RCWL-0516 Microwave Proximity Sensor - With & Without Arduino

The RCWL-0516 is an inexpensive proximity sensor that works using microwaves and Doppler Radar. It can be used on its own or with an Arduino, I will show you both ways.
Article and code downloads at dronebotworkshop.com/rcwl-051...
More articles and tutorials: dronebotworkshop.com
Join the conversation on the forum: forum.dronebotworkshop.com
Subscribe to the newsletter and stay in touch: dronebotworkshop.com/subscribe/
Today we will look at another proximity sensor, the RCWL-0516. This device works using microwaves and the Doppler Effect to detect the presence of humans (and other creatures) in a room. It is inexpensive and can be used by itself or in conjunction with an Arduino.
Don’t be concerned about the microwave aspect, this device emits a very low level of microwave radiation at 3.18 GHz, which is on the low-end of the microwave spectrum. It is perfectly safe to experiment with and to use in your projects.
The device is very inexpensive and can be obtained on eBay, Amazon, and probably at your local electronics shop (which is where I got mine) for around 2-3 US dollars.
The RCWL-0516 operates using the “Doppler Effect”, a phenomenon discovered in 1842 by Austrian physicist Christian Doppler. The Doppler Effect describes a change in frequency observed by a stationary observer when the source of the frequency is moving.
If you have ever heard the sound of a train as it races towards and then away from you, or an ambulance as it races down the road, you will have heard the siren frequency changing as the object approaches, passes, and moves away from you. That is the Doppler Effect in action.
In the RCWL-0515 microwaves are sent out and reflected back. Any moving object in the area will change the frequency of the reflected waves, thus triggering the device.
I will show you how to use the RCWL-0516 on its own, both by itself and with an optional light sensor. You'll see that because it uses microwaves it is still operational even when encased in a plastic enclosure.
Then we will use an Arduino with the RCWL-0516. I’ll show you how to make the device “latch”, great for an intruder alarm or automatic light switch. Then I will show you how I built a remote sensor using an RCWL-0516 and two Arduino's.
Here is the Table of Contents for today's video:
00:00 - Introduction
03:12 - The RCWL-0516 & Doppler Effect
09:33 - Basic Hookup & Demo
12:35 - Light Sensor Hookup & Demo
15:14 - Arduino Latching Device Hookup & Code
20:31 - Arduino Latching Device Demo
23:44 - Arduino Remote - Transmitter Hookup & Code
29:02 - Arduino Remote - Receiver Hookup & Code
32:19 - Arduino Remote Demo
As always there is an article with more details and all the Arduino code, you will find it at dbot.ws/rcwl0516.
I hope you enjoy the video and the article.
I have a lot of changes to the DroneBot Workshop that you will be seeing very soon, at the beginning of March actually. If you’d like to know more please subscribe to my newsletter.
And while you are here please subscribe to the KZbin channel!

[@ho7026]

This entire channel is gold.

[@nms9352]

I hate it🤭 - cost me a lot of money😏

[@vineeshkumar4637]

Can i mine it 🌝

[@ravindrabelsare6215]

Many thanks ! After watching couple of your earlier workshops, I am practically hooked to it. Every day at least one workshop on my agenda

[@MadLabZ]

Always the best from DroneBot Workshop!!! I just received five RCWL-0516 modules from aliexpress with intentions of setting up security zones for my property , with this very helpful video I think this will be the start of something very interesting, thanks for the upload.

[@anythingunderthesun9930]

As always, you explained things that is easy to understand with actual example and links to the codes, docs etc.. Keep up the good works. Thank you! New subs here!

[@3nagib]

As always detailed and helpful. Thank you. Keep doing what you do best. Looking forward to the next project

[@yanntwelve]

Hello !! I'm about to prepare myself in making an alarm for my workshop and garage, your video has been more than useful to my future project. Nice explainations and many details. Good Job, keep on instructing us !! Long life to your channel

[@TonySwitzerland]

Perfectly explained! Thank you. I connected the sensor without Arduino to a "remote doorbell button". Battery operated, small size, can be placed wherever it suits. The bell then rings (or just the LED flashes) when someone enters the controlled zone. Works through walls and doors!

[@fsiserir]

Thank you for your very clear explanation of RCWL-0521 and its application for the detection of the moving object.

[@vanomso]

Thank you for this lesson. Works very good for me, I invest 35 minutes in watching your video and I remember it forever!

[@NewportNomad]

Sensational. Your video was really clearly explained with great diagrams and code too. Many thanks.

[@jacobdavis000]

Just watched your tutorial and set up a new rcwl-0516 as I watched. I bought 20 and the 1st one I tested works very well. It's set up in front of the TV pointing back at me and it is very responsive and stable behavior too. Great channel and tutorial. Thanks!

[@jacobdavis000]

BTW: I didn't mean pointing back at me. Maybe it's radiating in all directions.

[@davidgapp1457]

Brilliant channel. Many thanks for your hard work. Love the clarity of your presentations.

[@sebastienochart]

Extremely well explained and demonstrated. Very high quality content. Thanks a lot.

[@TonySwitzerland]

Excellent tutorial and because of the clear language 100% understandable by non-native-speakers! Thank you so much.

[@jurgenpurps9720]

Wie immer ein Top-Video.Super und ausführlich erklärt - so sollte es sein.

[@RouenEchecs]

Vos vidéos sont très intéressantes et vos explications très claires, avec un réel souci de pédagogie. En vous suivant, je m'améliore. Je vous remercie très sincèrement pour ce partage.

[@donk73]

Very interesting and informative video. The RCWL-0516 is now on my list future projects. I also particularly appreciate the care and preparation put into the production, and the use of high quality video. Too often videos like this are made with low resolution video so that the code examples and diagrams are unreadable.

[@rodnolasco]

Crystal clear. Thanks for sharing.

[@mohitnayyer]

Thank you very much for explaining everything in detail and for demonstrating the connections.

[@gazza595]

Thanks for this video, as usual very detailed and well presented. Really useful information.

[@dfxmonkeyhead]

Always learn so much from your videos... Thank you!

[@nassernasser5292]

Always the best explanation

[@JamesFraley]

You make the best, most informative videos! Thank you

[@user-hw9hu9kl3c]

Extremely well explained and demonstrated. Very high quality content. Thanks a lot

[@KatorNia]

Very good video, with lots of info & well delivered. I wonder how this channel flew under my radar (pun intended) for so long. Subscribed! 👍🏻 Now, I have a couple of things I'd like to point out if I may. 8:07 The circular thingy serves as a capacitor for the oscillator (high-frequency NPN transistor), not an antenna. The antenna is at the other side, & it's a common transmit/receive antenna. 10:44 Although the LED pins are correct (anode = longer), the internal electrodes are wrong (anode = smaller, not bigger). I'm pointing this out because I believe one should look at the internal electrodes to figure out polarity, instead of the external ones, since the latter can be cut. & if people learn it wrong from this video, they may run into problems in the future. 20:02 I'd pull the button Pin to LOW, instead of HIGH, for two reasons. - If you pull it HIGH, you're constantly sinking 0.5mA, regardless of the button's state. Yes, that current is negligible in this circuit, but I believe it's important to adopt "good habits" anyway. In the case of microcontrollers, taking their limited power capabilities into consideration is one of them. - It feels more intuitive to "send a signal" to the Pin when the button is pressed, instead of "disrupting a signal". I believe it's easier for less experienced tinkerers to understand too. From what I've read (I haven't tried them myself, yet), those sensors don't interfere with other GHz devices (routers etc). Apparently they don't interfere with each other either! So using BT shields should work well too.

[@muzikman2008]

Great stuff!..I bought some doppler modules, and was looking for a way to control their output for lighting a room.I need an arduino lol.. thanks for explaining in a great relaxed concise manner. Fantastic video :-)

[@darrenmaglione6235]

This video is so well done it is amazing. Thank you so much.

[@acadman4322]

Thanks, Bill, I am impressed with your clear and professional presentation.

[@dansquires2713]

Another great lesson. I am really looking forward to the robot build.

[@mouseminer2978]

Beautifully explained. Thank you very much.

[@benjaminantonypallath6537]

Interesting video and love to see such work shop.

[@satishbalodi4576]

Sir I am happy to see your tools set is kept. Neet and tidy. Very nice sir.

[@lw1419]

I love your videos, they are all so informative. Thx much.

[@manoharmanu1460]

Very useful , your videos are the basics of my electronics foundation sir. Thank you very much

[@ShedOfDreams]

So useful I bought some! Thank you. A good, concise video. I attached the output signal to an optocoupler relay module and the relay switches, so that's good! I've also found that if you keep moving around, the sensor is always active so the relay stays on E.G. running a light bulb, alarm etc. turns off once movement stops. would be good for a self contained alarm/light/ device on its own without needing an Arduino (or Picaxe in my case) so saving a few quid!!!! thank you again, You"ve got a new subscriber :-)

[@andreamitchell4758]

so I assume you had to use a high level trigger relay correct? sadly all I have are low level triggered relays

[@SohaylTalebi]

Dear Sir. I would like to thank you for your detailed video. Kind Regards.

[@activ8me3]

Your teaching style is superb. Thank you.

[@eburgos021]

Thanks for all your videos, especially this one. It made it much easier for me working with the RCWL-0516 doppler sensor and it's application. I'm new for this type of module sensors. Thank's again. Mr.G ( PS:I would like to know more abut your newsletter !)

[@ljmeng]

I have leant a lot from your channel, Thank you veru much.

[@dineshmehta3688]

Sir You are Very good teacher & have very good Knowledge. Thanks you very much for explaining in simple manner. Keep up teaching and good works.

[@Adrian_Finn]

You should have far more subscribers than you do, your videos are extremely good.

[@obiwankenobi661]

great video! appreciate your work.

[@mtbevins]

Great video. I absouluty love watching your videos. It is like candy for my brain. :)

[@MrBobWareham]

Hi thanks for the video as always an excellent instruction on how to use a product top marks thank you, Bob, from the UK

[@melvinmurithi]

Excellent video. 90% of what i need to do in my project....

[@MrMraza123]

Very clear explanation. Excellent job.

[@anokhautomation4453]

Nice useful tutorial.thanks for sharing your valuable ideas.

[@nevsiebenhausen7889]

This is an amazing demo

[@kevgermany]

Thanks. Very clear. That's one incredibly fast train in the Doppler explanation. ;-)

[@Hogkat]

I'm glad for this vid. I'm useing the 0516 with a GSM (A6) with a uno to make a alarm, I got the code for the 0516 right but to send a sms is a bit more difficult but getting there. I hope when I get to figure every thing out to make a video of what I did and also with the code but got to get the code for the sms right. But nice video

[@MultiTechEducation4U]

Sir, your videos are the best videos I ever saw.

[@hirajijadhav375]

Very easy to learn type video. I like it so much thanks

[@johnmcclain3887]

Hi, this is the first time I've been here, I'm a retired electronics tech, Marines, not played with electronics much for twenty years, but collected some arduino oriented electronics, off ebay, and low and behold, here's how to use the very module I selected for a burglar/security alarm system for my home. Great teaching skills, very clear explanations, nice easy pace. I look forward to getting caught back up, at least as much as necessary. How did you know I bought that doppler radar device?

[@johnwilson3918]

Thank you very much, Bill.

[@behzadabf]

Very clear perfect video....thanks

[@totiabel1]

Excelentemente explicado, gracias.

[@junacalo]

Excelente señor. Excelente su video. Muchas gracias.

[@hussain55019]

Great Sir always trying to use modules to their full potential..Love from Pakistan

[@hariwi39]

Good channel for teaching practical material thanks

[@khurumpervaiz509]

Great video Sir 👍. Keep it up.

[@Nguyen_Phuc08]

Interesting video as always.

[@sabrinagarciasosa7517]

Thaks, even if I don't speak english well I love your video and your class.

[@holyrunner1973]

Great Presentation!!!!

[@quin2691]

Impressive ! Good explanation

[@Sigurdinus]

Exceptional video, thank you very much. I really appreciate your calm and comphrehensive style of presentation.

[@emadabuhagag222]

clear, informative, thank you

[@samraj_subramaniam]

Great video. I am going to build this proximity sensor that sends data to my iobroker that is going to control other IoT devices in the room.

[@604smit]

very useful, thanks!!

[@forthidiot4297]

Very nice explanation

[@babarsayeed6742]

Amazing Video Keep it up

[@tonytee981]

Hi, First I have to say that I really enjoy your instructional videos. You are one smart cookie. Keep em coming :) Secondly, I purchased the RCWL-0156 sensor and wired it up, both on its own, and then to an UNO, as per your instructions. ( I have a fair bit of experience with Arduino, and everything related to it, so I am confident that I connected everything properly) . I used a 220 ohm resistor for the out pin to the led. My issue is that although the RCWL functions properly. (IE: The led lights up when the sensor senses movement), it only has a range of 2cm. It doesn't pick up anything further than that. I received 5 units in my order, and tested all of them, and they all have the same range (2cm). Has anybody else experienced the same issue. Any ideas as to what could be wrong. PS: I tested with 2 different power supplies, first the UNO, and then I hooked up my Korad KA3005D set first to 12 volts, then to 24 volts and 0.003 amps. The sensing range was the same for all tests. Could it be a bad batch of sensors ? Cheers, T

[@MrBobWareham]

As always a great video I want to make one for my front door, so I see that it works through plastic but does it work through glass as well. Thanks, Bob from the UK

[@LukeWatts85]

Sure test it out and see. That's all part of the fun of it :)

[@MiguelJimenez-cu5ft]

great video. thanks.

[@dipakbhalodia7155]

Thanks good working

[@quaternion-pi]

Excellent! Waiting for my sensors to arrive. Practical discussion of using PIR or ultrasound vs this radar sensor (range, false positives, penetration of glass windows, etc) will be addressed in my own experiments. It would be nice if the sensor did not stay on for two seconds so it could be rotated and data collected in many directions in real time. Thanks for your great projects, well explained, as always.

[@ristomatti]

There are other microwave sensors out there that just output the raw data but they seem to be more difficult to operated. As these are so cheap, you could use two or more pointing to different directions?

[@quaternion-pi]

Thanks for the suggestion and clarification on available sensors - 3 sensors coming for just that reason.

[@youssefdirani]

thank you dear

[@jnkmal9519]

Me 30 minutes ago: What the heck is a RCWL-0516? Me after watching the video: I'm sure I could work with a RCWL-0516 and I now understand the Doppler effect. Awesome! :)

[@roquesyves6598]

Thank you for all these excellent videos. Can you do one on the LD2410C radar?

[@JoeElevator]

Muchas Gracias..!! 😊

[@charlessweeney2061]

Perfection.

[@rgdphome8974]

Gr8. Thanks for good explanation as always. Sir, as a common man, I thought, such sensor could be used to measure the distance.

[@Boogiemoose]

Ive used this to detect if my cats are outside my door. Its hooked up to a transistor that turn on leds that light up a cat shaped 3dprinted figurine. Been working fine outside for a couple of years now.

[@rickharold7884]

Super cool

[@wifi404]

Good video, thanks :)

[@doctoreden]

Excellent presentation: Clear and easy to understand. Subscribed!

[@alkeshpatel724]

Thanks

[@carldea]

Great tutorials! Mr Bill, What do you use to present your slides? Thank you! keep up the great work.

[@MrBobWareham]

Hi, Bill thank you for another in depth video with excellent details, I know you were unsure about the esp8266-01 due to signal crossover with Wi-Fi. But would you consider giving it a go, to see if it works, as I want to make a door sensor to interface with IFTTT to indicate door action at my home. I think this would make a good project for others and with your knowledge perhaps it would help others including me. All the best, Bob.

[@garydalrymple5997]

The ldr-resistor example would be great for a war droid at night in sleep mode.Working on a turret right now.A few gesture sensors paintball gun and some high grade steppers systems.Converting some old solar panels to power it.

[@coldrider3517]

Allo and thank you very much for the great knowledge you share with us , my question about this microwave sensor is : Range ; is there a way to have a set range ,meaning ignore from X range and more but when movement is inside the set range then an action is taken ?

[@RoyFokker93]

Really good explanation. I have a question, are there radar modules that give an analog output instead of a digital one?

[@anuraggorkar5595]

Excellent Video. Extremely informative. Sir can you please make a video on how to use an esp8266 with Arduino?

[@jacquesmertens3369]

Seems like a great device to detect Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark.

[@RinksRides]

30 seconds in and like and new SUB!

[@vk9491]

Thank you for great video and tutorial. I repited every step from your explenation. Also I programed DGspark instead Arduino. All working well. Only one question, when I reseted led by pressed button, does sensor activated again for motion?

[@nassernasser5292]

thanks

[@aaronkalahar-_-_-]

You are awesome!

[@JoseAntonio-rc7kg]

Ótimo tutorial, parabéns !

[@unglaubichuberlieber8048]

since this rcwl-0516 can detect object from above, beneath, left and right, and how can one/the arduino knows where the object is moving from ??? thanks for your time and your input and this tutorial;

[@hackerr2656]

I love your chanel