Radioheads

In this project, we want to make a simple radio that can tramsit text between different users. We used an Arduino Uno and Arduino Minima R4 as microprocessors, as well as the NRF24L01 radio module.

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Inspiration

Srujam, one of our group members, has a HAM radio license and has experience transmitting radio. Dhruv, another one of our project members, has also made a handheld radio in the past and was curious about a more technically complex challenge. We believed a two-way transmission, similar to a walkie-talkie, could be an interesting project.

What it does

Our project consists of two Arduinos. Wireless transmission through antennas (RF24l01) takes place from the transmitter through the receiver. Text is transmitted as raw data and then the raw data is converted back into text by the receiver. The text is then displayed on the LCD display.

How we built it

Both the transmitter and receiver use aluminium foil to reduce noise experienced by the antennae. We upload code to both arduinos. The transmission happens when the transmitter finds a receiver with the same address, which is specified in the code.

Challenges we ran into

Voltage was not regulated, which affected the functioning of the arduino. Electromagnetic interference from the wires caused the antennae to get noise. Troubleshooting the code took a while.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We fixed the voltage issue using capacitors. We fixed the interference issue using aluminium foil to create a ‘shielding’ around the wires that were creating noise the most. This helped the antennae function better.

What we learned

We learned a lot about signal processing, such as what causes signals to be interfered with.

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