nRF5 action!

[scalz]

I don't think sendSignalStrength function is implemented yet, but you should be able to get this info with:

int16_t transportGetSendingRSSI(void)
int16_t transportGetReceivingRSSI(void)

[Toyman]

How can I redefine UART pins in nrf51822? For example, if I want to have p13 as uart tx?

[scalz]

@Toyman
it has been explained above in the topic ;)
you have to follow

• https://github.com/mysensors/ArduinoBoards
• https://github.com/mysensors/ArduinoHwNRF5

[rmtucker]

@scalz
Rssi works really well.
Thank you.

[rmtucker]

So range test.
Using esp8266 with standard nrf24 not amplified gateway at one end of the house.
Nrf51822 node in garage which is not fastened to house so at a guess 15m through 3 brick walls is reporting -86db.
I think that is quite respectable.;-)

[Toyman]

@scalz thx.

[Omemanti]

Regarding the PCB/KiCad comments.
I was trying out KiCad and copied the NRF52832 DC/DC schematic from the datasheet.

It might be of help for someone.
https://github.com/Omemanti/KiCAD/tree/master/NRF52832

PS. been at KiCad for a couple of hours, been used to Eagle, so please double check.

[NeverDie]

@rmtucker said in nRF5 Bluetooth action!:

@NeverDie
As mentioned earlier by someone the nrf52 is preset to 0.6v internal ref and a 1/5 divider so 0 - 3v is the max input so your calculation is correct.
The nrf51 is different because the ref can be set to a few different settings but the default is vdd.

I've lately found that I seem to get a more accurate measurement if I multiply by 3131 instead of 3000. Just an empirical result with no real theory behind it.

[gohan]

I don't know if it is actually related, but I'll post the link to this programmer :)
adafruit.com/product/3571

[NeverDie]

What's going to be the best way to reduce the sleep current and Tx current on the nRF52? Since I'm feeding off a supercap for power, it's noticeably worse (by an order of magnitude) on the same task than the atmega328p+rfm69 combo. I've already increased the datarate to 2mbps, and it's inherently lower Tx current should give it a natural advantage.

I guess I'll try reducing Tx power and see if that makes much of a dent....

I suppose reducing 3 separate packets to one single packet, and maybe turning off ACK requests might also help. Then, maybe all of the LONG_WAIT's can be eliminated. Is the radio still awake even if the CPU is sleeping during a "wait" period? If so, that might be a large chunk of the wasted power.

I wonder if the mysensors mesh networking (which I don't intend to use) might be getting in the way, and possibly keeping it awake longer than it otherwise would be? Can I disable the mysensors meshnetworking just to be sure?

Sorry for the shotgun blast of questions, but I'm trying to get a sense of what will yield the highest payoff.

[NeverDie]

Since I'll be reducing Tx power in an attempt to reduce current consumption, I'll be using a scanner program to try to find empty channels. The only one I know of is: https://github.com/nRF24/RF24/tree/master/examples/scanner
for the nRF24L01, but it seems to work well enough if you let it run awhile. Anyone else using one that they like?

[NeverDie]

@NeverDie said in nRF5 Bluetooth action!:

Since I'll be reducing Tx power in an attempt to reduce current consumption, I'll be using a scanner program to try to find empty channels. The only one I know of is: https://github.com/nRF24/RF24/tree/master/examples/scanner
for the nRF24L01, but it seems to work well enough if you let it run awhile. Anyone else using one that they like?

Nevermind. I see now that there's an entire entry on it:
https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/2454/node-cant-see-gateway-less-than-10m-away/11

[Nca78]

@gohan said in nRF5 Bluetooth action!:

I don't know if it is actually related, but I'll post the link to this programmer :)
adafruit.com/product/3571

Not sure it's even legal to use this if you ever plan to sell PCBs on openhardware.io ...

You may use the J-Link EDU for non profit educational purposes only! Non-profit educational purposes means that you >may not use the J-Link EDU and its J-Link software.

• direct or indirect in or for a profit organization or business purposes or other undertaking intended for profit
• direct or indirect in any other commercial environment (e.g. office)
• to develop, debug, program or manufacturer a commercial product (or parts thereof)
• to use it to either earn money or reasonably anticipate the receipt of monetary gain from it.

[gohan]

@Nca78 Educational versions of many things can not be used for commercial purposes, maybe they got an agreement as it will be sold primarily to hobbyists.

[NeverDie]

In my testing, NRF5_PA_LOW did offer some modest reduction in overall current consumption, but it's no silver bullet.

The range with NRF5_PA_MIN is just a few feet, so I don't consider it practical for the vast majority of use cases.

So, further reductions in current consumption will have to come from somewhere (?) else.

I suppose the next step is to turn-off auto ACK's and any listening for ACK's by the mote. Hopefully (?) there's a switch in myconfig which does that.

[d00616]

I have checked the current with my nRF52 board with integrated shunt. I have measured 6.5µA while sleeping until timeout or sleeping until interrupt. It doesn't matter if RX/TX are connected but after flashing the firmware a reset by removing the voltage is required.

There was an bug, with any type of sleep(0) which is fixed by this PR https://github.com/mysensors/MySensors/pull/909

[NeverDie]

Unless I'm doing it unwittingly, I'm not doing any sleep(0)'s at present.

[NeverDie]

I'm finding that having a very simple adapter board, such as that in the photo here, is quite convenient both for programming and for powering the nRF52832, and for wiring-up prototypes. I made my breakout board for breadboards, but those connections are always just too flakey. Maybe I need to use better breadboards? Anyhow, this meets the requirement for reliable, solid connections.

[NeverDie]

I removed this useless block of code from the main loop, which, with its long waits, may have been what was draining the power:

	Serial.println("");
	Serial.println("");
	Serial.println("");
	Serial.println("#########################");
	randNumber=random(0,101);

	Serial.print("RandomNumber:");
	Serial.println(randNumber);
	// Send fake battery level
	Serial.println("Send Battery Level");
	sendBatteryLevel(randNumber);
	wait(LONG_WAIT);

	// Request time
	Serial.println("Request Time");
	requestTime();
	wait(LONG_WAIT);

[rmtucker]

@NeverDie
When you are comparing the atmega 328 and the nrf52 what sketch are you using to come to your conclusions?.