433Mhz RF link kit - not receiving...

Products & Technology Bee series & WSN
#1

Hi

I bought this kit and using VirtualWire had it working perfectly (although range was a bit of a problem). Then suddenly it stopped working. Even using SoftwareSerial, I used to get lots of noise coming through… now there’s nothing.

Is there a way to check whether the receiver is working correctly? I tried another receiver (I bought 2 kits) and same problem.

Thanks
Andrew

#2

Hi, :slight_smile:
What is the mean that it suddenly stopped , and you got lots of noise coming through? Before check if the receiver，make sure that the way you used this RF link kit is right.

Demo code:
VirtualWire->receiver
->transmitter
Hardware connection:
you need to used two arduino board.
Receiver D11 on one arduino board
Transmitter D12 on another arduino board

Deray

#3

Hi Deray

Thanks!

Sorry, let me explain more clearly:

  • I connected 2 Arduino’s to 2 serial ports on my computer so I could monitor them. The receiver was on the one board and the transmitter on the other
  • I first used SoftwareSerial library to try to communicate - there was lots of noise coming through on the receiver - a stream of numbers that had no pattern
  • I then use VirtualWire, and it worked perfectly - the message went from transmitter to receiver.
  • After some time - maybe a 5-10 minutes, the receiver was only picking up the data from the transmitter sometimes. I tried using wire for an antenna, and also making sure the transmitter was on 5V.
  • Then a short while later, I was receiving nothing
  • I did not change any wiring during this time.

So I thought there could be 3 problems:

  • Arduino

  • Receiver

  • Transmitter

  • I tested the Arduino port with another sketch and it worked ok.

  • I can’t test the transmitter, because it needs a receiver to test it :wink:

  • I then thought maybe I can test the receiver using SoftwareSerial, and check whether it is still receiving lots of noise. The receiver was receiving nothing…

I can’t think how it could just stop working. I tried the same with my second receiver, and the same thing happened. After that, I tried the first receiver again (maybe it overheated and was now cool again). It was just quiet, didn’t seem to be receiving anything.

Thanks for your ideas and help.

Andrew

#4

USB Power source are very bad. Try powering by battery.
Small distance between rx and tx are not good.
Small distance to PC is not good (they are like a hf jammer).