Extendability of the Nordic Thingy:52?

[JohanHWB]

Hey,

Up until now I have only been dealing with software. Now however, I want to create a device that I can use to track my bike by GPS and heading. In the future, I want to act given certain light conditions, like turn a light on when it becomes dark.

So to me, it seems like the Thingy52 will make all this possible? But .. what I don't get is how does the T52 actually make things happen? It has a lot of sensors, but .. how can I use this data to turn on an external light? I would prefer that the lights dim in and out, so I can't use a simple electrical relay..

I assume I'll need to connect additional things to the T52? But can this be done?

Any and all input appreciated.

Thanks! 

[JohanHWB]

Hei,

So I got the SEN-13762 as suggested.

Which means I'll be heading to a hackerspace to connect the two boards.

For this .. having never done anything like this before, you say that P6 has "spare pins". All 6 are described as "GPIO of the nRF52840" - which I don't fully understand. I have never done anything like this before, so.. shouldn't at least one of the pins be "ground" or something - so there is a signal to read when combined with the other pins?

I'm trying to figure out how to connect the two modules. Any additional pointers would be greatly appreciated.

[Øyvind]

Hei!

JohanHWB said:

I have never done anything like this before, so.. shouldn't at least one of the pins be "ground" or something - so there is a signal to read when combined with the other pins?

Yes, all the pins are GPIO on connector P6. GND is found on P3, P4, P5, and P7. Just make sure to use the pins marked with GND or you might damage your module.

 

JohanHWB said:

I'm trying to figure out how to connect the two modules. Any additional pointers would be greatly appreciated.

 Sparkfun has a good "Hookup guide" on their page which shows how to connect your module. In your case, you could connect VDD and GND on the SEN-13762 to P5 (3V3 and GND), while SDA and SCL should be connected to two of the GPIOs on P6. You will need to configure these GPIOs as SDA and SCL. Or you can connect to TP9 (SCL) and TP10 (SDA).

[JohanHWB]

Thanks.

So I did as advised. Not yet tried to turn it on.

Additionally I would have BLE. Do I get that by adding a second module?

The nRF52840 has protocol support for Bluetooth 5, but not the actual hardware.. So now that SEN-13762 occupies the 3V3 pins (which is the voltage used by the boards I have seen so far) - how would I power the new module?

And the data, do I use additional GPIOs to reach the nRF52840?

[JohanHWB]

Also, initially I asked if anyone could help me understand how these boards actually gets things done - like turning on and off lights? How do I make things happen? Yep. Never done this before. Trying to read about these things, but everything I come across is frustratingly vague.

[Øyvind]

JohanHWB said:

Additionally I would have BLE. Do I get that by adding a second module?

The nRF52840 is a Bluetooth 5 device which supports Bluetooth Low Energy.

JohanHWB said:

The nRF52840 has protocol support for Bluetooth 5, but not the actual hardware

Can you please elaborate on what you mean with not the actual HW?

JohanHWB said:

So now that SEN-13762 occupies the 3V3 pins (which is the voltage used by the boards I have seen so far) - how would I power the new module?

I don't understand. What new module? 

JohanHWB said:

And the data, do I use additional GPIOs to reach the nRF52840?

As the SEN-13762 communicates via TWI (I2C) you will need to connect it either GPIO pins on P6, or you can connect to TP9 and TP10. 

JohanHWB said:

Also, initially I asked if anyone could help me understand how these boards actually gets things done - like turning on and off lights? How do I make things happen? Yep. Never done this before. Trying to read about these things, but everything I come across is frustratingly vague.

What do you know about HW? It is easier to point to correct documentation knowing what you know. 

Kind regards,

Øyvind