Can not load softdevice .hex file

[brian fleming]

Hello, I am starting to upload my code to some new Raytac MDBT40 modules, and am starting with the soft device of course. 

I am using uVision V5.28.0.0 

I can not upload the flash_s130_nrf51_2.0.1_softdevice , it says that it can not load the .hex file even though I have selected it from the windows explorer.  Thanks so much!

[Hung Bui]

Hi Brian, 

Which tool did you use to program the softdevice ? on PC and on the hardware. 

 
Please take a screenshot when you see the issue. 

[brian fleming]

[brian fleming]

[brian fleming]

Hello,

I decided that it seems that the soft device file must be corrupted that I should start by downloading the SDK and starting all over again even though previously everything was working perfectly.  You can see the version of Kiel which we are using, the development board which we purchased from one of your dealers, the location and name of the SDK, and the devices which are available to us in the SDK.

We are very unhappy that it seems that Nordic has decided to make our nRF51 Development Kit incompatible with the current SDK.

We have wasted a considerable amount of engineering time on this and we would like your advice so that we can continue with development of our project.

Yours truly,

Brian Fleming

 

[Hung Bui]

Hi Brian, 
I'm sorry for later response. I was on Easter vacation.

Your folder looks a little bit strange. The file you located to was a .sct file not a .hex file. 
There are some files in the softdevice folder screeenshot that are not included in our SDK. I assume it was added on your computer. 

I attached here the .hex file that you should place into \components\softdevice\s130\hex
I would suggest to download a fresh copy of SDK v12 to check. 

nRF51 is not a platform that we recommend for new products. It's about 10 years old. We recommend to switch to nRF52 for development. 

s130_nrf51_2.0.1_softdevice.hex

[brian fleming]

I managed to get things working by finding a SDK on an old archived hard drive which supported the device which we are using.

Not happy to hear that the nRF51 is obsolete as we purchased the development kit not too long ago from one of your dealers

What do you recommend as a development kit for the nRF52 ?

Cheers,

Brian Fleming

[brian fleming]

Regarding the switch to the nRF52, this is not good news for us.

Can you tell us how long the nRF51 will be available?

As per current pricing the equivalent Raytac MDBT40 is 12% higher with no performance gain for us.

Can you tell us what Raytac module you recommend as a replacement for the MDBT40?

The Raytac MDBT40 was difficult to hand solder for prototype use, however the Raytac modules for the 52 series are impossible to hand solder for prototypes which makes prototypes many times more costly.

Since the PCB layout for the 52 series is different from the 51 series, our FCC certification costs are doubled.

At this point, loosing the nRF51 really puts our project in jeopardy.

[Hung Bui]

Hi Brian, 
We will not discontinue the nRF51. We keep our products as long as there is still a demand for it. We still make some of the chips from 20 years ago. So the nRF51 will still be manufactured for a long time. 
It's just our recommendation to start with nRF52 if it's possible. The nRF51 will not receive any new Bluetooth features, for example BLE 5.x 
I don't have much experience with 3rd party modules so I would suggest you to talk to our Sales Manager in your area Mr. Curt Water  email: curt.waters (at) nordicsemi.no to discuss about other options. 

For developing with the nRF52 our recommendation is to use the development kit nRF52 DK: https://www.nordicsemi.com/Software-and-Tools/Development-Kits/nRF52-DK
You can always download a fresh copy of any version of the nRF5 SDK here: https://www.nordicsemi.com/Software-and-tools/Software/nRF5-SDK/Download#infotabs

[brian fleming]

Thank you very much for that information. It looks like the Raytac MDBT42Q would suit our needs, and be suitable for hand soldering for prototypes. However, we plan on using the Raytac MDBT40 as long as it is available, as it suits our needs perfectly.

All we need to do is receive BLE data, and then send it trhough our own three wire (data, data ready, & read acknowlege) bit banging serial port, which is working perfectly, to the main host processor when the expected amount of data has been received.

Cheers,

Brian Fleming