nRF9160 DK Arduino Uno Compatibility

[mrwesleycrusher]

Hello,

I have a nRF9160 DK Development kit, and I would like to use it to replace an Arduino uno.

I need to do Analog to Digital Conversion on A0, A1, A2.

I need to do Digital Output on pins 2,4,6, 7, 10, 11, 12, and 13.

The documentation seems to be a little sparse on how to setup the pins so they match what I get on an Arduino. How do I get the setup listed above?

If it helps, I am trying to run the ADC to take analog voltage readings through the Arduino Mux Shield II, and I have included the Arduino code for the mux shield below:MuxShield.zip

Thank you for the help!

-Wes

[Øyvind]

Hello Wes,

There is currently no support for the Arduino Uno on the nRF9160 DK, this is still work in progress. Please see this related case for more information and a possible solution on a workaround.

Kind regards,
Oeyvind

[Øyvind]

Sorry, I was a little misinformed. The nRF9160 DK is compatible with Arduino Uno, meaning it can be easily interfaced with external device shields. This means that you can use the Arduino Mux Shield II but you have to make the FW interfacing it. There are currently no Arduino libraries supported in Zephyr.

Looking in the nRF9160 DK download tab, you will find the schematics and layout which describes what pins are connected to the Arduino headers. Then follow the instructions in the other case I linked to.

[mrwesleycrusher]

Good Evening (or I suppose morning where you are) Oyvind,

Thank you, that has given me more information to get into trouble with. I was reading the documentation, and I saw "By mounting pin lists on the connector footprints, the nRF9160 DK (Development Kit) board can be used as a shield for Arduino motherboards."

Based on this quote and information from the other post, is this board meant to act as a LTE shield for the arduino uno? Or is it supposed to be a replacement for the arduino uno altogether? Based on the post you pointed me to, it sounds like the nRF09160 DK is not capable of replacing the functionality of an arduino uno, but it is arduino "compatible" in that the pins are organized in a way that it can digitally communicate with the arduino uno without too much effort.

[Øyvind]

Good evening Mr. Chrusher,

mrwesleycrusher said:

is this board meant to act as a LTE shield for the arduino uno? Or is it supposed to be a replacement for the arduino uno altogether?

Yes, you can connect the LTE as a Shield for the Arduino Uno, however, there are no libraries available. Be aware that the DKs operating voltage is 3.3V. I do believe the original purpose is that the nRF9160 DK should replace the Arduino Uno altogether. 

mrwesleycrusher said:

Based on the post you pointed me to, it sounds like the nRF09160 DK is not capable of replacing the functionality of an arduino uno, but it is arduino "compatible" in that the pins are organized in a way that it can digitally communicate with the arduino uno without too much effort.

No, the DK will not have the same functionality in terms of Arduino sketches, libraries etc. You will, however, have access to peripherals as the Arduino Uno has i.e. SPI, i2c, etc. The example code provided with the nRF Connect SDK is a good starting point to develop code to interface Arduino shields.