nRF5 action!

[scalz]

@Terrence and no usb goodies for protection. woops can't be added on an external board :) I'm kidding, well, i let others make this featherwing, enough busy on my side ;)

[Terrence]

@scalz Are you still working on that great looking PIR board?

[scalz]

@Terrence that's a bit OT ;) yep among others things, and i'm quickly distracted so i need to stay focused :)

[Terrence]

@scalz I think there is HUGE interest in a good working PIR solution. That gets my vote.:mag_right:

[NeverDie]

@Terrence said in Minimalist SAMD21 TQFP32 Pro Mini:

@NeverDie I love the Feather boards. Currently working with the RFM69 feather. Build in battery connector/charger is very nice to have.

Have you found a cheaper source than Amazon for buying them?

[Terrence]

@NeverDie No, Adafruit is the maker/seller and before just recently you had to buy them from them and pay the shipping and slow order fill process.

I have Amazon Prime, so shipping is "free" and they show up in 2 days.

I have never seen them for lower than MSRP.

[Nca78]

Just discovered this, bought with no wifi (no need for it) and usb adapter. It's using a SAMD21E17 (so 16k/128k) but should be enough for playing a bit and I love the stackable usb adapter that you need to buy only once for all your boards.
http://www.wino-board.com/store/en/basic-modules/16-winoboard.html

[NeverDie]

What do you guys think of the NRF51822?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/NRF51822-2-4G-Wireless-Module-Wireless-Communication-Module-Bluetooth-module-zigbee-module-DMX512/32726191346.html?spm=2114.01010208.3.16.u9URcX&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_5_10152_10065_10151_10068_10130_10136_10137_10060_10155_10062_437_10154_10056_10055_10054_10059_303_100031_10099_10103_10102_10096_10052_10053_10142_10107_10050_10051_5030014_10084_10083_10119_10080_10082_10081_10178_10110_519_10111_10112_10113_10114_10182_10078_10079_10073_10123_10120_10189_142,searchweb201603_1,ppcSwitch_4&btsid=bdb83fff-e500-45cf-becd-3dfdfd896dad&algo_expid=5ab8c3b2-cd02-4c0a-8ea8-941792ebfedc-2&algo_pvid=5ab8c3b2-cd02-4c0a-8ea8-941792ebfedc
The dev boards are really cheap, and they come with a capable mcu.

[NeverDie]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmCmqN2i_Xo

[NeverDie]

What I find even more interesting than that, though, is "extended range" Bluetooth, which might very well be the all-in-one tiny module that does it all: http://www.cypress.com/blog/psoc-creator-news-and-information/design-long-range-bluetooth-applications-new-ez-ble-psoc-xtxr
No need to add an NRF24L01 or an RFM69 module, because for home automation, the extended range version of bluetooth should have adequate range already. And it has a capable ARM MCU built in.

[scalz]

@NeverDie radio mcus are nice ;)

[Terrence]

@NeverDie I love the new 51840 (the one that does the long distance, the 832 is the High throughput chip) Please work with the 840.

I have the nRF52840 Preview DK, but have not fired it up yet. Still trying to understand how to code Bluetooth.
http://www.nordicsemi.com/eng/Products/nRF52840-Preview-DK.

SiLabs has an interesting Gecko BT5 chip as well.
http://www.silabs.com/products/wireless/bluetooth/blue-gecko-bluetooth-smart-socs

[NeverDie]

1 megabyte of flash and 256K of RAM! And long range too! Wow, that NRF52840 takes things to a whole new level. When will we be seeing regular modules with it beyond just the developer kits?

Also, the inevitable question: is it programmable through the Arduino IDE? I sure hope the answer is yes.

[scalz]

840 is pretty new, and if i'm not wrong, final version is planned in few month for end of year (it's a bga package, and preview version), there are a very few modules actually, but expensive to order, for a beta though. So if there is a support for it in Arduino, it could be not complete yet. i'll tell you more when i'll get mine :)

[NeverDie]

OK, so if we wanted to make something today (or, at least before the end of the year), what module should we use now such that the nRF52840 will be an easy upgrade when it arrives later and sells for (hopefully) cheap on Aliexpress? Would it be the nRF51422 (which I don't believe does long range)? In fact, I'm not sure whether Nordic has anything long range before this nRF52840. That's kinda why I was looking at the cypress or silicon labs product lines, not knowing that Nordic had something in the wings already.

When it does become available, it looks as though it will be around $7 for quantity 1: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Nordic-Semiconductor/nRF52840-QIAA-R7/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMve4%2FbfQkoj%252bGh7uW9JJ8VYnj7XFjezTdQ%3D

Actually, it says 16 week lead time, so that's more or less consistent with what Scalz said.

[NeverDie]

This whole topic has been brewing in the back of my mind for a couple years now:
https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/1788/nrf51822-as-an-all-in-one
and
https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/3836/anyone-besides-me-looking-into-long-range-bluetooth-for-their-wireless-nodes

With the nRF52840, it looks as though the moment has finally arrived to tie it all together and give it a try. :)

I just have no idea where to even begin though. Just order the nRF52840 preview DK? Is it fairly quick to get something up and running, or is it a fairly steep learning curve?

[NeverDie]

@Terrence said in Minimalist SAMD21 TQFP32 Pro Mini:

@NeverDie I love the new 51840 (the one that does the long distance, the 832 is the High throughput chip) Please work with the 840.

I have the nRF52840 Preview DK, but have not fired it up yet. Still trying to understand how to code Bluetooth.
http://www.nordicsemi.com/eng/Products/nRF52840-Preview-DK.

SiLabs has an interesting Gecko BT5 chip as well.
http://www.silabs.com/products/wireless/bluetooth/blue-gecko-bluetooth-smart-socs

Even though you said 840 rather than 832, might the 832 yet still be a decent way to get started?
https://www.adafruit.com/product/3406
And then transition to the 840 when it becomes more available? At least the 832 is in the same nRF52 samily as the 840.

My hunch is that bluetooth long range is going to win, because regular bluetooth is already baked into everything.

[Terrence]

@NeverDie I think the 832 would be a good start until the 840 is available. I think all programming will be the same for when we switch over the 840. I am not 100% sure though.

I have been looking at the AdaFruit 832 since it came out, but have not pulled the trigger yet, as I have not yet opened my 840 dev kit.

We can definitely program the AdaFruit 832 with Arduino.

I agree with you that BT5 long range is the way to the future due to it's low energy, great built in security, long range and no additional chip required.... and >>because regular bluetooth is already baked into everything.

[scalz]

I agree with @Terrence ;)
For end users, i think you won't see a big diff in Arduino when 840 will be released. but they are not really the same inside..
Also 840 is Nordic flagship, so it won't be as cheap as nrf51 series soon. And the same applies to 832 which is still affordable regarding specs. That's why they've released the 810, for lower cost, same RF perf as 832, but less memory.

[Terrence]

@scalz said in Minimalist SAMD21 TQFP32 Pro Mini:

same RF perf as 832, but less memory

but no long range right?

So scalz it is your understanding that the coding will be the same on the 832 and when we start getting the 840, but the distance will just increase?