Does nrf52840 dongle have to work with Softdevice?

[TGuanLa]

Hello all,

I'm using a custom nrf52840 dongle. There are some questions about bootloader and Softdevice. Everything works fine when I use nrf Bluetooth Low Energy app to program this dongle as "nRF52 Connectivity". But when I try to program blinky sample to it by nrf Programmer app, the nrf52840 dongle doesn't seem running the code. After auto resetting, there is nothing happened.

When I program "s132_nrf52_5.0.0_softdevice.hex" to this nrf52840 dongle by nrf Programmer app, it runs correctly.

 I have already checked the pin set.

I'm using vscode to build the blinky sample with nRF Connect SDK v2.3.0. I select nrf52840dongle_nrf52840 as configuration.

Here are the blinky hex and s132_nrf52_5.0.0_softdevice.hex.

 

Here is the SCH of the custom nrf52840 dongle I'm using.

I wonder why my dongle cannot run samples and other applications. Does nrf52840 dongle have to work with Softdevice?

Thanks!

[Jared]

Hi,

When I program "s132_nrf52_5.0.0_softdevice.hex" to this nrf52840 dongle by nrf Programmer app, it runs correctly.

 I have already checked the pin set.

I'm using vscode to build the blinky sample with nRF Connect SDK v2.3.0. I select nrf52840dongle_nrf52840 as configuration.

Here are the blinky hex and s132_nrf52_5.0.0_softdevice.hex.

Here you are mixing between 2 different development environments. The Softdevice belongs to the legacy nRF5 SDK, while nRF Connect SDK is new development environment independent of the Softdevice. 

Are you using nRF5SDK or nRF Connect SDK?

regards

Jared 

[TGuanLa]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply!

Jared said:

Are you using nRF5SDK or nRF Connect SDK?

I have tried both nRF5SDK and nRF Connect SDK. I also have did some tests with simple examples.

For nRF5SDK, I firstly built dfu/open_bootloader_usb_mbr_pca10059 example with SES and downloaded with JLink. Then I built blinky_pca10059_mbr example with SES and programed with nRF ProgrammerV4.3.0 via USB port. Everything works fine.

For nRF Connect SDK, I tried to use nRF Programmer to program my dongle which is in dfu mode via USB port. Firstly, I used the samedfu/open_bootloader_usb_mbr_pca10059 hex to program my dongle by SES and JLink. Then I built blinky example with nRF Connect SDKv2.3.0 which build configuration was set as nrf52840dongle_nrf52840. I  used nRF ProgrammerV4.3.0 to program blinky hex to my dongle via USB port. After successful writing, my dongle didn't work. It seemed getting stuck. 

By the way, I tried to use VS Code and JLink to debug nRF Connect SDKv2.3.0 blinky sample on my dongle. Without any breakpoint, the program firstly stopped at "compiler_barrier();" in device.h line 55. When I clicked Continue button, the program run correctly on my dongle.

Because my previous ESB project was built by nRF Connect SDKv2.3.0, I have to use nRF Connect SDKv2.3.0 on my dongle. Is there any solutions to make nRF Connect SDKv2.3.0 code run correctly on my dongle?

 Thanks!

[Jared]

Hi,

Can you send me the build folder after you have built the sample in nRF Connect SDK that you flash to your dongle?  

regards

Jared 

[TGuanLa]

0638.blinky.zip

[Jared]

Hi,

The issue is that your project has enabled external DC/DC but you have no DC/DC components on your board. This will result in the application never starting as it's waiting for the DC/DC to start first. The solution is to disable DC/DC by setting 

CONFIG_BOARD_ENABLE_DCDC=n

CONFIG_BOARD_ENABLE_DCDC_HV=n

In your project config file,

regards

Jared 

[TGuanLa]

It works correctly! Thank you so much!