CC1101 module - which one works

[zupdaz]

Could you please share which CC1101 module model/brand worked for you because mine won't? Also, I think some kind video or tutorial for dummies would be golden here since a lot of people are experiencing broken Elero remotes.

[lomion0815]

I wrote a tutorial in German. I doubt to find the time for a translation before Christmas ...
Look into the comments for CC1101 module models.

[stanleypa]

here's a setup that works well for me - an esp32 with a cheap cc1101 module from amazon/aliexpress.

[zupdaz]

Thanks. I managed to make it work with E07-M1101D-SMA which is a bit suprising.

Two issues though:
Using tiny 3cm sma antenna my reach is awful. The blinds that are 0-3m way respond while 4+ m is too far apparently. Variotel is much more capable in that sense. Any ideas to change anything of should I just go and buy dipole antenna?

I use mosquitto mqtt with eleropy and HA Core on top. A lot of times blind is unresponsive after first command for a 1-3 secs. Tried setting optimistic to true in configuration.yaml but not much better. I have set up both command_topic and state_topic as "cc1101mqtt/command/AA:BB:CC" and "cc1101mqtt/state/AA:BB:CC" respectively. Is this correct? Would appreciate an example yaml for this case.

Edit: Second issue is connected to weak signal. Will buy a dipole antenna and try my luck.

[stanleypa]

You may need to tune the frequency - the passive components in these cheap modules are probably the cause of the actual frequency being somewhat off the programmed frequency. As mentioned in the README:

"you might need to adjust registers 0x0E and 0x0F in the cc1101 class initialization"

trial and error might be enough but you could use SDRangel loaded on a cheap RTL SDR to see what frequency you transmit at vs the frequency the remote is using and take the guesswork out of setting the regsiters.

A simple wire antenna 82mm will be better than the SMA and the coil one pictured above and should be more than enough for normal range.

[zupdaz]

I modified 0E and 0F registers. As you suggest they are quite a bit off. However, I assume the elero remote (don't know what chipset does it use) is still much more powerful transmiter than my E07-M1101D with 10 mW.

Screenshots of SDRangel of Elero vs my M1101D. The lines and signal is much more prominent when using Elero remote (same distance to SDR receiver), pics attached below. Is there a way to increase transmit power on those chipsets with cc1101.py driver?

M1101D:

Elero remote:

[stanleypa]

Have a look at
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwik85i-17WDAxVvXUEAHZmDBxkQFnoECAYQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ti.com%2Flit%2Fpdf%2Fswra151&usg=AOvVaw3CrdwVtElg3SkZzQDWViYO&opi=89978449

Also a different antenna "might" help

[zupdaz]

A quick update:

I have changed E07-M1101D (optimized for 433mhz, works with 868mhz) for the CC1101 (optimized for 868mhz), same one as is in @stanleypa image above and my range has quadrupled (same settings). M1101D had really weak signal for me irrespective of antenna and freq matching, CC1101 is much better.

I can now easily control my blinds from anywhere in my house. Just in case if anybody else is it the same position.