How good is the library for this device? I am looking at... https://github.com/Anobium/Great-Cow-BASIC-Library-Development/tree/master/nRF24l01
As it is not bundled with the updates I assume it is still a work in progress.
Searching through posts (from a few years ago) several others contributors have had a try at getting this device to work.
The other thought I had was the band that this device operates on (2.4 GHz) is rather crowded with other wireless devices (routers, printers etc) is interference a problem.
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Thanks for the feedback. I will use it as a starting point as the datasheet (is at least to me) is not very helpful (I would normally expect a few example software inputs). The arduino is also difficult to follow due to the number of separate libraries it calls.
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This a great device cheap, effective and surprisingly powerful.
I've received harsh words for offering code to be ported to GCB but if it would help I have code for another basic, it doesn't call any libraries, just manipulates registers. Also there is a very complete, well commented library on the CCS compiler board.
Last edit: George Towler 2021-06-17
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Yes George the code would be useful (can you attach it or send me a pm with it in).
Did you have any issues with interference routers use a big bandwidth and many are on the same 2.4GHz band.
I got an RFM69W to work, but it was disappointing. The range was much poorer than advertised and of course it needed a bigger antenna as its on 433 MHz.
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24l01 is quite a clever device in that it has several mechanisms to reject corrupt data. There is a long range module available which claims 1 Km.
I've attached a couple of zips, one is a minimal test version that just toggles a LED and the other is a remote 6 button fob. The fob code uses a 690 with buttons and LEDs and a 2550 with a USB connection to a PC.
Thanks for that George (I hope I can work out what to do from those files).
At the moment I have no specific task - I'm just experimenting. The RFM69W says it will do a km or more so I thought as I only have it about 5 m away from the receiver I would have expected to be able to crank down the power to minimum power (-10 dBm) but I needed to use -1 dBm and I still have to be careful with antenna positioning (I'm using a button cell so the less current the better).
I am sending temperature and humidity data from an outside unit once a minute. The send and receive units are synchronized so are only on for a few ms I hope the battery will last 2 years.
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It has a nice feature where you can do auto ACK with payload. So in your case you'd send a packet specifying what data you want and wait for the ACK/NAK/timeout. Your data will be in the payload.
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Just a quick update. I have managed to get the RFM69 units to work properly.
As I suspected the bands are crowded and it is difficult to find a vacant slot.
At first I thought that the chips were rubbish (cheap Chinese), but if you fiddle around and find a free channel they work nicely. Many of the settings are a bit quirky and differ from the datasheet.
Interestingly you can buy RFM69s for the various frequency, but you can make them work (almost) anywhere (I had a 868 MHz working quite well at 434 and 920- the antenna matching was probably a bit out). It seems you cannot program them to operate in the broadcast bands (I thought there was a gap at UHF channel 63 at my location, but the chip would not have it).
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How good is the library for this device? I am looking at...
https://github.com/Anobium/Great-Cow-BASIC-Library-Development/tree/master/nRF24l01
As it is not bundled with the updates I assume it is still a work in progress.
Searching through posts (from a few years ago) several others contributors have had a try at getting this device to work.
The other thought I had was the band that this device operates on (2.4 GHz) is rather crowded with other wireless devices (routers, printers etc) is interference a problem.
The library was not operational. Must be very old. It would need a complete overhaul.
Thanks for the feedback. I will use it as a starting point as the datasheet (is at least to me) is not very helpful (I would normally expect a few example software inputs). The arduino is also difficult to follow due to the number of separate libraries it calls.
This a great device cheap, effective and surprisingly powerful.
I've received harsh words for offering code to be ported to GCB but if it would help I have code for another basic, it doesn't call any libraries, just manipulates registers. Also there is a very complete, well commented library on the CCS compiler board.
Last edit: George Towler 2021-06-17
Yes George the code would be useful (can you attach it or send me a pm with it in).
Did you have any issues with interference routers use a big bandwidth and many are on the same 2.4GHz band.
I got an RFM69W to work, but it was disappointing. The range was much poorer than advertised and of course it needed a bigger antenna as its on 433 MHz.
@David,
What kind of range are you needing?
What is the application ?
Last edit: William Roth 2021-06-19
24l01 is quite a clever device in that it has several mechanisms to reject corrupt data. There is a long range module available which claims 1 Km.
I've attached a couple of zips, one is a minimal test version that just toggles a LED and the other is a remote 6 button fob. The fob code uses a 690 with buttons and LEDs and a 2550 with a USB connection to a PC.
Thanks for that George (I hope I can work out what to do from those files).
At the moment I have no specific task - I'm just experimenting. The RFM69W says it will do a km or more so I thought as I only have it about 5 m away from the receiver I would have expected to be able to crank down the power to minimum power (-10 dBm) but I needed to use -1 dBm and I still have to be careful with antenna positioning (I'm using a button cell so the less current the better).
I am sending temperature and humidity data from an outside unit once a minute. The send and receive units are synchronized so are only on for a few ms I hope the battery will last 2 years.
It has a nice feature where you can do auto ACK with payload. So in your case you'd send a packet specifying what data you want and wait for the ACK/NAK/timeout. Your data will be in the payload.
Just a quick update. I have managed to get the RFM69 units to work properly.
As I suspected the bands are crowded and it is difficult to find a vacant slot.
At first I thought that the chips were rubbish (cheap Chinese), but if you fiddle around and find a free channel they work nicely. Many of the settings are a bit quirky and differ from the datasheet.
Interestingly you can buy RFM69s for the various frequency, but you can make them work (almost) anywhere (I had a 868 MHz working quite well at 434 and 920- the antenna matching was probably a bit out). It seems you cannot program them to operate in the broadcast bands (I thought there was a gap at UHF channel 63 at my location, but the chip would not have it).