How can i enable dcdc regulator

[Oguzhann]

Hi everybody,

I want to try dcdc module. I want to figure out How can i reduce current consumption.

I have a this 2 configuration in sdk_config.h

1) 

// <e> POWER_ENABLED - nrf_drv_power - POWER peripheral driver - legacy layer

//==========================================================

#ifndef POWER_ENABLE

#define POWER_ENABLED 0

#endif

// <o> POWER_CONFIG_IRQ_PRIORITY  - Interrupt priority

 

// <i> Priorities 0,2 (nRF51) and 0,1,4,5 (nRF52) are reserved for SoftDevice

// <0=> 0 (highest)

// <1=> 1

// <2=> 2

// <3=> 3

// <4=> 4

// <5=> 5

// <6=> 6

// <7=> 7

#ifndef POWER_CONFIG_IRQ_PRIORITY

#define POWER_CONFIG_IRQ_PRIORITY 6

#endif

// <q> POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCEN  - The default configuration of main DCDC regulator

 

// <i> This settings means only that components for DCDC regulator are installed and it can be enabled.

#ifndef POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCEN

#define POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCEN 1

#endif

// <q> POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCENHV  - The default configuration of High Voltage DCDC regulator

 

// <i> This settings means only that components for DCDC regulator are installed and it can be enabled.

#ifndef POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCENHV

#define POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCENHV 0

#endif

// </e>


2)

// <e> NRFX_POWER_ENABLED - nrfx_power - POWER peripheral driver

//==========================================================

#ifndef NRFX_POWER_ENABLED

#define NRFX_POWER_ENABLED 0

#endif

// <o> NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_IRQ_PRIORITY  - Interrupt priority

 

// <0=> 0 (highest)

// <1=> 1

// <2=> 2

// <3=> 3

// <4=> 4

// <5=> 5

// <6=> 6

// <7=> 7

#ifndef NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_IRQ_PRIORITY

#define NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_IRQ_PRIORITY 6

#endif

// <q> NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCEN  - The default configuration of main DCDC regulator

 

// <i> This settings means only that components for DCDC regulator are installed and it can be enabled.

#ifndef NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCEN

#define NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCEN 1

#endif

// <q> NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCENHV  - The default configuration of High Voltage DCDC regulator

 

// <i> This settings means only that components for DCDC regulator are installed and it can be enabled.

#ifndef NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCENHV

#define NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCENHV 0

#endif

// </e>

What is the differences between these two configurations?

and is this enough for enable dcdc regülator.

[Edvin]

The reason some of the definitions say NRFX while others doesn't is only for backwards compatibility. If you open your application project, and search for the apply_old_config.h.

In the end, it is the NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCEN that is being used, but it may not be the same as you define it to be in the sdk_config.h. You can see in the apply_old_config.h file that if the POWER_ENABLED is defined (it can be set to 0 but still be defined), it will undef NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCEN and then redefine it to be equal to POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCEN. 

However, I never remember which way this goes without looking it up in the apply_old_config.h file, so I ususally just set them to be equal in sdk_config.h.

You may also need to add the file SDK\modules\nrfx\drivers\src\nrfx_power.c, if you have not already included it. You also need to call nrf_drv_power_init(NULL), and include the files needed for this, such as SDK\integration\nrfx\legacy\nrf_drv_power.c

When this is called, it will call nrfx_power_init() with p_config.dcdcen = NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCEN.

To verify that the DCDC is enabled, you can read the DCDCEN register using nrfjprog:

nrfjprog --memrd 0x40000578

and it should say 0x00000001 if it is enabled, and 0x00000000 if it is disabled. 

Hope that helps. Let me know if you are stuck.

Best regards,

Edvin

[Oguzhann]

I did not see any apply_old_config.h

[Oguzhann]

is this function necessery? 

    err_code = sd_power_dcdc_mode_set(NRF_POWER_DCDC_ENABLE);

    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);


is nrfx just for old version ? can i remove it from sdk_config.h?

where should i use nrfx_power_init()? begining of main function or anywhere else?

[Edvin]

no. NRFX is the new drivers. Keep them. You can remove the old ones if you like.

The apply_old_config.h is located in SDK17.1.0\integration\nrfx\legacy\apply_old_config.h

Yes. If you have enabled the softdevice, you can use sd_power_dcdc_mode_set(), if not, you can use the nrf_drv_power_init(NULL),

Best regards,

Edvin

[Oguzhann]

I am using SDK17 and nrf52810 custom board. I tried to manage enable DCDC Regulator. For this, i removed old version config sentences, i changed the sdk_config.h :

// <e> NRFX_POWER_ENABLED - nrfx_power - POWER peripheral driver

//==========================================================

#ifndef NRFX_POWER_ENABLED

#define NRFX_POWER_ENABLED 1

#endif

// <o> NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_IRQ_PRIORITY  - Interrupt priority

 

// <0=> 0 (highest)

// <1=> 1

// <2=> 2

// <3=> 3

// <4=> 4

// <5=> 5

// <6=> 6

// <7=> 7

#ifndef NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_IRQ_PRIORITY

#define NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_IRQ_PRIORITY 6

#endif

// <q> NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCEN  - The default configuration of main DCDC regulator

 

// <i> This settings means only that components for DCDC regulator are installed and it can be enabled.

#ifndef NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCEN

#define NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCEN 1

#endif

// <q> NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCENHV  - The default configuration of High Voltage DCDC regulator

 

// <i> This settings means only that components for DCDC regulator are installed and it can be enabled.

#ifndef NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCENHV

#define NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCENHV 0

#endif

// </e>

end then i call this function respectively. is there any wrong thing in enable process?

ret_code_t err_code = nrf_sdh_enable_request();
APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

err_code = nrfx_drv_power_init(NULL);
APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

err_code = sd_power_dcdc_mode_set(NRF_POWER_DCDC_ENABLE); APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);

err_code  = nrf_sdh_ble_enable(&ram_start);

APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);