RF24

Having two or more Arduino boards be able to communicate with each other wirelessly over a distance opens lots of possibilities like remotely monitoring sensor data, controlling robots, home automation and the list goes on. A good, reliable and inexpensive solution is NRF24L01.

The NRF24L01+ is a newer version of the NRF24L01, capable of doing an extra 250kbps of on-air data rate while the one without “+” has only 1Mbps and 2Mbps. Both versions can be mixed together as long as 1 or 2 MBps is being used as the data rate.

Controlling devices over a distance opens lots of possibilities. Our Arduino roadmap contains many projects that must be controlled remotely and sometimes on a long-distance. Of course, it can be done with a PC but our experience has shown that it becomes complicated when you need long way, portable and rapid communications. Our solution was designing a multi-functional remote controller, we have called it AirControl. Aware of the needs it will have 4 push buttons, 2 switch buttons, 2 potentiometers and two analog modules. Additionally, each analog joystick module has integrated push button.

The RF-Nano module is a compact, affordable module that combines an NRF24L01 wireless transceiver with an Arduino-compatible microcontroller. Using the NRF24L01 protocol, the RF-Nano operates on the 2.4 GHz band, making it a practical choice for creating simple, low-power wireless networks. This module is popular among hobbyists and engineers for tasks like home automation, remote control applications, and IoT sensor networks. It’s especially suited for applications where simple, secure data sharing between sensors or remote control devices is required and where a compact, low-cost solution is preferred.

Wireless communication implies having a transmitter, in our case the joystick, and a receiver. We must build a simple circuit with NRF24L01 wiring that will act as listener for our joystick. The NRF24L01 module strictly needs 3.3V but the logic pins are 5V tolerant. That why we recommend to use the NRF24L01 adapter which acts as regulator, keep the voltage stable, apply filtering and reduce noises.

Based on the solution of designing multi-functional remote controller and being aware of the needs we started building the joystick. It will have 4 push buttons, 2 switch buttons, 2 potentiometers and two analog modules. And, additional 2 push buttons integrated on the analog joystick module.

The physical part of the controller is finished but what about the brain? Once more, our decision falls on Arduino Nano. It perfectly fits by size providing all the necessary functionality. For programming a Nano board we need a USB to serial interface which can be hooked up to the programing header located on the top side of our controller.

Controlling devices over a distance opens lots of possibilities. Our Arduino roadmap contains many projects that must be controlled remotely and sometimes on a long-distance. Of course, it can be done with a PC but our experience has shown that it becomes complicated when you need long way, portable and rapid communications. Our solution was designing a multi-functional remote controller, we have called it AirControl.

Based on the solution of designing multi-functional remote controller and being aware of the needs we started building the joystick. The cover with controls is ready for use but we miss the most important part: the microcontroller. Once more, our decision falls on Arduino Nano. It perfectly fits by size providing all the necessary functionality.