current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

FormerMember — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 09:09:36 GMT

I cannot understand anything else other than the RTC1 is not running. Could you explicitly start the RTC and then immediately read its values:

	case BSP_EVENT_KEY_0:
	                    RTC1->TASKS_START = 1;
	                    nrf_ms_delay(5);
						rtc_value = NRF_RTC1->COUNTER; 
						NRF_LOG_INFO("RTC value: %d \n\r", rtc_value);
						nrf_ms_delay(5);
						rtc_value = NRF_RTC1->COUNTER; 
						NRF_LOG_INFO("RTC value 2: %d \n\r", rtc_value);

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

Mathias — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 15:05:48 GMT

Unfortunately, this does not change anything.

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

FormerMember — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 12:46:55 GMT

In the button push event, could you do two read-outs of the RTC1 value, to check if the RTC1 value changes. It should give an indication of whether RTC1 is running or not.

	case BSP_EVENT_KEY_0:
						rtc_value = NRF_RTC1->COUNTER; 
						NRF_LOG_INFO("RTC value: %d \n\r", rtc_value);
						nrf_ms_delay(5);
						rtc_value = NRF_RTC1->COUNTER; 
						NRF_LOG_INFO("RTC value 2: %d \n\r", rtc_value);

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

Mathias — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 09:17:54 GMT

Thanks for taking the effort to test it. I really appreciate your help so far.

I also tried it on the ble_app_hrs (I use nRF51-DK, SDK 11, S130 v2.0) with the push of button 2 printing the COUNTER register. I also get non-zero and seemingly correct values both in advertising and connected state.

But when I try the same on my peripheral example (so also with a push on button 2 printing the COUNTER register) I still get strange results in connected state. In advertising state it prints fine, but in connected state it starts printing the same values after each other:

839
167
906
167
167
167
167
167
167
167
168
167
...

So a bit strange. I used to print the values in the radio off event of the radio notification handler and there the register values still give 0 in the connected state. I guess it will have something to do with my example specifically but I wouldn't know what I do wrong. It's just a application that reads out an accelerometer with I2C and sends the measured data over a BLE connection. Could it have something to do with the TWI operation?

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

FormerMember — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 13:36:47 GMT

I just tested again reading the counter value, and it works fine to read NRF_RTC1-COUNTER, both when the device is advertising, and when in connected state (nRF51-DK, SDK 12.3.0, S132 v.2.0.1, ble_app_hrs)

	case BSP_EVENT_KEY_0:
						rtc_value = NRF_RTC1->COUNTER; //NRF_RTC1->CC[0];
						NRF_LOG_INFO("RTC value: %d \n\r", rtc_value);

Another option is to do the following:

NRF_RTC1->CC[0] = NRF_RTC1->COUNTER;
rtc_value = NRF_RTC1->CC[0];

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

Mathias — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 11:20:31 GMT

App_timer is used in my application. And I'm using nRF51 so unfortunately, I can only use RTC1. But I don't need the timer I defined, I just need to get the value of the Counter register of RTC1 at any moment I want. And I don't understand why that gives me 0 when the SoftDevice and thus my application, is in a BLE connection, which is the same issue as the people above I believe.

I "fixed" the register giving 0 by starting a self defined timer when in a connection, but I don't understand why I would need to do that? If app_timer is used, I presume that RTC1 is thus active and used and thus the Counter register should be giving me correct values without needing me to start a self defined timer, no?

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

FormerMember — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 10:29:09 GMT

Is app_timer used somewhere in your application? I so, your timer and app_timer will share RTC1. In that case, could you try to use RTC2 instead for your timer?

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

Mathias — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 07:51:25 GMT

Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be working. If I explicitly start RTC1 using NRF_RTC1->TASKS_START = 1, and don't run the empty, self defined timer anymore, I again get 0 on every request for the RTC1 Counter register's value.

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

FormerMember — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 07:26:19 GMT

I see. I had forgotten what this thread was about.

It should not be necessary to to use the app_timer module, what is necessary is to explicitly start RTC1. You should get the same result if you do the following:

NRF_RTC1->TASKS_START = 1;

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

Mathias — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 08:16:15 GMT

Well, I have the same problem as the two people above. If use the SoftDevice but don't connect (so just stay advertising), app_timer_cnt_get gives me the current value of the RTC1 Counter register, as expected. But when the advertiser connects with a central and thus becomes a peripheral, app_timer_cnt_get gives 0 constantly.

The app_timer module is used in my application and initializes RTC1 with a prescaler of 0. Above you stated "When you are using app_timer with the softdevice, could you try to explicitly start app_timer using app_timer_start(..), and see if that changes anything?". How can you start the app_timer in general with that method (app_timer_start(..) ) ? From what I see in the infocenter, I can only use this method to start self defined timers that use RTC1 underneath. When I start such a timer (with an empty handler and repeated (not single mode) ) using app_timer_start, after a connection is established, app_timer_cnt_get doesn't give me 0 anymore but gives me seemingly correct counter values. But I don't understand why I need to start an unused timer to get this effect?

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

FormerMember — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 07:20:48 GMT

I don't understand what you mean, could you elaborate a little?

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

Mathias — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 14:16:47 GMT

I'm not using RTC0, I'm using RTC1. I don't understand why I need to run a timer, just to ensure the RTC1 is run as well so that I can read the Counter register when needed. I solved it like that now, just by using a repeatable timer that I don't do anything else with. But I still don't understand why I would need that.

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

FormerMember — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 14:02:26 GMT

As stated in the "Hardware peripheral" chapter in the Sotfdevice Specification, RTC0 is "blocked" when using the softdevice:

Blocked:

The hardware peripheral is used by the SoftDevice and is outside the application sandbox.

The application has no access. Interrupts from blocked peripherals are forwarded to the SoftDevice by the MBR and are not available to the application, even inside a Radio Timeslot API timeslot.

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

Mathias — Fri, 06 Apr 2018 09:31:30 GMT

How can you do that if your not using a self-made timer? I have the same issue but I don't understand why you would have to start a new timer just to read out the RTC1->Counter register?

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

FormerMember — Mon, 01 Aug 2016 19:28:20 GMT

"current_time" is defined the following way: static uint32_t current_time

In the code snippet above, current_time gets its value from app_timer_cnt_get(..). For how app_timer works, it may be useful to take a look at the app timer documentation, it can be found here.

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

uly — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 13:19:45 GMT

could you show how to declare current_time, and let it be the RTC count? thanks.

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

FormerMember — Tue, 28 Jun 2016 05:56:42 GMT

The app_timer module uses RTC1 and the softdevice uses RTC0, the softdevice should therefore not have any effect of the RTC1 value.

When you are using app_timer with the softdevice, could you try to explicitly start app_timer using app_timer_start(..), and see if that changes anything?

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

energy — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 09:11:16 GMT

Hi, I have the same problem using sdk 9.0 and an application based on ble_app_uart. Timer init is identical as ble_app_uart (APP_TIMER_INIT called with same APP_TIMER_.. values)

Call to app_timer_cnt_get() returns a correct value (around 33k tics/per sec) when the softdevice is not connected and returns 0 when softdevice is connected. If I disconect the app_timer_cnt_get() works again

How did you fix this problem ? Thanks

Edit: does app_timer_cnt_get requires to start a timer with timer_start to work ?

RE: current time gets 0 after connectiong with bluetooth

FormerMember — Tue, 15 Mar 2016 11:51:28 GMT

How do you initialize the timer?

What is the prescaler set to?

Do you manage the RTC "on your own" somewhere?

To get the current value of the timer, I would recommend you to use the function app_timer_cnt_get(..).

When I test a very similar code of yours here, it works:

  case APP_UART_DATA_READY:
            UNUSED_VARIABLE(app_uart_get(&data_array[index]));
            index++;
						
						if(index%3 == 0)
            {
                //count++;
                err_code = app_timer_cnt_get(&current_time);
		        APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
								
								
		        err_code  = app_timer_cnt_get(&current_time); 
			   nrf_delay_ms(20);
			   err_code  = app_timer_cnt_get(&previous_time);
			   err_code  = app_timer_cnt_get(&duration_time);
			   err_code = app_timer_cnt_diff_compute(current_time,previous_time,&duration_time);
			   APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
			   printf("current:%d\tprevious:%d\tduration:%d\n\r",current_time,previous_time,duration_time);
								
								
			   previous_time = current_time;
               
            }