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flashing problem with some nrf52832 shields using the DK-nrf52

Hello

i just bought my DK-nrf52 to move to BLE after playing few months with arduino. I have connected various nrf52832 shields from China (from Holyiot 17095, which is very small). 

after learning the basics from Keil and your board. i finally compile and flashed correctly the blinky example using the s132. 

first i have to report this has been a very long time consuming because i might not have found the community to help for that. is there any links that you might share from people doing simple tutorials? the one i have seen from you are very generic and doesnt go far enough for beginers like me. 

saying so. i do have problem flashing more complexe example on my nrf52832, for instance the proximity_ble example compiles and is flashed on the device without any error on Keil. but no phone can detect this device? 

i have also noticed, that sometimes, flashing from Keil is mentionning that the content is flashed successfully as well as the program is running, while (either on the DKnr52 board or the external devices, the former program is still running. 

Sorry for asking all my questions in the same message. but i try to move fast because i noticed that the nrf52832 seems having a low distance of fonctionning (few meters) the proximity app on my phone is mentionning that the signal is lost after few meters. Is that normal? if so, i might have to come back to my arduino and HC06 Bluetooth. I hope i misunderstood something about that. 

thanks a lot

Philoppe

  • Hi Philippe,

    I would like you to take some time and go through the links posted in this thread which can help you get an overview of the different tools and resources.

    I would also recommend you check out the different tutorials made by a fellow colleague. 


    For the Proximity Application:

    Are you following the steps in the documentation? And you make sure to flash the softdevice as well?

    Are you using nRF Toolbox or nRF Connect app?

    Do you disconnect from the peripheral after a few meters or does it just show that your are "out of proximity", but still connected?  

  • Hello Martin

    thanks so much for your help. I will read carefully the links you sent to me. 

    Regarding proximity app. i did flash the softdevice as well. Keil is doing it automatically actually. it erase the device, and flash the s132 content. (from what i understood) 

    I paired the device into the settings/bluetooth of the phone (actually it worked for one component but it couldnt pair the Holyiot 17095) both of these components are coming from the same vendor using the nrF52832 (i hope the device is using your original chip?)

    then i used the nRF toolbox / proximity app and add the device to the to the tags list. but it loose the connection with the device apparently 

    thanks

    Philippe

  • Hello Philippe,

    That sounds good.

    Just to confirm, you flashed the Softdevice with Keil following these tips?

    For flashing the Softdevice, I usually recommend using nrfjprog. It is fast, easy and very stable.

     

    Also, could you be a little more specific when you in your description. When you mention "device", is this nrf52DK, a module or something else?

    You flashed one DK and one module with the same application, but you could only pair one of them with "nrf toolbox"? 

    How do you know you are losing connection?

    I recommend that you try nrf Connect app, it is better for debugging and to actually see whats going on.

  • there are other blog post links bellow that helps to make it easier to write BLE firmware.

    Eclipse GCC environment development for nRF51 & nRF52 series. Eclipse is totally free without restrictions. 

    BLE programming the easy way.  Many example code to write BLE firmware with Eclipse as easy as Arduino

  • Hi Martin, Sorry for my late answer. i watched the introduction to the BLE tutorial. they are interesting but a little theoretical. As a beginner i would need much more "Hands on " tutorials. i will keep digging into your litterature. 

    Yes i read this way to proceed to flash the Softdevice with Keil. i did erase the DK or the components(shields) and then loaded the hex file from the sdk  nRF5_SDK_10.0.0/examples/ble_peripheral/ble_app_proximity/hex/ble_app_proximity_pca10040_s132.hex  i also tried to compile and load the build hex file from this sample. It works pretty good with the nrf52DK i bought (using the chip on board). i do have the warning "nRF Toolbox Nordic_Prox is gatting away?" after walking 8 to 9 meters away from the nRF52DK. then  I used 2  kind of nrf52382 external shields from China and connected to the nRF52DK. i have been able to both flash them. one is working well except the distance before having the message i mention earlier is very small (few meters, may be one or two) and the second chip rejects the pairing with the phone and of course can not be seen in the nRF Toolbox. 

    I guess i understood how to connect and flash external nrf52832 using the nRF52DK using Keil. but i would love to find a much easier tutorial (like for arduino), where you just connect to the device, and send message to it with a terminal. This proximity thing is really complex for a beginner. not to mention that for now i am just trying to understand the hardware connection, firmware flashing... the next big step will be to understand how it is programmed. 

    Thanks a lot for your help. i will try to look at nrf Connect app

    Warm regards

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