[SOLVED] 2 X nrf24l01+pa+lna with RF24_PA_MAX

[Oitzu]

@wico2002: you should also cover the base of the antenna with plastic foil.
As far as i know the base is grounded. I don't really know if this makes any difference but i let my tinfoil ungrounded. I'm no expert in RF mechanics. :D

No not tried this yet.. but this should have the same effect as the tinfoil wrapping.
As long as you let stick the antenna out of the housing.... ;)

[wico2002]

@Oitzu A BIG THANK YOU, it work now with the foil trick. I'll will maybe close other forum topics including your topic's url. thank you again

[Dwalt]

Using @Oitzu 's trick, I wrapped my iBoard Gateway in aluminum tape. I can't tell if there is any benefit in transmission range or reduced interference but at least it looks nice and shiny!

[Oitzu]

@Dwalt will this box also sends packets to the path of valallah?

[Dwalt]

@Oitzu Yes, now my network will ride eternal!

Actually, my brother saw the modification and asked if I was trying to prevent the NSA from intercepting my humidity readings. Hmmm, maybe a secondary benefit...

[doblanch]

Finally does the foil should be grounded or not ??
thanks

[mfalkvidd]

Grounding the foil will not affect the shininess, but it could improve the shielding.

[doblanch]

@mfalkvidd thanks for your reply.
If we want to ground it, can we use the gold base ? I guess that this part is grounded....

I met some issues with PA LNA, do you think that it can freeze after a while, and powering the NRF24+PA+LNA directly on the nano ? It seems that after one month of use, I loss many packets..

[Oitzu]

@doblanch well the theory says it should be grounded so the signals induced into the foil can "flow" to ground instead to build up a current in the foil. (But make sure to just connect ground to one side of the foil, connecting on multiple points can produce a ground loop)
I havn't tested if the "gold" base is grounded, maybe just check with an multimeter?
Also i have fine results with grounded and ungrounded shield.

The PA/LNA shouldn't be powered directly from the nano. The voltage regulator on the nano will probably not deliver enough current to stable power the PA/LNA modul on the high power settings.

[doblanch]

@Oitzu Thanks. I will test it ungrounded first.
For the nano thanks also for your reply, it's great to have confirmation that nano can not really support NRF+PA+LNA with RF24_PA_MAX parameter, which is my case.
I hope , that powering direclty from a USB will avoid any more issue, that I'm hitting...
thanks again

[Oitzu]

@doblanch said:

I hope , that powering direclty from a USB will avoid any more issue, that I'm hitting...

Keep in mind that USB is 5V and the nrf24l01+ takes 3.3V on VCC.

[doblanch]

@Oitzu Yes of course, I'm using a Buck power down socket ( the one recommended on mysensor.org)
thanks