Testing nRF5340 DK + nRF21540 EK using ncs 2.7 with child Image

[DHARA]

Hello,

I want to test nRF21540 EK with a nRF5340 DK.

I am using ncs 2.7, and don't want to use sys build. I want to use child image/ hci_ipc. 

I modified ncs/zephyr/samples/bluetooth/beacon sample to include hci_ipc_prj.conf file for MPSL Configurations for TX Gain setting and such as follows:

I also modified the nrf5340dk board files to configure nRf21540 FEM for SPI+GPIO as follows:

I connected the nRf21540 EK to nRF5340.

Build command issued is:

nrfutil toolchain-manager launch --ncs-version v2.7.0 west build -- --pristine -b nrf5340dk/nrf5340/cpuapp ./ncs/zephyr/samples/bluetooth/beacon_nrf21540/

nrfutil toolchain-manager launch --ncs-version v2.7.0 west flash

I was expecting to see build/hci_ipc/ folder with build/hci_ipc/zephyr/.config file with all MPSL settings, but I do not see the file.

When I test the build as well, I see beaconing happening from nRf5340 DK itself and nRf21540 is not being used at all by netcore. 

What do I do to get the MPSL settings in .config file in hci_ipc build and to actually get nRf21540 be controlled by netcore of nRF5340?

Above file changes can be used to replicate the issue/behavior.

Thanks,
Dhara

[MJJ]

From: Dhara Solanki <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2025 6:56 PM
To: Veilleux, Daniel <[email protected]>
Cc: Frey, Craig <[email protected]>; Dave Stude <[email protected]>; Omair Qazi <[email protected]>; J. Jones, Michael <[email protected]>; Riddhi Patel <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Life360][Nordic] nrf21540 spi control for Tx gain

Thanks Daniel. I’ll give this a try tomorrow. 

 

On Tue, Jan 14, 2025 at 5:27 PM Veilleux, Daniel <[email protected]> wrote:

Hello Dhara,

You don't need any jumpers. I don't have an nRF21540 shield here but I can see GPIO and SPI activity on the headers. The FEM is controlled by the MPSL — which isn't used by default in the Zephyr samples — so I started with "nrf/samples/bluetooth/peripheral_uart" in v2.7.0. Then:

1. Open a shell:
   1. nrfutil toolchain-manager launch --shell --chdir "/home/foolsday/workspace/ncs" --ncs-version v2.7.0
2. Extract the attached zip file to create a "child_image" dir containing cpunet conf and overlay files. This accomplishes two important things:

8171.child_image.zip

1. 1. CONFIG_MPSL_FEM_NRF21540_GPIO_SPI=y
   2. Disable UART0

1. Build:

1. 1. west build -p -b nrf5340dk/nrf5340/cpuapp --no-sysbuild -- -DSHIELD=nrf21540ek_fwd -Dhci_ipc_SHIELD=nrf21540ek

1. Flash

1. 1. west flash --recover

Here is what the default GPIO pins looks like during advertising:

 

Let me know how it goes!

 

 

Best regards,

Daniel