mesh sensor observer sample on nrf52840 USB dongle

[bjornolsen]

Hello,

I am developing a mesh solution when the nrf52840 USB dongle will act as an observer.

I am using the mesh sensor observer sample. I am able to build and flash it to the device. 

But I am unable to make the USB connection stable. 

I am adding this to the prj.conf (otherwise I am using the default prj.conf in the sample - and I am using SDK2.9)

CONFIG_GPIO=y
CONFIG_USB_DEVICE_STACK=y
CONFIG_USB_DEVICE_PRODUCT="My USB Stick"
CONFIG_USB_DEVICE_MANUFACTURER="My company"
CONFIG_USB_DEVICE_SN="0001"
CONFIG_USB_CDC_ACM=y
CONFIG_USB_DEVICE_INITIALIZE_AT_BOOT=y

CONFIG_SERIAL=y
CONFIG_CONSOLE=y
CONFIG_UART_CONSOLE=y

CONFIG_CJSON_LIB=y

and needed to add this to main file in order for the usb stick to show up at all.

int main(void)
{

	usb_enable(NULL);

    printk("USB enabled\n");
		
	uint32_t start = k_uptime_get();

	while (k_uptime_get() - start < 20000) {  // 20 seconds = 20000 ms
		k_sleep(K_SECONDS(1));
		printk("Printing before enabling BLE! %d\n", k_uptime_get_32());
	}
	

	printk("Starting...\n");

	int err;

	printk("Initializing...\n");

	err = bt_enable(bt_ready);
	if (err) {
		printk("Bluetooth init failed (err %d)\n", err);
	}

	return 0;
}

The output (I use python to read out from the USB port - pyserial) is:

📡 Connected to COM17 at 115200 baud
🔹 *** Booting Mesh Sensor Observer v2.9.0-54e858a1d142 ***
🔹 *** Using nRF Connect SDK v2.9.0-7787b2649840 ***
🔹 *** Using Zephyr OS v3.7.99-1f8f3dc29142 ***
🔹 USB enabled
🔹
🔹 uart:~$ Printing before enabling BLE! 1003
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 2004
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 3004
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 4004
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 5005
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 6005
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 7005
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 8006
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 9006
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 10006
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 11007
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 12007
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 13007
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 14008
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 15008
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 16009
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 17009
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 18009
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 19010
🔹 Printing before enabling BLE! 20010
🔹 Starting...
⚠️ Serial error: ClearCommError failed (PermissionError(13, 'The device does not recognize the command.', None, 22))

So BLE conflicts with the USB - but how to fix this?

[Edvin]

I understand that you are struggling when the BLE stack is enabled, but there are no issues using BLE on the dongle, in itself. I am trying to figure out what causes the BLE stack to fail during initialization. That is why I am asking all these seemingly unrelated questions.

Can you please try this for me. Connect your debugger (like you already have), and open nRF Connect for Desktop -> Programmer, select your programmer/debugger from the drop-down menu on the top left, and select "Read":

This should provide some coloured stripes as shown on the right hand side in that screenshot.  What is currently present there? Feel free to also click "save to file" and upload it here, then I can investigate a bit more. 

Note that this one is not from a dongle with a bootloader. It is just a DK with some simple application. 

If the bootloader is in fact deleted, you need to decide whether you want to program it back in (I don't have it at hand, but I can find it). Or you need to make sure to add "CONFIG_BOARD_HAS_NRF5_BOOTLOADER=n" to your prj.conf, when building for the target board nrf52840dongle/nrf52840. 

Are you currently building with CONFIG_BOARD_HAS_NRF5_BOOTLOADER=n, or not? Because the fact that the dongle is booting in the first place suggests that either CONFIG_BOARD_HAS_NRF5_BOOTLOADER=y (default value when building for the dongle), then the application (with or without softdevice) wouldn't start, unless the bootloader was present. Alternatively, you would not be able to flash it using "nrfutil dfu usb ..." 

But if possible: upload the "save as file" .hex file, and zip and upload the application that you are currently testing. I assume you are still using NCS v2.9.0.

Best regards,

Edvin

[bjornolsen]

I have never tried "BOARD_HAS_NRF5_BOOTLOADER=n" (or =y for that matter). But I tried it now Hello,



We will eventually get to the bottom of this. 

I am using SDK 2.9.

I can program the USB dongle using "nRF Connect for Desktop BLE". Then the BLE works fine for the dongle. So yes, BLE does work on the dongle - this I know.

Here is the programmer after I have programmed it in "nRF Connect for Desktop BLE". There is a nice soft device here, and it looks tidy. This of course works.




I have never tried "BOARD_HAS_NRF5_BOOTLOADER=n" (or =y for that matter). But I tried it now and I get "prj.conf:99: warning: ignoring malformed line 'BOARD_HAS_NRF5_BOOTLOADER=n'". 

When I flash my USB dongle with my own program - e.g. with BLE I cannot read it since it crashes at bootup... but after I reset the device (reset = pressing the button on the side), it looks like this.




I did not have my debugger at hand - but I cannot see how that would help since the device dies when I flash it with BLE (when I use my own code).

Right now I have programmed the dongle with a non-BLE application, which works 100%. 

So something is clearly strange.

maybe I can program it with "nRF Connect for Desktop BLE", and then somehow replace just the application. ..

[bjornolsen]

I suspect the issue is that I am using "option 1" from https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/ncs-latest/page/zephyr/boards/nordic/nrf52840dongle/doc/index.html - then built-in bootloader. 

the perflexiing thing to me is that it seems to work 100% fine except for applications including BLE.

[Edvin]

bjornolsen said:

I did not have my debugger at hand

But to be clear, you did have a debugger at some point?

For me to reproduce this, can you zip and upload the application that you are testing on, so that I can try to reproduce this?

Best regards,

Edvin

[bjornolsen]

Hello again.

Let me share some code and HEX. it may make things easier.

This first example is a modified blinky_pwm with USB support.
I have included the code + 2 overlay files, as well as the HEX for nrf52840DK and nrf52840dongle. When I flash it to each device it works 100% as expected. So all is good here.

blinky_usb.zip

below you will find the mesh_provisioner sample. I have only added output over UART here. This works 100% for nrf52840DK, but for nrf52840dongle I get no output (frozen device or similar). 

mesh_provisioner_usb.zip


This is why I feel that enableing BLE somehow creates a strange problem with nrf52840dongle.

I am using SDK2.9.1