Programming prototype board from 52 DK

RE: Programming prototype board from 52 DK

hmolesworth — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 22:59:17 GMT

It works for me with no changes to a nRF SD52 straight out of the box. P19 is not the same as P20, P19 uses EXT_GND_DETECT whereas P20 uses SH_GND_DETECT. Does it matter? Who knows, they go to different pins on the SAM Segger interface .. but see these photos, They shows P19 correctly programming a target board. When P19 is unplugged the nRF52 DK device is instead programmed. Why such a complicated set of adapters? Because I use 6-pin Tag Connect not 10-pin Tag Connect and we can't find a suitable single adapter.
The equivalent Adafruit connector also shown with 4 wires plugged in as shown does the same job. All the grounds are correctly handled by connections on the adapters whichever of these two options you use. There are no modifications on any of these items.

RE: Programming prototype board from 52 DK

mark waldin — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 15:36:00 GMT

I am using Vdd from the DK 52 and no battery so voltage mismatch is not the issue. What I am saying about nRFGo not seeing the prototype board is this. With prototype board connected to DK52. Power and GND connected from DK to proto via dedicated wires. Proto board also connected via Tag Connect 6 wire link:

1. Run nRFGo and all erasing and programming are applied to DK 52

2. Jumper VTG and Vdd on the DK and nRFGo complains that the processor is not detected

This means 2 things. First, SWIO and SWCLK on the prototype are not communicating with DK. Which is why it finds no processor. Second, Vdd through the Tag Connect cable is not triggering DK programming pass through. Which is why is attempts to program the DK when VTG and Vdd are not jumpered.

RE: Programming prototype board from 52 DK

MartinBL — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 10:11:46 GMT

Then maybe there was a mismatch between the battery's voltage and the Segger MCU's supply voltage (VDD_SAM) on the nRF52 DK. When I measure VDD_SAM on my kit it is around 2.9 V. In general I would assume it works as long as you are above VDD_SAM * 0.7 = ~2 V. Make sure that you use a fresh battery. The battery voltage might drop when you insert it into your module, so at least make sure that you measure its voltage while inserted.

So now you are able to program the Fanstel, but not see it with nRFGo Studio? Is that correct? How do you program it?

RE: Programming prototype board from 52 DK

mark waldin — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 16:02:54 GMT

By using the power supply from the DK 52 instead of the lithium ion battery I was able to program the Fanstel module. That did the trick. Thank you. Now I am back to programming the prototype board as the next final step. I built a connection from the DK 52 to the prototype in order to supply the power from the DK 52 instead of the on board battery. For SWIO and SWCLK I am connecting the boards via Debug Out on the DK 52 and Tag Connect on the prototype board. nRFGo does not see the prototype board even though there is (measured) 3.2V on the Tag Connect Vdd pin. To test I tried bridging Vdd and VTG on the DK 52 and nRFGo shows "Chip not detected". Layout photos and schematic below. I did not populate the board with the external crystal or the detection circuit yet.

RE: Programming prototype board from 52 DK

MartinBL — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 06:36:16 GMT

Can you try to skip the battery and wire everything as shown by user 'Remi' in this post: https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/f/nordic-q-a/14058/external-programming-using-nrf52-dk ?

It sounds like you already know this, but just to be clear; VTG will not supply your external device with power and GND_DETECT will not provide a path to GND. The two pins are only used to detect whether or not an external device is connected. The external device needs to have its own power supply (can be VDD from nRF52 DK) and be connected to the nRF52 DK's GND.

Have you tested your soldering for short circuits?

RE: Programming prototype board from 52 DK

mark waldin — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 20:24:42 GMT

Based on the You Tube video on programming 3rd party boards I moved Vdd to Vtg on the DK 52. I erased the chip which seemed to work (the Fanstel board stopped transmitting). I then tried to re-program the board but it did not work. Subsequent attempt to erase the chip erased the DK 52 instead. Photos attached. A CR1632 (confirmed good) was placed between Vdd and GND on the Fanstel.

RE: Programming prototype board from 52 DK

mark waldin — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 16:40:30 GMT

I connected the Fanstel to the 52 DK using blue wires today. Connections are the same four: Vdd, GND, SWIO, and SWCLK. Power source is a CR1632 battery. Measured voltage is 3.2 or so. I would upload the schematic and photo but that seems unnecessary since the blue wire set up does not work either. Are there other connections required? It seems there must be (btw, I tested with GND Detect connected to GND on the 52 DK as well.

RE: Programming prototype board from 52 DK

MartinBL — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 08:33:04 GMT

Hi,

Have you made any progress?

If not, what is the voltage on your custom board? It needs to be ~3V for the debugger on the nRF52 DK to function.

Can you upload a schematic of your board and an image of your setup?

RE: Programming prototype board from 52 DK

mark waldin — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 02:41:49 GMT

thank you for responding. I connected gnd connect on the DK to GND on the DK but it still will not program. Tomorrow I am going to blue wire the Fanstel to the power source and DK directly but my hopes are not high.

RE: Programming prototype board from 52 DK

hmolesworth — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 00:08:57 GMT

You probably have an issue with Gnd Detect, which is different from Gnd; this means 5 pins should be connected, not 4 as listed above. If your board is only connected to Gnd Detect (which is a "there is a custom board connected" sense line) with no separate connection to the nRF52 DK Gnd or vice versa then the custom board cannot be programmed as it is never detected.

The fix in this scenario is to connect together the nRF52 Gnd and the custom board Gnd - and also make the Gnd Detect connection between the two boards.