Firmware and research tools for Nordic Semiconductor nRF24LU1+ based USB dongles and breakout boards.
- SDCC (minimum version 3.1.0)
- GNU Binutils
- Python
- PyUSB
- platformio
Install dependencies on Ubuntu:
sudo apt-get install sdcc binutils python python-pip
sudo pip install -U pip
sudo pip install -U -I pyusb
sudo pip install -U platformio
The following hardware has been tested and is known to work.
- CrazyRadio PA USB dongle
- SparkFun nRF24LU1+ breakout board
- Logitech Unifying dongle (model C-U0007, Nordic Semiconductor based)
make
nRF24LU1+ chips come with a factory programmed bootloader occupying the topmost 2KB of flash memory. The CrazyRadio firmware and RFStorm research firmware support USB commands to enter the Nordic bootloader.
Dongles and breakout boards can be programmed over USB if they are running one of the following firmwares:
- Nordic Semiconductor Bootloader
- CrazyRadio Firmware
- RFStorm Research Firmware
To flash the firmware over USB:
sudo make install
The most common Unifying dongles are based on the nRF24LU1+, but some use chips from Texas Instruments. This firmware is only supported on the nRF24LU1+ variants, which have a model number of C-U0007. The flashing script will automatically detect which type of dongle is plugged in, and will only attempt to flash the nRF24LU1+ variants.
To flash the firmware over USB onto a Logitech Unifying dongle:
sudo make logitech_install
Download and extract the Logitech firmware image, which will be named RQR_012_005_00028.hex or similar. Then, run the following command to flash the Logitech firmware onto the dongle:
sudo ./prog/usb-flasher/logitech-usb-restore.py [path-to-firmware.hex]
If your dongle or breakout board is bricked, you can alternatively program it over SPI using a Teensy.
This has only been tested with a Teensy 3.1/3.2, but is likely to work with other Arduino variants as well.
platformio run --project-dir teensy-flasher --target upload
| Teensy | CrazyRadio PA | Sparkfun nRF24LU1+ Breakout |
|---|---|---|
| GND | 9 | GND |
| 8 | 3 | RESET |
| 9 | 2 | PROG |
| 10 | 10 | P0.3 |
| 11 | 6 | P0.1 |
| 12 | 8 | P0.2 |
| 13 | 4 | P0.0 |
| 3.3V | 5 | VIN |
sudo make spi_install
Pseudo-promiscuous mode device discovery tool, which sweeps a list of channels and prints out decoded Enhanced Shockburst packets.
usage: ./nrf24-scanner.py [-h] [-c N [N ...]] [-v] [-l] [-p PREFIX] [-d DWELL]
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-c N [N ...], --channels N [N ...] RF channels
-v, --verbose Enable verbose output
-l, --lna Enable the LNA (for CrazyRadio PA dongles)
-p PREFIX, --prefix PREFIX Promiscuous mode address prefix
-d DWELL, --dwell DWELL Dwell time per channel, in milliseconds
Scan for devices on channels 1-5
./nrf24-scanner.py -c {1..5}
Scan for devices with an address starting in 0xA9 on all channels
./nrf24-scanner.py -p A9
Device following sniffer, which follows a specific nRF24 device as it hops, and prints out decoded Enhanced Shockburst packets from the device.
usage: ./nrf24-sniffer.py [-h] [-c N [N ...]] [-v] [-l] -a ADDRESS [-t TIMEOUT] [-k ACK_TIMEOUT] [-r RETRIES]
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-c N [N ...], --channels N [N ...] RF channels
-v, --verbose Enable verbose output
-l, --lna Enable the LNA (for CrazyRadio PA dongles)
-a ADDRESS, --address ADDRESS Address to sniff, following as it changes channels
-t TIMEOUT, --timeout TIMEOUT Channel timeout, in milliseconds
-k ACK_TIMEOUT, --ack_timeout ACK_TIMEOUT ACK timeout in microseconds, accepts [250,4000], step 250
-r RETRIES, --retries RETRIES Auto retry limit, accepts [0,15]
Sniff packets from address 61:49:66:82:03 on all channels
./nrf24-sniffer.py -a 61:49:66:82:03
Star network mapper, which attempts to discover the active addresses in a star network by changing the last byte in the given address, and pinging each of 256 possible addresses on each channel in the channel list.
usage: ./nrf24-network-mapper.py [-h] [-c N [N ...]] [-v] [-l] -a ADDRESS [-p PASSES] [-k ACK_TIMEOUT] [-r RETRIES]
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-c N [N ...], --channels N [N ...] RF channels
-v, --verbose Enable verbose output
-l, --lna Enable the LNA (for CrazyRadio PA dongles)
-a ADDRESS, --address ADDRESS Known address
-p PASSES, --passes PASSES Number of passes (default 2)
-k ACK_TIMEOUT, --ack_timeout ACK_TIMEOUT ACK timeout in microseconds, accepts [250,4000], step 250
-r RETRIES, --retries RETRIES Auto retry limit, accepts [0,15]
Map the star network that address 61:49:66:82:03 belongs to
./nrf24-network-mapper.py -a 61:49:66:82:03
The nRF24LU1+ chips include a test mechanism to transmit a continuous tone, the frequency of which can be verified if you have access to an SDR. There is the potential for frequency offsets between devices to cause unexpected behavior. For instance, one of the SparkFun breakout boards that was tested had a frequency offset of ~300kHz, which caused it to receive packets on two adjacent channels.
This script will cause the transceiver to transmit a tone on the first channel that is passed in.
usage: ./nrf24-continuous-tone-test.py [-h] [-c N [N ...]] [-v] [-l]
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-c N [N ...], --channels N [N ...] RF channels
-v, --verbose Enable verbose output
-l, --lna Enable the LNA (for CrazyRadio PA dongles)
Transmit a continuous tone at 2405MHz
./nrf24-continuous-tone-test.py -c 5
Flash memory dumper, which reads the internal flash memory of an nRF24LU1+ chip and write it to a file.
usage: ./nrf24-flash-dumper.py [-h] [-v] [-i INDEX] flash_dump
positional arguments:
flash_dump file to save a flash dump to.
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-v, --verbose Enable verbose output
-i INDEX, --index INDEX Dongle index
Write flash memory to "flash.bin"
./nrf24-flash-dumper.py flash.bin