nRF5 action!

[NeverDie]

@rmtucker said in nRF5 Bluetooth action!:

@NeverDie
I connected a new amplified nrf24 to the gateway with the tin foil as mentioned and it is reading -60dB compared to -89dB with the non amplified version.

Did the tin foil make a difference? Hackaday seemed to think it made a big difference. I haven't tried it yet.

[rmtucker]

@NeverDie said in nRF5 Bluetooth action!:

@rmtucker said in nRF5 Bluetooth action!:

@NeverDie
I connected a new amplified nrf24 to the gateway with the tin foil as mentioned and it is reading -60dB compared to -89dB with the non amplified version.

Did the tin foil make a difference? Hackaday seemed to think it made a big difference. I haven't tried it yet.

I think it did but what do you have to lose😉

[NeverDie]

Here's the Hackaday article: http://hackaday.com/2016/05/31/fixing-the-terrible-range-of-your-cheap-nrf24l01-palna-module/

[Nca78]

@NeverDie said in nRF5 Bluetooth action!:

@Nca78
Did you ever figure out how to reset the MCU on the Ebyte module?

Sorry didn't touch my NRF5 in the last weeks. A bit busy on other things...

[NeverDie]

What's the best way to make a "receive only" gateway? i.e. one that cannot transmit? Then I wouldn't need to worry about whether the gateway is turned on before powering up a MY_PASSIVE_NODE sensor mote. Is there a way to do it simply in hardware, or do I have to sabotage the gateway library code?

[NeverDie]

It's getting too baroque. What I'd really like to have is a short nRF5 library of just the bare essentials (like the MIRF library is for the RF24).

[NeverDie]

Hmmm... it looks like radiohead may be such a library: http://www.airspayce.com/mikem/arduino/RadioHead/classRH__NRF52.html

[d00616]

@NeverDie said in nRF5 Bluetooth action!:

It's getting too baroque. What I'd really like to have is a short nRF5 library of just the bare essentials (like the MIRF library is for the RF24).

You can take a look into the actual Nordic NRF SDK. There are the ESB library for nRF24 compatible communication.

[NeverDie]

@d00616 said in nRF5 Bluetooth action!:

@NeverDie said in nRF5 Bluetooth action!:

It's getting too baroque. What I'd really like to have is a short nRF5 library of just the bare essentials (like the MIRF library is for the RF24).

You can take a look into the actual Nordic NRF SDK. There are the ESB library for nRF24 compatible communication.

The RadioHead library seems very easy to pickup and start using. Maybe it's me, but I can't say the same for the Nordic SDK.

Interestingly, it looks as though @Yveaux may (?) have written the nRF51 part of the RadioHead library.

[NeverDie]

I was able to program the tiny nRF51822 (earlier photograph above) by programming it as an xxaa Generic nRF51 with an RC oscillator.

Nice!

[NeverDie]

Here's a close-up photo:

[NeverDie]

FWIW, range on the tiny nRF51822 does seem compromised when compared against larger sized nRF52832 modules. Not really surprising, but I had hoped it might be a little better than it is.

[d00616]

@NeverDie said in nRF5 Bluetooth action!:

FWIW, range on the tiny nRF51822 does seem compromised when compared against larger sized nRF52832 modules. Not really surprising, but I had hoped it might be a little better than it is.

This is an idea, I don't know if this helps. The two pins near the antenna are GND. Try to solder an 3cm isolated wire to the pin near your PCB and route it parallel of your pcb away from the nRF51 board. The extends the GND pane size.

[rmtucker]

Just in case anyone uses the waveshare ble400 board.
The board was consuming 150uA when fed with 3.3v bypassing the regulator.
I have cut through one of the tracks and now it is only consuming 4-5uA and it can still be used normally with the usb lead 5v as long as i place a dupont link across 2 pins.
If anyone needs photo's let me know.

[NeverDie]

@d00616 said in nRF5 Bluetooth action!:

@NeverDie said in nRF5 Bluetooth action!:

FWIW, range on the tiny nRF51822 does seem compromised when compared against larger sized nRF52832 modules. Not really surprising, but I had hoped it might be a little better than it is.

This is an idea, I don't know if this helps. The two pins near the antenna are GND. Try to solder an 3cm isolated wire to the pin near your PCB and route it parallel of your pcb away from the nRF51 board. The extends the GND pane size.

I'll give it a try. Is your idea to make it like a dipole antenna?

[NeverDie]

@d00616
Is this what you had in mind?

[NeverDie]

Also, there are a couple of what look like large solder pads on the back of the PCB. I have no idea what they're for. Anyone know or care to guess?

[rmtucker]

@scalz said in nRF5 Bluetooth action!:

I don't think sendSignalStrength function is implemented yet, but you should be able to get this info with:

int16_t transportGetSendingRSSI(void)
int16_t transportGetReceivingRSSI(void)

Just wondering what both of these mean?
I assumed the transportGetReceivingRSSI(void) was the strength of signal from my Gateway ?
But what is the transportGetSendingRSSI(void)?

[d00616]

@rmtucker said in nRF5 Bluetooth action!:

But what is the transportGetSendingRSSI(void)?

This is the RSSI of the receiver. With nRF5 it's part of the ACK payload.

[rmtucker]

Out of curiosity i stuck a cake tin over the top of the node and it just carried on transmitting,so i put it behind 4 walls and 1 floor down then behind the fuse box and consumer unit and eventually got it to drop to -68dB for received rssi but send rssi stayed at -45dB so it seems to be booming out and in.😉