Using the nRF24L01’s IRQ Pin to Generate an Interrupt with Arduino

In this video we look at how to use the pulse signal from an nRF24L01+ transceiver module's IRQ pin to trigger an interrupt on your Arduino.

Arduino code from video, receiver code first and then transmitter code:
#include <SPI.h> //Call SPI library so you can communicate with the nRF24L01+
#include <nRF24L01.h> //nRF2401 libarary found at https://github.com/tmrh20/RF24/
#include <RF24.h> //nRF2401 libarary found at https://github.com/tmrh20/RF24/
#include <avr/sleep.h> //library needed to use AVR based sleep API

const int pinCE = 9; //This pin is used to set the nRF24 to standby (0) or active mode (1)
const int pinCSN = 10; //This pin is used to tell the nRF24 whether the SPI communication is a command or message to send out
byte gotByte = 0; //used to store payload from transmit module
volatile int count = 0; //tracks the number of interrupts from IRQ
int pCount = 0; //tracks what last count value was so know when count has been updated
RF24 wirelessSPI(pinCE, pinCSN); // Declare object from nRF24 library (Create your wireless SPI) 
const uint64_t pAddress = 0xB00B1E5000LL;  //Create a pipe addresses for the 2 nodes to communicate over, the "LL" is for LongLong type

void setup()   {
  wirelessSPI.begin();  //Start the nRF24 module
  wirelessSPI.setAutoAck(1);                    // Ensure autoACK is enabled so rec sends ack packet to let you know it got the transmit packet payload
  wirelessSPI.enableAckPayload();         //allows you to include payload on ack packet
  wirelessSPI.maskIRQ(1,1,0);               //mask all IRQ triggers except for receive (1 is mask, 0 is no mask)
  wirelessSPI.setPALevel(RF24_PA_LOW); //Set power level to low, won't work well at higher levels (interfer with receiver)
  wirelessSPI.openReadingPipe(1,pAddress);      //open pipe o for recieving meassages with pipe address
  wirelessSPI.startListening();                 // Start listening for messages
  attachInterrupt(1, interruptFunction, FALLING);  //Create interrupt: 0 for pin 2 or 1 for pin 3, the name of the interrupt function or ISR, and condition to trigger interrupt
}

void loop() {

   if(pCount < count) { //If this is true it means count was interated and another interrupt occurred
       Serial.begin(57600);  //start serial to communicate process
       Serial.print("Receive packet number ");
       Serial.println(count); 
       Serial.end(); //have to end serial since it uses interrupts
       pCount = count; 
   }
}

//This is the function called when the interrupt occurs (pin 2 goes high)
//this is often referred to as the interrupt service routine or ISR
//This cannot take any input arguments or return anything
void interruptFunction() {
 count++; //up the receive counter
 while(wirelessSPI.available()) { //get data sent from transmit
       wirelessSPI.read( &gotByte, 1 ); //read one byte of data and store it in gotByte variable
 }

}

//********************Transmitter code**************************** #include <SPI.h> //Call SPI library so you can communicate with the nRF24L01+
#include <nRF24L01.h> //nRF2401 libarary found at https://github.com/tmrh20/RF24/
#include <RF24.h> //nRF2401 libarary found at https://github.com/tmrh20/RF24/

const int pinCE = 9; //This pin is used to set the nRF24 to standby (0) or active mode (1)
const int pinCSN = 10; //This pin is used to tell the nRF24 whether the SPI communication is a command or message to send out
byte counter = 1; //used to count the packets sent
RF24 wirelessSPI(pinCE, pinCSN); // Create your nRF24 object or wireless SPI connection
const uint64_t pAddress = 0xB00B1E5000LL;              // Radio pipe addresses for the 2 nodes to communicate.

void setup()  
{
  Serial.begin(57600);   //start serial to communicate process
  wirelessSPI.begin();            //Start the nRF24 module
  wirelessSPI.setAutoAck(1);                    // Ensure autoACK is enabled so rec sends ack packet to let you know it got the transmit packet payload
  wirelessSPI.enableAckPayload();               // Allow optional ack payloads
  wirelessSPI.setPALevel(RF24_PA_LOW);
  wirelessSPI.openWritingPipe(pAddress);        // pipe address that we will communicate over, must be the same for each nRF24 module
  wirelessSPI.stopListening();        //transmitter so stop listening for data
  randomSeed(analogRead(0));    //use random ADC value to seed random number algorithm
}

void loop() {
  delay(random(100,5000)); //Generate delay time between 100msec and 5 sec
  Serial.println("Sending packet"); 
  if (!wirelessSPI.write( &counter, 1 )){  //if the send fails let the user know over serial monitor
       Serial.println("packet delivery failed");  
  }
   Serial.println();   
}