Is there any other better nRF IC than nRF52832 suggested for nRF24L01P RSSI Measurement

[VENSHE]

Hi,

I am using nRF24L01P and facing issue of RF Performance varies with batch to batch of nRF24L01P with built-in Antenna. To evaluate the performance of the IC and Antenna, can I use nRF52832 for measuring RSSI of nRF24L01P Transmitter? Is there any other new and better nRF IC you suggest for this task? Do I need to go for any built in Antenna module of nRF52832 or Evaluation kit towards this evaluation? Is there any standard Code available for both nRF24L01P and nRF52832, so that I can quickly hook-up the set-up and perform this evaluation? Can you get me the link for these codes?

Regards,

Venkatesh

[Andreas]

Hi,

 

Technically, nRF52 can be used for this, and would be the recommended series of devices for doing this. I do no believe we have any standard code that is on-air compatible with any code we have for nRF24L01+ though, so you have to make this yourself. We have examples etc. for ESB that should be fairly easy to set up and configure accordingly.

 

This is not an awfully accurate way of testing this though as it is not very accurate, you would want to use a spectrum analyzer instead. Depending on the variation though, it might be good enough to tell a bad one from a good one.

 

Best regards,

Andreas

[VENSHE]

Thanks Andreas for your quick response. 

As I do not have a Spectrum Analyzer, would like to go for this way of evaluation.

Are there any built in Antenna Modules with nRF52? Can you recommend suitable module and vendor for the same?

Can you get me the Example Code link for both nRF24L01 and nRF52, so that I can make use of them for this evaluation. Your help in this is really appreciated.

Regards,

Venkatesh

[Andreas]

Hi,

 

You can find a list of nRF52 based modules here. I do not know if any are better suited than others, generally there should not be a large difference from a HW perspective. As you will be using this for testing and/or development you can also consider the nRF52-DK for seamless use with our SDK examples.

 

Example code

• nRF24L0, see this App Note with code examples: infocenter.nordicsemi.com/index.jsp
• nRF52, found in the SDK: http://developer.nordicsemi.com

 

Best regards,

Andreas

[VENSHE]

Thanks Andreas for the valuable information.

I am planning to get nRF52840 USB Dongle for this purpose. Can I use the nRFSniffer tool for this measurement of RSSI of nRF24L01P? Does the nRFSniffer Sw work with USB Dongle? Or calls for any tweak of the code to function with this USB Dongle?

Regards,

Venkatesh

[Andreas]

Hi,

 

I doubt the nRF52840 Dongle can be used with the nRF Sniffer as it does not have a debugger onboard, and I do not think nRF Sniffer can be used against nRF24 anyway. You can however use nRF52840 dongle with nRF Connect for desktop, which has a RSSI-viewer application, and this does not discriminate any protocols.

The nRF52840 dongle can be loaded with the same SW as a development kit, but as it does not have a debugger on-board some precautions must be taken. See this tutorial for explanation.

 

Best regards,

Andreas