NRFL01+ 2.4 GHz Radio Shield / Documentation missing

[WillemH]

I am busy with a project with GPS, MicroSD (for logging) and radio (downlink of selected data).

I have started with the NRF24L01+ 2.4 GHz shields for the radio link because of availability.
I am now facing some compatibility problems between radio and microSD, both acting with SPI. I hope it is SW only.

But looking for documentation I found that the schematic links in both shop and learn parts lead to the schematic of the 433 MHz Radio Shield instead of the 2.4 GHz Shield.

I am sure that  both schematics show differences with respect to the RF parts  but also with e.g. the SPI chip select, because the related RadioHead settings for chip select and interrupt pins are different.

The compatibility matrix does not provide indications of incompatibilities between MicroSD and NRFL01+ 2.4 GHz Radio Shields, but the related excel table is clearly another version with at least MicroSD & Audio and 2.4 GHz Radio Shields missing.

Can you provide me with the schematic of the NRFL01+ 2.4 GHz Radio Shield?


Regards,
Willem

[lennevia]

Willem,

Nice catch! The datasheets and schematics are in the correct repo, but for some reason, the schematic pdf is incorrect and I will get that fixed on the Wiki/Learn site and the product page today. Since the part number of the NRF24L01+ 2.4 GHz Shield is one away from the 433 Shield, it looks like a simple mixup.

The GitHub is updated with the correct file now: https://github.com/TinyCircuits/TinyCircuits-TinyShield-NRF24L01-ASD2163/raw/master/design_files/ASD2163.pdf

Thanks for letting us know!

Réna

[WillemH]

Réna,

many thanks for providing the schematic.

It is clear now that the SPI related ChipSelectN is connected to I07 and the CE to I09.

In my project the 2.4 GHz radio was working well, but the MicroSD was not.
Even without radio functionality in the code the microSD was not working anymore, when the NRFL01+ 2.4 GHz Radio Shield was connected to the bus.

This has been solved by just securing the SPI bus before
 
    SD.begin(chipSelect)

by setting  I07 (ChipSelectN of the NRF24L01+ radio) as output and making it high.

So adding the following code at the start of the setup:

   pinMode(7, OUTPUT); 
   digitalWrite(7, HIGH);

This was sufficient to solve the problem.
Doing the same with the ChipSelectN of the microSD (I10) does not harm, but is not strictly necessary.


Regards,
Willem