Custom board not being recognized

RE: Custom board not being recognized

Håkon Alseth — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 08:31:31 GMT

Awesome to hear that things are working 🙂

Have fun developing with our parts, and continue to use our devzone if you have questions

Cheers,

Håkon

RE: Custom board not being recognized

mars_design — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 06:21:13 GMT

Thanks for the help Håkon. Yesterday I did the 'remove everything from your pc and start over again'-fix. Somehow, something was wrong I guess. Since I have re-installed, nrfjprog, keil, downloaded new SDK files, now I can load hex files to my custom board.

RE: Custom board not being recognized

Håkon Alseth — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 11:59:58 GMT

Thanks. Offsets and all look good. I had no issues programming this .hex file:

C:\SDK\nRF5_SDK_15.3.0_59ac345\components\softdevice\s132\hex>nrfjprog -e
Erasing user available code and UICR flash areas.
Applying system reset.

C:\SDK\nRF5_SDK_15.3.0_59ac345\components\softdevice\s132\hex>nrfjprog --program s132_nrf52_6.1.1_softdevice.hex
Parsing hex file.
Reading flash area to program to guarantee it is erased.
Checking that the area to write is not protected.
Programming device.

C:\SDK\nRF5_SDK_15.3.0_59ac345\components\softdevice\s132\hex>nrfjprog --program 5850.nrf52832_xxaa.hex
Parsing hex file.
Reading flash area to program to guarantee it is erased.
Checking that the area to write is not protected.
Programming device.

But, If I try again; I'll get this error, and would need to add the "--sectorerase" flag to nrfjprog:

C:\SDK\nRF5_SDK_15.3.0_59ac345\components\softdevice\s132\hex>nrfjprog --program 5850.nrf52832_xxaa.hex --verify
Parsing hex file.
Reading flash area to program to guarantee it is erased.
ERROR: The area to write is not erased.

C:\SDK\nRF5_SDK_15.3.0_59ac345\components\softdevice\s132\hex>nrfjprog --program 5850.nrf52832_xxaa.hex --verify --sectorerase
Parsing hex file.
Erasing page at address 0x26000.
Erasing page at address 0x27000.
Erasing page at address 0x28000.
Erasing page at address 0x29000.
Erasing page at address 0x2A000.
Erasing page at address 0x2B000.
Applying system reset.
Checking that the area to write is not protected.
Programming device.
Verifying programming.
Verified OK.

Kind regards,

Håkon

RE: Custom board not being recognized

mars_design — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 11:09:15 GMT

devzone.nordicsemi.com/.../5850.nrf52832_5F00_xxaa.hex

RE: Custom board not being recognized

Håkon Alseth — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 08:46:35 GMT

Do you have the latest nrfjprog version installed? It can be downloaded from here:

https://www.nordicsemi.com/?sc_itemid=%7B56868165-9553-444D-AA57-15BDE1BF6B49%7D

It's important that you compile a project for the S132, when this is the softdevice that you have loaded onto the nRF device.

Could you attach one of the .hex files that you have compiled so I can have a look at the offset etc?

Kind regards,

Håkon

RE: Custom board not being recognized

mars_design — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 05:27:35 GMT

I have tried multple hex files, ble_app_beacon, ble_app_blinky, and ble_app_uart and after loading the softdevice correctly, all give the same error.

Parsing hex file.
Reading flash area to program to guarantee it is erased.
ERROR: The area to write is not erased.

This does not happen when taking the merged soft device with hex file. Is there some memory allocation wrong?

RE: Custom board not being recognized

Håkon Alseth — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 13:33:42 GMT

Which example specifically are you using?

Here's an example on how to use nrfjprog:

# Erase the chip
nrfjprog -e
# program softdevice
nrfjprog --program path/to/softdevice.hex --verify
# program the application
nrfjprog --program path/to/app.hex --verify --reset

If you do not do a erase all (nrfjprog -e), you have to add the switch "--sectorerase" when programming.

Kind regards,

Håkon

RE: Custom board not being recognized

mars_design — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 12:33:55 GMT

Unfortunately, tried it with nrfjprog, first programming hex of soft device, then programming hex of application. Get this error:

Parsing hex file.
Reading flash area to program to guarantee it is erased.
ERROR: The area to write is not erased.

Somehow the soft device hex is in the area where the program wants to be. Also with the examples in the SDK (so not my own written firmware)

RE: Custom board not being recognized

Håkon Alseth — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 11:31:09 GMT

nRFgo Studio is not actively being developed anymore, and it seems that you are seeing some issues with it.

You can try to use the nrfjprog program directly, or "nRF Connect for desktop", where you can install the nRF Programmer app, and program the nRF from there.

Kind regards,

Håkon

RE: Custom board not being recognized

mars_design — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 09:15:56 GMT

Yes! I have programmed the /ble_app_uart/hex/ble_app_uart_pca10040_s132.hex and now I see Nordic_UART available on my phone as interface to connect with. This is already a good step forward.

Anyhow, programming the S132 and the application separetly, gives the error of "this hex file is in the soft device region".

RE: Custom board not being recognized

Håkon Alseth — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 08:54:36 GMT

All projects that are marked with "S132" should then work. for instance:

\nRF5_SDK_15.3.0_59ac345\examples\ble_peripheral\ble_app_hrs\pca10040\s132

Did you try the precompiled .hex file? ble_app_hrs_pca10040_s132.hex in \nRF5_SDK_15.3.0_59ac345\examples\ble_peripheral\ble_app_hrs\hex.

This also holds the S132 merged into one .hex file.

RE: Custom board not being recognized

mars_design — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 08:40:41 GMT

I'm using soft device 6.1.1 and SDK nRF5_SDK_15.3.0

RE: Custom board not being recognized

Håkon Alseth — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 08:28:03 GMT

What SDK are you using, and which application are you trying out? The SDK version used will depend on a specific softdevice version. If you for instance flash S132 v6, when the SDK expects S132 v5, then you will both have API issues and flash issues.

Could you ensure that you are loading the correct softdevice that matches the SDK you're using?

Kind regards,

Håkon

RE: Custom board not being recognized

mars_design — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 07:52:35 GMT

Yes, it has an external crystal.

Programming the soft device goes fine, afterwards programming the application shows the error.

If I erase everything, and program the application (without soft device) it goes correct as well. My indication is that the soft device is placed on a memory location where the application is placed as well. I've read other topics around that, is that possible?

RE: Custom board not being recognized

Håkon Alseth — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 07:26:57 GMT

Hi,

You can try to erase the device via command line "nrfjprog -e" (or click the "Erase all" button in nRFgoStudio), then re-program the softdevice, and then the application?

Does your custom board have a external 32kHz crystal? If not, you need to configure your project to use the internal 32kHz RC oscillator instead.

Here's a answer from a colleague of mine how to change this in recent SDK versions:

https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/f/nordic-q-a/48170/i-have-a-development-board-and-load-the-client-central-ble-blinky-to-it-then-the-peripheral-ble-blinky-to-my-custom-board-and-power-up-and-the-central-development-board-stays-led-1-on-and-never-switches-to-led-2/192441#192441

Kind regards,

Håkon

RE: Custom board not being recognized

mars_design — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 06:48:20 GMT

Hello.

Have had more success this weekend with programming. Appeared to be a issue on my custom board, but now able to load blinky or other code on. Also via NRFgo studio I can load and verify the softdevice 132.

I'm not able to load the code (try to load the ble_app_uart with some modifications from myself), but it says: hex file has data in soft device region.

Also via Keil i get the following error; Error: Flash Download failed - "Cortex-M4"

What could this be?

RE: Custom board not being recognized

mars_design — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 11:44:44 GMT

That's what I thought too, everything looks okay, but somehow if I load (for instance uart variant) I cannot detect my board on my phone, while with the dev kit all went okay.

Somehow my custom board won't be programmed.

RE: Custom board not being recognized

Håkon Alseth — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 11:33:55 GMT

Have I misunderstood something here? Everything looks OK wrt. the programming, as nRFgo Studio can read out the flash and Keil is able to detect the core.

Could you elaborate on what the issue is?

RE: Custom board not being recognized

mars_design — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 11:11:05 GMT

Okay, was expecting to see the board being connected.

SWDIO and CLK are connected to the right pins, same setup as in the link you did send.

Please see my screenshot of nRFgo Studio and Keil. Am I missing something here?

I've removed the serial number behind the red lines (do not know why, but saw that more often), but this is the serial number as written on the Dev Kit.

RE: Custom board not being recognized

Håkon Alseth — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 10:54:01 GMT

[quote user="mars_design"]Also when I check nrfjprog -i, I can only see the serial number of the DK.[/quote]

That is to be expected, as that is the only debugger present in your current setup.

What is the current consumption of your custom board? Are you certain that you have connected SWDIO to SWDIO, and SWDCLK to SWDCLK?

Kind regards,

Håkon

RE: Custom board not being recognized

mars_design — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 08:20:39 GMT

Yes, I have seen that topic before and indeed connected it like that.

Since my VDD is then measuring 2.8V, i have also tried placing external 3.3V on my custom board, and connect VTG to that one, but both were no success.

Also when I check nrfjprog -i, I can only see the serial number of the DK.

RE: Custom board not being recognized

Håkon Alseth — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 08:18:11 GMT

Hi,

[quote user=""][/quote]

I have created a custom board with an NRF52832 chip on. Either programming via ULINK2 or the DK PCA10040 is no succes, board won't be recognized although it is powered.

Checked all support tickets around this subject, and wiring is set up okay including SWCLK, SWDIO, VTG GND. What else can be checked in hardware or wiring what could be the issue?

Did you connect your board like this?

https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/f/nordic-q-a/14058/external-programming-using-nrf52-dk/53757#53757

Note the shorted VTG to VDD, as this will force the nRF52-DK to use this specific debug port, and it will also provide power over the VTG pin. One of the pitfalls of using the nRF52-DK to program externally is that the voltage on your custom board must match the nRF5-DK, so its easier to just power your board from the DK itself.

Kind regards,

Håkon