Power Profiler kit disconnects and the NRF52DK

[agrelogix]

Hello, 

First time posting, Here are the details of my setup, I would greatly appreciate any help from anyone at this point.
I have purchased 2 nrf52 development kits with 2 power profiler kits to go with them. I am trying to measure the current / power consumption of a lithium ion battery CR2477 in a small test circuit.

1 NRF52DK with 1 PPK plugged together / stacked.

1 external circuit / hardware in breadboard.

1 CR2477 coin cell lithium ion battery (3.0 V).

1 Computer with NRF Connect wand power consumption app installed. (V. 2.3.2 for NRF connect, and 2.0 for the power) 

The NRF52DK has jumper SB9 cut, and SB12 joined (as SB12 is for external source)

I have 2 jumper cables running from the battery holder, to the PPK External supply. 

I also have 2 jumpers running from External DUT to power the breadboarded circuit.

After I've connected the DK to the computer (PC) it asks for a firmware update, I agree and continue. I select the COM port to use and select start.

It seems to work from here, and we'll get to that in a bit. But after pressing start, the system disconnects or drops into an error for no apparent reason. Please see image below:

I'm not sure if the quality is good enough, however the text under the red highlight it says: "Corrupt data detected, please check connection to PPK"

At this point nothing has changed, no cable has moved, and I checked various micro usb cables connected to the DK. 

The issue persists. 

Another screenshot of the logged info can be found below: 

I'm not sure if this is a known issue, but we're in a tight deadline to test our circuits for power consumption / battery life and it's a bit troublesome that it doesn't work as expected. 

I would greatly appreciate anyone's help. I have this setup up and ready to run if anyone has any suggestions or need more information from the device / me.

Thank you in advance

[Bjørn Kvaale]

Now it worked to insert an image. Be aware that you should not power the nrf52DK via usb if you have shorted SB12, as stated in this link: "While SB11 or SB12 is shorted, the development kit must not be powered from the USB if there is a battery or external supply connected because the protection diode has been bypassed."

However, if you are careful not to go over the external supply limits of the DK, this should be fine. Also, it seems like you have now connected your battery circuit to connect to External Supply on the PPK instead of External Supply on the DK. Is this correct?

I am still slightly uncertain about your setup. Is it a similar setup to Figure 2 at this link? The battery holder that you connect to External Supply on the PPK is a different circuit to the External Device Under Test, correct? Have you made sure to set the switches correctly on the PPK like shown in Figure 2 (depending on your setup, Figure 1 might also be appropriate).

Everything else seems correct. Most likely you have made one small mistake somewhere that has led to this issue.

[agrelogix]

Hi Bjorn,

I did read that part of not using the USB to power the board, however if you notice the following image, they do use the usb to do the data acquisition (as long as the switches are properly set to external).

My setup is exactly this, and my switches for:  DUT select = External, Power Select = External, COM = DK.

Once I plug in the board, NRFConnect asks for a firmware upgrade, which does not allow you to ignore / bypass... I personally think it might have to do something with this new firmware. 

[Bjørn Kvaale]

Have you tried using a different usb cable? That could be the issue. I have asked a developer to take a look at this issue. Will get back to you soon.