nRF5 action!

[ncollins]

@Jon-Raymond I kinda got hung up on the last conversation in the merge request and haven't looked at it since. Let me push the changes I have to address the other comments, then try to figure out how to best handle that last bit.

[Jon Raymond]

@ncollins That's great, thanks!

[ncollins]

@Jon-Raymond I pushed my latest changes, posted a question to the merge about next steps.

[Jon Raymond]

@ncollins Here is my version of a breakout for the nRF52805.

Been playing around with your fork/pull request and I do have one question.

Should there be a SoftDevice for this? According to Nordic it needs either S112 or S113 for BLE to function? Right now your pull request only has the "None" option in the SoftDevice menu.

Is this something you have run into? Do you have any example code that you are running on this module? Thanks again for your work in getting this device supported.

[ncollins]

@Jon-Raymond the nRF52805 should support the S112 and S113 soft device, but I removed it from the menu because I never tested it and didn't intend to immediately use it.

Digging through sandeepmistry/arduino-nrf5, it looks like S112 and S113 aren't included in the SDK. It might be easy enough to just drop in two new folders, then update boards.txt.

(Just an example of how I would add a soft device option to the dropdown, these would have to match up with whatever is in the sdk)

I would recommend opening an issue/question on https://github.com/sandeepmistry/arduino-nRF5, specifically asking the best way to add a new softdevice to the library. If it's straightforward, I can work with you to get those changes incorporated and, hopefully, included in the merge request.

[Jon Raymond]

Thanks @ncollins. I created the issue as requested.

[ncollins]

@Jon-Raymond Well, not seeing a lot of activity in the repo.

I took a very long shot at adding support https://github.com/nikolac/arduino-nRF5/tree/nrf52805-s112-support.

I was able to flash the softdevice, but I haven't tested or even uploaded a working sketch (sloppy). Feel free to mess around and test. If it works for you, I do the same for S113.

Biggest question I have is around figuring out the proper values for the "linker scripts" https://github.com/nikolac/arduino-nRF5/blob/nrf52805-s112-support/cores/nRF5/SDK/components/softdevice/s112/toolchain/armgcc/armgcc_s112_nrf52805_xxaa.ld

[NeverDie]

I've ordered an Adafruit Clue, which should be arriving today. It utilizes the nRF52840. Judging from the reviews, Adafruit has done a nice job of supporting both the Clue and the Clue's vast number of built-in sensors with 1. good adafruit library integration along with lots of example programs and 2. the adafruit bootloader, making it easy for beginners to program the Clue via the familiar Arduino IDE. For those just getting started, I think it's likely to be a more satisfying experience and a gentler introduction to nRF5x than buying a nRF5x DK and then wondering what to do next.

[NeverDie]

I received the CLUE and it works very nicely--just like you'd expect a proper Arduino board to work: some basic hardware abstraction, a familiar easy-to-use Arduino IDE, easy familiar compiles, easy familiar uploads, and easy familiar access to serial input/output.

Time flies! This thread is already 5 years old, but I'm re-reading it now to refresh myself on all the little details that I've forgotten.

[NeverDie]

Anyone here programmed an nRF52805? I made a breakout board for one and was planning to program it using the J-LINK on an nRF52-DK:

but because there is no official DK for the nRF52805, there is no "board" for it, and so I'm unclear as to how exactly it is supposed to be programmed. Segger Embedded Studio makes no mention of the nRF52805 at all, as near as I can tell. Fortunately, our old friend Sandeep Mistry does appear to have a core for it: https://github.com/sandeepmistry/arduino-nRF5/tree/master/cores/nRF5/SDK/components/device
so that may help save the day. Unfortunately, the nRF52805 upload instructions from Nordic are a hassle: https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/guides/short-range-guides/b/getting-started/posts/developing-for-the-nrf52805-with-nrf5-sdk Is there no easier way?

[NeverDie]

Reporting back: As a first step I programmed an external nRF52832 by blinking P.18 using this method for wiring it up: https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/f/nordic-q-a/14058/external-programming-using-nrf52-dk This method of wiring is worthy of note all by itself, because prior to now the conventional wisdom was that the target mcu had to be separately, externally powered for the J-link on the DK to recognize it properly. With the illustrated approach to wiring it up, though, you can power it from the DK itself.

Nice.

That worked just fine. Then I tried uploading exactly the same code, using the same wiring scheme, to the nRF52805. I even erased it beforehand just to be sure.
According to J-Link, both the erasure and the subsequent upload were successful. However, P.18 does not blink. So, it would appear that a straightforward upload by treating it like an nRF52832 just isn't going to work, even just for blinking a particular pin. Argh! I feared as much. Disappointing!

[NeverDie]

Success! Treating the nRF52805 like an nRF52810 and uploading to it from Segger Embedded Studio's IDE using Nordic's nRF52 SDK's PCA10040e board definition, then pin P.18 blinks using the same sketch that blinked P.18 on the nRF52832. I'm reporting back with this good news, because I haven't seen it tried or documented anywhere before. At least for this modest first attempt, this simple spoof works! At $2.50 each, these tiny nRF52805 modules with their trace antennas are a good value.

By the way, the compiler that's built into Segger Embedded Systems is super fast compared to gcc.