Which radio module? NRF24, LoRa, CC1101, HC12, 433MHz, HC05

An example with each of these radio modules for Arduino. Check the tutorial webpages below for schematic, code and libraries and more info.

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RARDIO MDOULES
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[GRBtutorials]

Well, there are 3 main factors to consider when choosing radio modules: range, energy usage (which is determined by power and the time it takes to connect and send the message) and speed. So using those, the modules you used (plus a bonus) would have:
1. NRF24: medium-high range, low energy usage, high speed. Example usage: drones, battery-operated IoT devices.
2. LoRa: very long range, variable energy usage (depends heavily on the length of the message due to its low speed), very low speed. Example usage: IoT devices.
3. CC1101 without/with power amplifier: medium/very long range, low/very high energy usage, medium speed. Example usage: walkie-talkies.
4. HC12: long range, low energy usage, low-medium speed. Example usage: battery-operated IoT devices, drones.
5. 433 MHz raw: variable range, low energy usage, variable speed. Example usage: cheap devices.
6. HC05/Bluetooth 3.0: short range, medium energy usage, medium speed. Example usage: robots controlled with a smartphone.
7. Bonus: Wi-Fi: short-medium range, medium-high energy usage, very high speed. Example usage: IoT devices, security cameras.
IMHO, the best general-purpose ones are the NRF24, the HC12, Wi-Fi (including ESP-NOW) and Bluetooth LE (which isn't in your comparison). They're easy to use (especially Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE if you use an ESP8266/32), don't use much energy, have a good range and are fast enough for most applications.

[krukhlis]

Thanks for this brief overview of different RC transceivers.
3 important things to add about NRF24:
1) It can also work as transmitter and/or receiver and switch its role on the fly. Example of usage -- binding transmitter to receiver for custom RC. When transmitter broadcasts packet saying he is looking for receiver with required capabilities. And then transmitter listens for inbound packets from receiver with their IDs and other data.

2) The distance, speed and reliability depends on the size of packet. Maximum size is 32bytes. And this will be slowest and less reliable. If you set packet size to 8 bytes -- drammatically improved capabilities.

3) You can change the power of transmission dynamically from your code. Example of usage -- your sensors that need to talk to some hub if something happens. Until something happened -- they don't need any transmissions, so they can set power level to the lowest. On a trigger -- they change power to some more powerful level and transmit new sensor readings to hub. This will allow you to save battery if these sensors are portable.
Beside that -- this modules have auto-acknowledge, multi-channels support, etc.

[worvtube]

Recently I found by accident that for the very cheap 433Mhz modules (with 3 connection pins) if you pull down the data pin with relatively low resistor like 2-5k, the data signal becomes much more stable.

[timarbatis]

1. NRF24 - 2:56
2. HC12 - 6:23
3. LoRa - 8:44
4. CC1101 - 11:08
5. 433Mhz - 13:08
6. HC05 - 14:57

[FedericoPedemonte]

I'm so used to always using Bluetooth and WiFi that the idea of using some other radio technology hadn't even crossed my mind! Thanks for this video - it opened up a whole new sea of opportunities for me (much better for my current use case)

[IldefonsoZanette]

I had so many problems with the NRF24 and never thought the interference would be in the short cables that I was using. I ended up using some more expensive modules for my project instead. I'll do some tests using your twisted cable tip.

[electromakers]

You're a genius bro. Stay happy wherever you are. It's working bro

[francoisguyot]

I also bought the small version of the 433MHz LoRa but I took like 4 hours to solder everything because it's so tiny !!
So I would tell you to buy the module
Lora Ra-02 Module
So easy to solder ! Buy you will also need to buy 2 IPEX antenna for these Lora Ra-02 modules

[lovemadeinjapan]

Small error in the map use: if you want to map 0-1023 to 0-255, you need to write map(analogRead(pot), 0, 1024, 0, 256); It has to do with the way integer-divide works. Try it out, in my example the every 4 values convert to a single value: 0, 1, 2, 3 become 0 and 4, 5, 6, 7 become 2 and finally 1020, 1021, 1022 and 1023 become 255.
But in this case /4 is faster and exactly doing the same.

[peteabc]

In general, if you've problems with data signal integrity over such short cables and low data rates, it's probably because the input resistance of the pins is too high and you're picking everything around. Just put there some resistors to strengthen the signal (to increase the current).

[mickeyfilmer]

Excellent tutorial, been looking for something like this to help with a project.

[lukiede]

Be aware of fake HC-12 modules. They have a missing trace on the PCB which results in a horrible range of just a few feet/meters. This can be fixed by soldering, but still.

[vaibhavhayaran]

I love the way you say 'capaciTator' 😄

[jeffjefferson]

That LoRa module seems interesting. Pretty long range! Might be interesting when builiding weather stations, that are further out.

[daryllyons]

Great video. I was hoping there would be a video that would compare these different boards and show how they work with code.

[lasersbee]

I like the Bluetooth solution.... Would be a good tutorial video if you could show a way to increase the range of the HC-05/HC-06 modules.

[qgjmjkg]

I have tested NRF24 and HC12. NRF24 haves very short distance about 20 meters (maybe isn't good quality). As result I selected HC12 - it's working perfect.

[dwudcuqoyl]

still my favorite is cc1101 versitility wise it wont be beat

[brianl]

your videos always strike a good balance between technical, practical, and useful

[barrymayson]

Thanks for your work. Always like these these test/tutorial videos . 70cm band sounds like you know ham radio.