RE: Dev kits supplied by 3rd party module makers [n00b]

Yvonne — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 09:11:45 GMT

Thanks for taking the time to answer so comprehensively. I can now move on and remain supplier agnostic. The kit to make a bed of nails is now on my shopping list - I've been wondering how people create temporary connections. For others wondering I am guessing that is as shown here and here.

RE: Dev kits supplied by 3rd party module makers [n00b]

RK — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 00:16:38 GMT

Are you talking about how to move from a development environment to a production board using 3rd party modules? If so the answers to your questions are

1, 2, 3. Yes.

No. All the manufacturer dev kits are just dev boards with their version of the nRF52 carrier board on board and some LEDs and buttons etc. You're fine just using the Nordic dev kit and then creating a board using the 3rd party kit.
Yes it would need to expose SWD connections, but they all do (see answer below)
That depends. If a module comes without anything on it then no you can't flash it over the air, you have to hook up the debug interface and put some code on it. Some of the modules you can buy have very exposed edge contacts and it would be simple to construct a quick 'bed of nails' board to connect to them and initially program them, then solder them in. The old Rigado BMD-200 module was like that, the new BMD-300, not so. Some of the modules however do come with software pre-installed, again Rigado is an example (sorry but I've used their stuff more than anything else before starting to make my own layouts). If the chip comes pre-programmed with a DFU over the air solution, you can use that. I always put an SWD interface on my boards because I always want the option of putting a hardware debugger on them if something goes wrong. You can use a small-footprint debug connector if you expect to use it rarely, or put the layout on the board but only populate the connector if you need it.