Soft device error

[Paul Mercer]

Hi,

I am in the process of evaluating the nRF52840 and have the Nordic nRF82840 DK development board.

I am using the Segger Embedded Studio for evaluation.

The following examples are being used:-

GitHub - NordicPlayground/nrf52-ble-app-uart-long-range

The project compile after some interaction with Segger Tech support, but not running correctly.

I have put the board into debug mode, and get the following the attached error.Softdevice error.pdf

Segger are saying this is a Nordic issue and not compiler.

Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Best Regards

Paul

[Simonr]

Hi

So, you're lacking a matching network from your antenna, so the radio performance might not be great, but it should work as expected anyway. Do you see any radio events at all coming from the custom board at very close distances? 

What does your debug log say now by the way? And do you have the datasheet of the 32 MHz crystal you're using so we can make sure it's loaded correctly?

Best regards,

Simon

[Paul Mercer]

Hi Simon,

I have put an oscilloscope onto the 32Mhz crystal, and it is the same on the dev board as my board so would say is OK. 

One thing I have noticed which may be causing the issue:-

The dev board is using a BGA package and I'm using the QFN48. The UartE TX on the dev board is P0.06, but that doesn't exist on the QFN48. I have P0.08 assigned for the TX (as per the schematic I sent). 

Is it possible this will generate a hardware/software error stopping the board running correctly?

I have had a look through the code, and can't see how to reassign to different pins.

Is there a tool where I can generate my own board from scratch (I have used similar things on other processors)?

Best Regards

Paul

[Simonr]

Hi Paul

That might be. What GPIOs are used for what peripherals etc. is set in the .dts (devicetree) file of your project, and you can create an overlay file to match your specific board to use pins that exist on your package variant.

We have a DeviceTree tool in the nRF Connect SDK VS code extension that works as a GUI to make overlay files more easy to follow and edit. This case also has a healthy discussion on pin assignments in the nRF Connect SDK.

Best regards,

Simon