Which are the *best* NRF24L01+ modules?

[NeverDie]

@GertSanders
In your experience, which of the SMD modules have you found work the best?

[GertSanders]

@NeverDie
So far I have only used this small SMD version

I bought it on Aliexpress:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/5pcs-Free-Shipping-NRF24l01-2-4GHz-Wireless-Module-Mini-Version/32430542898.html

[NeverDie]

@GertSanders
Are you happy with their performance? I imagine the answer is yes, but I thought I'd ask just to be sure.

[GertSanders]

@NeverDie
I am, there is one on my front door, which needs to cross two floors to get to the gateway in the attic. Bleeps every time. Range (as far as I can see) is close to the classic small version.
Good enough for me.

[NeverDie]

@GertSanders
Thanks! I just now ordered some of the same SMD modules using the link you provided. The last time I looked into this (at the start of this thread), it seemed as though just about everyone was using a different mix of modules and platforms. and that made an apples-to-apples performance comparison quite difficult. However, this time around, I'll be running the same modules as you on the same hardware platform as you (well, nearly so, assuming I build it to spec), and so if it works well for you it presumably should work the same for me too.

[HarrySteff]

Good morning together, iam very new in mysensors forum, so this is my first post, and i have a question: a want to buy these NRF's can somebody tell me if they are okay?
https://www.amazon.de/Kuman-nRF24L01-Wireless-Transceiver-Compatible/dp/B01BVAAASY/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464158231&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=nordic+nrf24l01+10pcs

Thank you!

[AWI]

@HarrySteff There is no way (that I know of) to determine in advance if the modules work according to specification. Even different lots from the same supplier can vary in performance. I have a 5 out of 6 succes rate with different suppliers.

[HarrySteff]

Thank you @AWI i will Order them to Test...

[alexsh1]

I have had an excellent experience with the SMD version. I cannot say if there are different versions of it, but all transceivers I purchased from different suppliers work flawlessly.

[Samuel235]

@alexsh1 Do you have any links for the SMD versions that you can recommend, i'm wanting to try these now. Thanks.

[alexsh1]

@Samuel235 these were the ones I ordered last time. Tested all of them and very much pleased

Look what I found on AliExpress
http://s.aliexpress.com/ZfArmaqe

[parachutesj]

@alexsh1
At which settings do you use them?
I have those http://www.aliexpress.com/item/10PCS-LOT-NRF24L01-wireless-data-transmission-module-2-4G-the-NRF24L01-upgrade-version/1593276910.html
And not so happy as they seem to loose connection from time to time over distance of 4-5m
I set them at 250 and have good power & caps attached

At least the chip seems to be original but not soldered very well

[alexsh1]

@parachutesj I'll be honest with you - so far I had more luck with the SMD version which works 20m+ across a few walls than with a regular transceivers. Sometimes one needs to invite a shaman to make sure that nrf24l01+ works.

I have 250kb rate on all nodes + caps. All works fine. With some regular nrf24l01+ I had issues with some batches and claimed money back successfully after ditching the whole batch. Luckily, this bad batch has not been working at all rather than working intermittently.

Just a suggestion - did you change any settings on your gateway nrf24l01+? I'm using the amplified version by the way feeding it through AMS1117 LDO

[parachutesj]

@alexsh1 said:
I switched to ampliefied nrf24 with antenna from the link in the shop but this seemed to make it even worse. It was powered externally and tried to shield it with no real luck. I ordered some shielded ones from ICstation which are still in customs process and hope to get them by the weekend. I also ordered a bunch of others and I will try which are the best for my operations.
Just today I hade the closest node getting stuck. I wasn't able to send any from controller to the node. After triggering a signal from the node (it is a rollershutter) it came back to live and was able to send via controller again. Quite annoying...
Maybe I need to try some different caps and voltage regulators, actually got "good" ones from my local electronics shop.

[NeverDie]

Do the amplified modules simply always function at full amplification, or is there a code change that's needed to adjust the Tx power? Towards the start of this thread I tried some amplified modules from ICStation, but I was hugely disappointed with them. In fact, I don't think I saw any improvement at all, which greatly contradicted the experience that some others appeared to be getting. At least at that time, though, there was no real guidance on how to use them effectively, and so maybe I wasn't driving them right. Maybe there's more information now.

[alexsh1]

@parachutesj What settings do you have on your gateway please?

[alexsh1]

@NeverDie In MyConfig.h there are settings:

#define RF24_PA_LEVEL 	   RF24_PA_MAX
#define RF24_PA_LEVEL_GW   RF24_PA_LOW

The second one is for the amplified version (RF24_PA_MAX can used)

Please check out this:
https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/653/nrf24l01-pa

[parachutesj]

@alexsh1 I have this

#define RF24_PA_LEVEL_GW RF24_PA_MAX

on the GW
Maybe I need to try RF24_PA_HIGH if it changes anything. However still waiting for the "good" radios to arrive

[alexsh1]

@parachutesj First things first:

1. Good transceiver
2. decent 3.3V feed
3. settings MAX or HIGH etc

[rollercontainer]

All of my ~20 NRF24's from 5 different dealers are consuming 15mA when the node is in sleep mode. Is this really a radio problem, or a software problem?

By pulling out the radio, current drops below 1mA.

• 2.0.0beta binarySwitchSleep sketch
• My-Slim-2AA-Battery-Node
• bootloader from My-Slim-2AA-Battery-Node OpenHardware source
• BOD disabled by fuses, 1MHz internal
• current messuered with Fluke multimeter