I have pin pointed my problem down further to be the antenna on my transmitter end. When I connect my antenna, it it very unreliable. It needs to be in a very precise position to transmit. Without the antenna, the device transmits perfectly.
Here is what I am using:
Could it be a bad connection between the antenna and the rest of the device? It seems to be shorting something perhaps. Swapping out the receiving antenna for the transmitting one produces the same problem, so it seems to be the connector itself. I really want to use the antenna however, since the transmission distance is significantly better with the antenna.
I am supply the transmitted simply with the 3.3V supply of the Arduino Uno. I realize it is limited at 50mA, but it seems to work okay. Do you think it could be a shortage of current causing the issue? Should I try a 3.3V regulator power by an external 9V battery or something? Why would the antenna cause this issue though?
The antenna is shown in the picture on Amazon, but no part number is given.
CrossRoads:
Uno has 150mA 3.3V regulator.
Will probably get better result by adding a 10uF cap to the 3.3V line at the module.
I have added a 10 uF capacitor. Do you suggest physically soldering the capacitor to the transmitter end? I ask because I simply have it between the 3.3V rail and ground in a breadboard.
I can also add to help solve this problem that the antenna does not work at all when bent at a 90 degree angle (it has a join where it can bend) and works great with the slightest touch of my hand. I bought another simply because I think it is not functional.
Also, importantly, it didn't seem to work very well when the roles of the tranceivers were flipped. This leads me to believe more that it was simply a flubbed component.
Hi,
The antennas will work best when they are parallel with each other, in other words polarized the same way.
Usually both vertical or both horizontal, if one is vertical and the other horizontal then the performance will be degraded.
They should operate okay with the elbow at right angles as long as there is no metal near them.
Also keep them in line of sight.
If swapping antennas shows differences then it probably is the problem
TomGeorge:
Hi,
The antennas will work best when they are parallel with each other, in other words polarized the same way.
Usually both vertical or both horizontal, if one is vertical and the other horizontal then the performance will be degraded.
They should operate okay with the elbow at right angles as long as there is no metal near them.
Also keep them in line of sight.
If swapping antennas shows differences then it probably is the problem
Tom.....
Swapping the antennas does not fix the problem, that's what makes me believe it is a connector issue. It could be that when the antenna screws in all the way it shorts something it shouldn't, causing the antenna to only work in very specific positions where that short doesn't occur.
It isn't the antenna itself since the swapping of the antenna makes no difference, and it isn't the transmitter itself since without the antenna it transmits fine, so I believe it has to do with connecting the two together.
jremington:
If there is a problem with either of the antennas, it won't matter whether the bad one goes on the receiver or the transmitter.
That's what I am saying, I don't believe it is either the antenna or the transceiver that is bad, but moreover the connection between the two.
Swapping the antennas makes no difference and without the antenna, the unit is functional. Therefore, it seems like the connection between the two is causing some sort of problem.
Two xmitter/recvrs, with supporting controllers. Two antennae. system doesn't work with antennae attached, but does without antennae. Sounds to me like the external antenna and chip antenna don't match and are screwing up antenna loading.
but, to verify a bad antenna, leave antenna off of recvr and try both ,alternately on xmittr. then switch xmit and recv functions and retest antennae.
As i know the PA nRf24 can get a range of 1000m in a open aria, i have that kind of aria where i can test
and both mini nRF24 (pcb antena) and the PA one but i need to make 2 pcb's for the test, I could of take some records of the range with GPS and google map and make a video if it's really necessary to know what's the max
range you can get.
Domino60:
As i know the PA nRf24 can get a range of 1000m in a open aria, i have that kind of aria where i can test
and both mini nRF24 (pcb antena) and the PA one but i need to make 2 pcb's for the test, I could of take some records of the range with GPS and google map and make a video if it's really necessary to know what's the max
range you can get.
Don't worry, I get great range already, it's just that the transmitter end is somewhat sensitive to positioning, but much better with a lower payload size.
Don't worry, I get great range already, it's just that the transmitter end is somewhat sensitive to positioning, but much better with a lower payload size.
I have nRF24 PA too because I wanna work with them in the future and get 1Km range, have you tested
2.4Ghz polarized antennas ? Is there is a problem with the antenna because of how it's set then would be better to take a polarized antenna I don't have one right now.
How low payload did you used?
Did you tested in a large field/range?
Can you share the code if possible, rx/tx. Did you used confirmation package or simple ones? I mean if you use just simple package and someone else close use the same nRF's then they will receive / noise your nRF's
and lose signal or get lower speed and range.
Domino60:
I have nRF24 PA too because I wanna work with them in the future and get 1Km range, have you tested
2.4Ghz polarized antennas ? Is there is a problem with the antenna because of how it's set then would be better to take a polarized antenna I don't have one right now.
How low payload did you used?
Did you tested in a large field/range?
Can you share the code if possible, rx/tx. Did you used confirmation package or simple ones? I mean if you use just simple package and someone else close use the same nRF's then they will receive / noise your nRF's
and lose signal or get lower speed and range.
I have not tested in an open field, but am capable of going through multiple walls/houses at 100+ meters of distance. This matters for me since I am using these devices indoors, so a line of sight test does not really matter for me as much.
Yes, the antenna that came with my device is probably not exactly what I would have wanted, but decreasing the payload size definitely made it less sensitive. I used a payload of size (since I am merely sending the data from a motion sensor, on or off, I do not require a large payload size.
I can share the code if you'd like. All I did was hack together the ping-pair example with my motion sensor code with some changes however.
