The Engineering Projects

Introduction to NRF24L01

Hello Friends, I hope you all are fine and having fun in your lives. In today's post, we are gonna have a look at detailed Introduction to NRF24L01. NRF24L01 is basically a wireless transceiver, which is used to send and receive data by using radio waves. It is a single chip transceiver module. It uses SPI protocol for transmitting data. Its data transmission speed is up to 2Mbps. NRF24L01 is normally used in industrial devices and projects for data transmission. It is mostly used in computer, toys, remote control, games, and other electronic devices. In today's tutorial, I will discuss its working, protocol, pinout, and features. I will also share some links of its interfacing with Arduino and some other microcontrollers. if you have any questions regarding it, please ask in comment box & I will resolve your queries.  So let's start with Introduction to NRF24L01:

Introduction to NRF24L01

• NRF24L01 is a wireless transceiver module (works on SPI Protocol), which is used for sending and receiving data at an operating radio frequency of 2.4 to 2.5 GHz ISM band.
• This transceiver module consists of a frequency generator, shock burst mode controller, power amplifier, crystal oscillator modulator, and demodulator.
• When transmitting power is zero dBm it uses only 11.3 mA of current, while during receiving mode, it uses 13.5 mA of current.

• This module is designed for long distance and fast transmission of data.
• It is designed to work through an SPI protocol.
• Air data transmission rate of NRF24L01 is around 2 Mbps.
• Its high air data rate combined with power saving mode makes it very favorable for ultra-low power applications.
• Its internal voltage regulator controls a high power supply rejection ratio and power supply range.
• This module has a compact size, and can easily be used in confined spaces.
• This module is designed to operate at 3.3 volts.
• This module has an address range of 125 and it can communicate with six other modules. By using this feature, we can use it in mesh networks and other networking applications.

For better understanding, let's discuss NRF24L01 pinout and description:

NRF24L01 PINOUT & Description

• There is main eight pinouts of NRF24L01 but it also has some additional pins.
• Let's discuss all of its pinout with detail:

No.	Pin Name	Description
1	CE	This pin is chip enable, it used to activate RX or TX mode.
2	CSN	This pin is used for SPI protocol interfacing
3	SCK	This pin is used for serial clock provider.
4	MOSI	This is used to get data from a master microcontroller device and to send data to a slave device.
5	MISO	This pin is used to get data from a slave device and to send data to master device.
6	IRQ	This pin is used for interrupt data.
7	Vdd	At this pin, we apply 3.3V DC supply.
8	Vss	This pin is for ground.
9	XC2	This pin is used for analogue out put crystal providing pin.
10	XC1	This pin is used for analogue input crystal pin.
11	VDD_PA	This is pin is used to a power amplifier.
12	ANT1	This pin is used for antenna interfacing.
13	ANT2	This pin is also used for antenna interfacing.
14	Vss	This are two ground in NRF24L01, this is the second one.
15	IREF	This pin is used for reference current .
16	DVDD	This pin is used for Positive Digital Supply output for de coupling purposes.
17	GROUND	This is used for ground.

• Now let's discuss its transmission protocol which is SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface):

NRF24L01 SPI Interfacing

• NRF24L01 uses SPI protocol for transmission. SPI is an abbreviation of Serial Peripheral Interface.
• Let's have a look at How to interface NRF24L01 with any Microcontroller using SPI Pins.
• In the below figure, I have connected SPI pins (MISO, MOSI, SCK) with SPI pins of microcontroller, while the signal pins (CE , SCN) has connected with the GPIO pins of Microcontroller.
• Now Lets discuss the specifications and features of NRF24L01.

Features of NRF24L01

These are some features of NRF24L01.

• It is a single chip GFSK transceiver.
• It has complete OSI hardware layer.
• It has on air data rate of 1 to 2 Mbps.
• Its operation is 124 RF channel.
• It is fully compatible with nRF24XX.
• It has a 20 pin package (QFN 20 4x4 mm).
• It uses low cost +/- 60 ppm crystal.
• It uses low cost chip inductors and two layer PCB.
• Its power supply range is 1.9 to 3.6 V.
• Its nominal current is 50 mA. Its operating current is 250 mA.
• It uses SPI protocol for communication.
• Its baud rate is 250 kbps to 2 Mbps.
• Its channel range is 125.
• Its Maximum Pipeline or node is six.
• It is a low cost wireless solution.
• Its antenna can send and receive data up to 250 kb and it can cover a distance of 100 meters.
• Its sensitivity is 85 dBm at 1 Mbps.
• The communication mode it uses is Enhanced Shock Burst TM or Shock Burst TM.
• The mode of wiring it follows is Power Down Mode or Standby Mode.
• Its operating temperature is -40°C to 85°C and storage is 40°C to 125°C.
• It has a PA gain of 20 dB and LNA gain of 10 dB.
• Its Emission Mode operating current is 115 mA and receive mode operating current is 45 mA.
• This module can be easily programmed and can connect with a microcontroller.
• Its maximum output power is +20 DBm.
• Its compact size is 18 mm * 30 mm.

Applications of NRF24L01

These are some applications of NRF24L01:

•  It is used in wireless control applications.
•  It is used in mesh networks.
•  It is also used in RF Remote Controllers.

So friends this was all about NRF24L01, If you have any question regard it lease ask in comments i will tell you in every thing in detail. Take care....