Introduction to Wireless Modules

While working on electronics and searching many tools and modules to work on , we have always been looking for some wireless module which can perform few operations on its own and do not need any extra micro controller for that . Have you had the same thought ? While searching for latest RF technologies ,we got to heard about the NRF24LE1 modules . After working on it at EG Labs , we found that it is a very interesting module and every electronics hobbyist must give it a try once in their electronics projects.

Introduction to the module

NRF24LE1 is a 14 pin module , manufactured by Nordic Semiconductors Ltd. The main thing which left us awestruck is that the module has inbuilt 8051 based Microcontroller . This means we can code this module as per our need . Along with 8051 controller ,the module provides 2.4GHz RF transceiver and uses GFSK modulation which gives it the power to communicate wirelessly with as far as 100 meters without noise.

Fig. 1: Typical Image of NRF24LE1 Wireless Module

PIN

The NRF24LE1 comes in three packages which are 24-pin, 32-pin and 48-pin package. We will be using 32-pin package in our present series. This package contains 15 I/0(input/output) pins. These 15 pins are also used for communications like UART, I2C or features like PWM and ADC. The module is self biased and the remaining 17 pins are used for antenna, crystal oscillator,biasing etc.

Fig. 2: PCB Layout of NRF24LE1 Wireless Module

Features

The module comes with many features which makes it distinguishable from other controllers. The module runs on just 3.3V and is ultra low powered. The current requirements are also just 2.5 milli amperes in active mode. This makes it to be used in quadcopter remote , other remote access tools , home appliances, wireless toys, mouse, keyboard etc.

The module supports various communication protocol which makes it easier to attach sensors , actuators and other modules to it. Various communication protocols supported are such as

1. Serial Protocol

2. SPI

3. I2C

The module have all the basic features we need in a system to make any project using it . It supports :

1. Timers

2. Interrupts

3. Analog to Digital Conversions

4. Pulse Width Modulation

5. Watch Dog timers

6. Power Failure Detection.

With such amazing features , even a wireless robot can be made !!

Let us check out the table listing few differences in the module, RF434 and Xigbee. This is to just give a basic idea about which module to use in our project.

	NRF24LE1	RF434	XBEE
Data Rate	2 Mbps	3Kbps	250Kbps
Voltage Range	1.9 – 3.6	2 – 12	2.8 – 3.4
Noise	No	Yes	No
Price	Cheap	Cheap	Fair

A video explanation with the module can be seen :

We at Engineersgarage, have experimented on this module and we will be sharing our experiments in coming articles. Let us know your valuable feedbacks through comments.