kermit_66) Kermit_66
(https://www.wikispaces.com/user
May 15, 2017
stesso problema

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/Kermit_66) Kermit_66
(https://www.wikispaces.com/user
May 15, 2017
Problema risolto...la
numerazione dei pin
parte da zero... tutte
le connessioni erano
spostate di un pin.

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/chrisj21)
Voltage supply dropping too quickly $
chrisj21 (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/chrisj21) Sep 19, 2016

Terry - excellent info on this website. Well done and thanks.

My questions about voltage usage. I've built a transmitter / receiver now

(prototype) using the NRF24L01 and breakout board. In the transmitter, I have a
12V 23A size battery, LM7805 voltage regulator to drop to 5V (with 10uF and
 0.1uF on voltage in and out, transmitter parts as noted above, atmega 328,
capacitors, crystal, reset button and in my case a keypad (to drive a
scoreboard).
Problem: The voltage drops from 12V to 10V quite quickly making it inoperative.
Any suggestions?

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/Bokio)
Capacitor to stabilize 3.3V $
Bokio (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/Bokio) Sep 4, 2016

I have tried several capacitors 100nF, 1uF, 10uf but no response but than I tried a
100uF and ... it worked. I have to try bigger capacitor and maybe they work
better but don't give up trying till it works ;)

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/kroome88)
thank you TERRY... $
kroome88 (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/kroome88) Sep 3, 2016

nice, thank you for this tutorial... got it working ... just following the
instructions... lesson learned: never under estimate "RADIO signal" ... the
note on POWER is very important!!!! cheers!!

(https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/Sucrac)
Thank you. $
Sucrac (https://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/Sucrac) Aug 22, 2016

Just popped on to say thank you. I really appreciate everything you've done
here.

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