Getting started with examples

[George555]

Hello, 

I want to use the nRF52832 as native transceiver 2.4GHz and I'm looking at examples of the latest SDK.

I'm using Segger Embedded Studio.

I found some examples in the folders

"\nRF5SDK160098a08e2\examples\peripheral\radio\transmitter"

"\nRF5SDK160098a08e2\examples\peripheral\radio\receiver"

But I also see some relevant examples in "\nRF5SDK160098a08e2\examples\proprietary_rf"

What is the difference between them?

Also, is there any documentation that explains what every example does? Well, I know some of them are ridiculously descriptive but a simple piece of documentation of about how every example works and what it does or a simple guide that would help you to go through it wouldn't hurt anyone.

Anyways, my goal is to transmit and receive simple packets over 2.4GHz. I was planning on using the nRF24l01+ and a host mcu of my choice but I also read somewhere online (I think it was on this DevZone) that nRF52 SoCs can also do that. So what example would be a good start to begin with?

[ovrebekk]

Hi George

The examples in the \peripheral\radio sub-folder are very simple examples showing how you can use the RADIO peripheral directly, and I would not recommend using them as a starting point for a proprietary application unless you want to design the entire protocol from scratch. 

The examples in the \proprietary_rf\ sub-folder use either the nrf_esb or the gazell libraries in the SDK, which are more complete proprietary protocol implementations. 

The nrf_esb library is very similar to the ESB implementation in the nRF24L01+, and can be used if you need an nRF52 to talk to an nRF24L01+, or if you just want proprietary communication between two nRF52 devices. 

The Gazell library is built on top of ESB, and adds some additional features such as frequency hopping, time synchronization, pairing and encryption. 

The various examples are described in the SDK section on the infocenter, here. 

You can also find some useful introductions to the ESB and Gazell protocols in the user guide's section. 

Best regards
Torbjørn

[George555]

Hi ovrebekk,

Thanks for your reply.

I'm not sure what you mean by "designing the entire protocol from scratch".

I just want implement a basic two-way communication between two nRF52 devices. So I need the nrf_esb library as you said.

I found the \peripheral\radio examples more friendly to be honest.

I'll look at it.

[ovrebekk]

Hi

What I mean is that when you use the RADIO peripheral directly you get very little for free.
Even low level protocol features such as packet buffering, packet acknowledgement, packet re-transmissions, dynamic packet length etc will have to be implemented by you. 

Using an existing protocol implementation such as nrf_esb allows you to focus on the higher levels of the protocol, and should save you significant development time. 

It is also a lot easier for us to support you if you use a known RF protocol such as nrf_esb. 

If you find the ESB examples less clear I think it's an issue more with the example than the library. You can set up and use nrf_esb with very little code, assuming you use mostly default config parameters. 

Best regards
Torbjørn