Problems with NRF24L01+ with external antenna if sensor node is to close

[jogant]

I don't know if this is a known feature or behaviour but I found that if gateway node with external antenna and sensor node (pcb antenna) are too close (< 1-2 m) pairing will not finish and node will not work.
my setup: ethernet gateway with W5100 and NRF24L01+ radio with external antenna like this:

two sensor nodes, one light sensor and on relay sensor with two relays, all placed on my working desk
As these are my first sensors I thought I did something wrong but no pairing was finished. Eventually I screw off the external antenna and both sensors immediately connected to the gateway. I tested with different 2.4 GHz antennas, same result. I had to move sensor node to another room, then I could attach antenna and communication is ok.

Do I have to reduce transmit power?
Did anyone made similar findings?
I'm using mysensors-2.0.1-beta, but same result with other versions.

Best regards
jogant

[mfalkvidd]

@jogant yes this is a common problem. The easiest solution is to have greater distance between the nodes.