How to program an nRF51822 using SWDIO/CLK?

RE: How to program an nRF51822 using SWDIO/CLK?

TheGodPartycle — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 04:22:44 GMT

this is a great question. i am looking for an answer for this too. i have not found any resources that explains how to use the nRF51dk to program a custom board.... any help is appreciated.

RE: How to program an nRF51822 using SWDIO/CLK?

hiren — Thu, 22 Jan 2015 07:13:41 GMT

Hello Asbjorn ...i have nRF51-DK(PCA10028) and i want to program my own board which is based on NRF51822 .. i connect debug out header P19 to my board . can you please tell me what is the requirement that i full fill . and is any change that i want to make.? and if i load code in NnRF board than it automatically load in my board or not?

RE: How to program an nRF51822 using SWDIO/CLK?

Asbjørn — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 12:01:11 GMT

There's an onboard programmer on the nRF51 Dongle as well. So you don't need an additional one. If you do however we use the tools from Segger J-link. The nRF51-DK (PCA10028) is capable of programming external boards as well. So if you want to have one board to develop on to be able to program your own custom boards in the future, that would be the one to recommend.

RE: How to program an nRF51822 using SWDIO/CLK?

Oliver — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 11:04:42 GMT

I mean for the nRF51822. Something like the minimal layout presented in the datasheet put on a tiny breakout board. For the programmer, and also for the chip, I would prefer an assembled and working unit. Hassle free, but minimal. Seems like I'm failing in getting my point across :/

RE: How to program an nRF51822 using SWDIO/CLK?

Charles Manning — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 20:05:50 GMT

For minimal-in-terms-of hardware, it is hard to beat that FTDI solution.

RE: How to program an nRF51822 using SWDIO/CLK?

Charles Manning — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 20:03:47 GMT

A further note on SWD code... I wrote my own because I had some special requirements, but there is a library called libswd (Google will find) which might do this for you.

RE: How to program an nRF51822 using SWDIO/CLK?

Oliver — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 20:03:32 GMT

I mean minimal in terms of hardware. Something like a "Hello World" for the nRF51822. A starting point I can use to do stuff, but not such a bloated DevKit. And for the programmer I just search something to buy (shouldn't be that expansive) which I can use in a plug'n'play fashion to flash my device. Something like the CC-Debugger for the nRF. I already have a minimal nRF device which I want to flash, but I'm also very interested in alternative devices.

RE: How to program an nRF51822 using SWDIO/CLK?

Charles Manning — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 19:47:36 GMT

Well it all comes down to what you mean by minimal: minimal effort or minimal cost/hardware.

I'm using an NRF51822 as a supervisory micro + BTLE link for a system with the main application processor running Linux.

I use two GPIO lines to hook up to the NRF51822 SWD lines which is how the NRF firmware is loaded/updated.

This link implements the ARM SWD interface, which is a bit cryptic. This allows me to access all the address space of the NRF including being able to read/write GPIOs/ADCs etc and, of course, write the flash.

If you just want to get a low cost debugger going, then there are many examples on the web that use FTDI chips, eval boards or low-cost SWDs. eg. www.gniibe.org/.../diy-swd-debugger-ftdi2232.html

RE: How to program an nRF51822 using SWDIO/CLK?

Oliver — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 17:10:37 GMT

Thanks for the heads up. One more question, comes the nRF51 Dongle also with an onboard programmer or do I have to get an external one? What external programmer would you recommend that is not to expensive (hobbyist)? I do have a breakout-board containing a nRF51822 which I want to flash. Else I would love to buy something similar, a minimal break-out board featuring a nRF51822.

RE: How to program an nRF51822 using SWDIO/CLK?

Gilson — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 16:43:43 GMT

Also as a small note the newer version of the nRF51822 does not require a pull down on the SWD clock line but you may find out some modules out there that use older nRF51882 that requires a 12K ohm pull down resistor on the clock line. just be aware of it. I know Raytac modules do. Cheers.

RE: How to program an nRF51822 using SWDIO/CLK?

Asbjørn — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 14:55:14 GMT

Q1: You need a programmer. We use J-link from Segger, but in theory you could use any Cortex M0 programmer that supports the SWD interface. You need four pins, VDD, GND, SWDIO and SWDCLK to program it.

Q2: Both the nRF51x22-EK and the nRF51822-mBED kit comes with an onboard programmer so you can get one of those an you'll be ready to test, evaluate and develop code. We have most code examples built for Keil uVision, but there's also some code examples available on mBED and for GCC based platforms. Keil supports compiling application code for up to 32 k for free, so if your application is small, that would be a good place to start.