Experience with CC1101? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2022, 06:42:17 pm
content: Does anyone have any experience with the CC1101 RF transceiver? It doesn't look bad for custom low-power wireless links.

author: pcprogrammer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2022, 06:49:34 pm
content: I have some connected to arduino nanos and tested them with the libraries that are available and they work, but that is all I can say. So many projects and so little time is why they ended up in a box on a shelf, waiting to be used.Edit: I made two test boards that support different modules. The first two images show two different CC1101 modules. One has 10 pins and the other one 8 pins to connect the module. The last image shows NRF905 modules. They need a different library, but work the same way.Bought the modules on aliexpress.https://aliexpress.com/item/1005002074380868.htmhttps://aliexpress.com/item/1005004166793032.htmlhttps://aliexpress.com/item/32902708683.html

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2022, 10:32:07 pm
content: As a note, the NRF905 is lower power, but a lot less flexible than the CC1101, plus it is now discontinued, while the CC1101 is active.

author: bonelli
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2022, 11:51:03 am
content: Hello,I have already used it a long time ago. It's a good chip. More modern version are CC1120, CC1125. If you need long range and low bitrate, take a look at the semtech LORA devices. Take care at the PCB layout and provide a clean & quiet power supply.And don't forget to respect the max Tx power and duty cycle imposed by the RF regulations of your country

author: Gribo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2022, 04:20:22 pm
content: Check the CC13xx family. MCU + CC1101 in one package (and somewhat cheaper than MSP430 + CC1101).

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2022, 06:46:30 pm
content: Thanks guys.I've seen the more recent SoC versions (with embedded MCU), but I'm not that interested in them actually. I'd be using another already selected MCU anyway. That seems to be the trend though - almost all vendors making RF ICs have more or less stopped developing simple transceivers and all switched to SoCs with an embedded MCU. Can be useful but doesn't cover all needs. If anything, for a sub-GHz SoC, I would favor ST new ICs at this point. They look pretty nice. (STM32WL family.)And LORA is interesting, I'm also having an eye on that. But it's lower bitrate. Might not cover all my use cases for a sub-GHz transceiver.As to regulations, uh, yeah. That's another story.But since I'm after low-power communication, I wouldn't be exceeding max TX power, and as long as I use the allowed ISM bands, that should be fine. Now sure, this chip is flexible enough that you could configure it for frequency bands that are definitely NOT allowed.Lastly, one minus point for the CC1101 - while I haven't tested it yet - appears in its silicon errata doc. A couple of annoying silicon bugs that require workarounds.

author: Gribo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2022, 06:51:45 pm
content: Take into account that the CC1xxx can't do LORA (Chirp modulation). The CC1101 RX filter can only go down to 56KHz. If you want narrow band, the CC1120/1125 offers much better performance for low data rates (2400bps and lower) . The CC1200 is better for higher data rates (100Kbps and up).

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2022, 07:16:50 pm
content: Thanks. The CC1200 looks pretty much unobtainium though.