NRF24L01+ and NRF24L01+PA-LNA problems - testing in progress

[pw44]

Hi all,

i found this link:

https://medium.com/@alencarrebeca/working-with-nrf24l01-communicating-with-nrf24l01-pa-na-b1466b4f3223

It seams to explain some of the problems i'm having.

Can anyone confirm this?

Thank you in advance.

[pw44]

@pw44 - well, today i dismantled both gateways and built the ESP8266 (Wemos D1 mini) with NRF24L01+ (board antenna) and a sensor (door) with a nano v3 with NRF24L01+ (board antenna).

working with no problem until now.

seams that NRF24L01+ (board antenna) to NRF24L01+ PA LNA does not work as expected......

Will continue testing and post the results.

[monte]

I have NRF24L01 PA LNA on my gateway and plain NRF24L01+ on my nodes for years. No problem with compatibility between them. You might just have faulty PA LNA module.

[pw44]

@monte thx for your answer.

which kind of gateway do you have? serial, rj45 or wifi?

the problem i had with all 4 NRF24L01 PA LNA i have.

[monte]

@pw44 I have two different setups with Raspberry Pi gateways. One uses black noname PA LNA with external antenna, the other one uses Ebyte E01-ML01SP4 with antenna on a pigtail.
You can try shielding PA LNA modules with some aluminium foil and electrical tape. And don't forget about proper filtering of the power rail with big enough caps, and/or changing power supply to see if it makes any difference.

[wiredfrank]

i always had problem with that nrf pa lna, i suggest to get this one nRF24L01 PA LNA from Aliexpress
and thank me later. those type you have in your link are nothing but problem, i have few if anyone wants let me know pay me shipping and they are yours.

[mfalkvidd]

@wiredfrank could you expand on which link you are referring to? Where is the link shown? I can't find it.

[markjgabb]

@wiredfrank 100% agree. Dodgy antennas have been the bane of my existence with mysensors. When needing the long range. DO. NOT. CHEAP. OUT.

[alowhum]

What @wiredfrank said. Don't use these unshielded PA device in the first place.

[wiredfrank]

@mfalkvidd i was referring to un-shielded NRF24L01+PA-LNA radio modules. for me they never worked and even those ones worked had very power reception even in same room.

[grumpazoid]

I have two cheapo ebay NRF24L01+PA+LNA. As has been posted elsewhere nearly all are fake. I only use one at a time for my gateway. I had to do lots of fiddling to get them to communicate with my nodes . This included shielding and using an aluminium plate as a ground plane (someone criticized this but it worked for me). Ive posted about it somewhere on here. More recently I took delivery of a shielded Ebyte module and it has worked great. I have loads of the cheap NRF24L01+ modules in my nodes. Some I have added 12.5cm antennas and some dipole antennas. It does make a difference if drop outs are a problem on the more distant ones.