Copied PCB design & Assembled SparkFun nRF52832 Breakout Board. But it is not programmable!

RE: Copied PCB design & Assembled SparkFun nRF52832 Breakout Board. But it is not programmable!

RK — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 12:31:57 GMT

which is why I suggested $10, I believe Sparkfun sells them for $19.99.

If the picture really was of one of his boards and not the Sparkfun he copied, it's hard to come up with a good reason it has a perfect copy of the Sparkfun logo on it apart from the obvious.

RE: Copied PCB design & Assembled SparkFun nRF52832 Breakout Board. But it is not programmable!

awneil — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 11:51:07 GMT

[quote userid="2867" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/40054/copied-pcb-design-assembled-sparkfun-nrf52832-breakout-board-but-it-is-not-programmable/155453"]If it's your copy it is rather suspicious that you put 'Sparkfun' on it[/quote]

That's Open Source for you?!

[quote userid="2867" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/40054/copied-pcb-design-assembled-sparkfun-nrf52832-breakout-board-but-it-is-not-programmable/155453"]Just wondering if I'll log into Aliexpress in a few months and see Sparkfun nrf52832 boards for $10.[/quote]

The genuine ones are under $20 direct from Sparkfun!

RE: Copied PCB design & Assembled SparkFun nRF52832 Breakout Board. But it is not programmable!

RK — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 00:16:28 GMT

.. and take a close up picture of the board showing the chip so we can ensure you put it the right way around.

Is that picture above your copy board or the original? If it's your copy it is rather suspicious that you put 'Sparkfun' on it. Just wondering if I'll log into Aliexpress in a few months and see Sparkfun nrf52832 boards for $10.

RE: Copied PCB design & Assembled SparkFun nRF52832 Breakout Board. But it is not programmable!

awneil — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 21:36:52 GMT

[quote userid="74880" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/40054/copied-pcb-design-assembled-sparkfun-nrf52832-breakout-board-but-it-is-not-programmable"]All the component values are correct[/quote]

Having the values correct is necessary - but not sufficient:

www.dailymail.co.uk/.../Playing-wrong-notes-iconic-Morecambe-Wise-sketch.html

Are you sure that you have placed them all in the correct places?

And that they are all correctly oriented?

And that you haven't damaged any?

[quote userid="74880" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/40054/copied-pcb-design-assembled-sparkfun-nrf52832-breakout-board-but-it-is-not-programmable"] In order to make sure it is not a soldering problem, I assembled multiple boards, but they all ran into the same error.[/quote]

Maybe you made the same mistake multiple times?

Maybe you made different mistakes on each board?

These are very fine components, so even tiny mistakes can be significant. It is very easy to make mistakes!

[quote userid="74880" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/40054/copied-pcb-design-assembled-sparkfun-nrf52832-breakout-board-but-it-is-not-programmable"]is there a step I need to take before programming the chip? [/quote]

Before assembling any components, did you examine and test the bare boards?

After assembling the boards, have you tested that you're getting correct voltages at key points?

Have you used an oscilloscope to check key things like oscillators running, SWD lines working, etc?

It seems far from certain that your hardware is working - certainly too early to be wondering about software tools ...

RE: Copied PCB design & Assembled SparkFun nRF52832 Breakout Board. But it is not programmable!

AmbystomaLabs — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 21:24:29 GMT

Yeah, 99.9% for sure. I think I'm getting soft on these people trying to suggest there is a chance they didn't just do something wrong.

RE: Copied PCB design & Assembled SparkFun nRF52832 Breakout Board. But it is not programmable!

RK — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 21:23:07 GMT

Well if none of your boards work then you 99.9% have a hardware error. So post the schematic you used and post the gerbers too.

RE: Copied PCB design & Assembled SparkFun nRF52832 Breakout Board. But it is not programmable!

AmbystomaLabs — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 21:21:40 GMT

There are no steps to programming the nRF. If you can successfully program the Sparkfun board you should be able to program your copy of it.

Likely something is wrong in your copied hardware.