Bitcraze Forums

I was wondering if the Crazyradio could be used in conjunction with generic nRF2401 transceivers like the ones they sell on Amazon- http://www.amazon.com/nRF24L01-Wireless ... B00E594ZX0.

If so, it would be great if the nRF protocol could be used as an alternative to ubiquitous proprietary formats like DSM. There's currently a discussion going on at http://www.multiwii.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1503 about incorporating nRF support into the Arduino-based MultiWii platform for outdoor UAVs. I mentioned the Crazyradio on the discussion because the integrated USB-support would allow MultiWii flyers to use a desktop/mobile/headless client with gamepad instead of a proprietary RC transmitter. It would also open up development possibilities for integrating the CFClient with the MW-GUI.

Yes the Crazyradio can be used with any nRF24L01 based radio chip. The nRF24L01 just have to be configured the same was as in the Crazyradio (this is documented in the wiki: http://wiki.bitcraze.se/projects:crazyr ... figuration).

What if that other module is a piece of hardware over which you have effectively no control, e.g., a mass market remote control for a media center PC? My remote comes with a USB receiver dongle which has no antenna. I'd like to improve reception by replacing this dongle with a Crazyradio (or Crazyradio PA?). I realize I'll need some additional software on the receiver host (e.g., a USB HID client), but do you think it's feasible to coax a Crazyradio into a replacement for the standard dongle?

Obviously I'm a complete radio n00b but I'm willing to learn.

This would only work if your remote control uses the same chip. To my knowledge, most of them are simply based on infrared light (which also explains the poor reception you are seeing).

My remote is not using infrared. In fact, I've already cracked open the receiver dongle. It contains a BK2433 chip which is apparently a Chinese clone of a nRF24LU1+, e.g., see this discussion.

Assuming that the two chips are indeed compatible, am I too naive in thinking that I only need to configure the Crazyradio with the correct address to receive something from the remote?

It should be possible to use the Crazyradio then. However, there are many configuration options possible. For example, the Crazyradio with stock firmware supports PTX mode only (that is: Crazyradio is transmitting and Crazyflie receiving). In case of a remote it seems more natural to me if it would be the other way around (But hard to say how they actually implemented it). In such a case you would need to change your Crazyradio firmware to one which supports PRX as well.

So, as a starting point, it seems that I can use your firmware (as discussed here) and the original crazyradio.py driver. Do you think the firmware needs to be modified for my purposes or is it sufficient that I poke at the driver code?

Also, do you think the Crazyradio PA will improve reception over the non-PA version? I'm inclined to get the PA version because the difference in price between the two is so small. I will probably be using the remote only in my apartment, but I need the signal to be picked up through a concrete wall.

The firmware is hopefully sufficient. The radio supports different modes, but it is very likely that they went with one of the modes which are already implemented in my firmware. You can go either with my crazyradio.py (since you don't need to use any of the crazyflie code this should be fine; supports python2 and python3 and handles error cases better), or the old one and re-add the option to enable PRX mode. You would need to find the right speed and channel by yourself though. Out of my head, I can't think of anything better than trial-and-error:-(

For the CrazyfliePA: I would expect it to be slightly different, but indoors most likely less of a difference than given in the specs (which are based on outdoor measurements). If you don't have any Crazyradio yet, I would definitely go with the PA version. If you have the non-PA version I would not spend additional money just for getting the amplifier.

whoenig wrote:You would need to find the right speed and channel by yourself though. Out of my head, I can't think of anything better than trial-and-error:-(

"When in doubt, use brute force."

I was thinking of placing a heavy object on the remote and having a program run continuously that would loop through the various parameters and log any received data, though I have no idea how long that may take.

Anyway, I think I know enough to get started now. I'll use your crazyradio.py and get a Crazyradio PA. Thank you for your time.

Hey, I'm interested in seeing if I can configure my CRPA to control my CX-10 too. It looks like the CX-10 also uses the nRF24L01 or a clone of that. If that's the case, where do I start? I just want to be able to sync up the CX-10 with my computer and use my PS3 controller to fly. Here's a link I found on the Deviation site, which describes the CX-10 stock transmitter. http://www.deviationtx.com/forum/protoc ... -395-cx-10 And here's a link to some source that someone wrote for communicating with the CX-10 via the Devo TX. https://bitbucket.org/goebish/deviation ... ult#cl-249

It would be cool to see if this works. Thanks.