Configuration changes from nRF52832-DK to BL654PA module

RE: Configuration changes from nRF52832-DK to BL654PA module

Vidar Berg — Thu, 14 May 2020 08:45:27 GMT

Hi Michael,

I'm not sure why it would help to re-program it several times, but glad to hear that it works now. You can adjust the TX power by calling sd_ble_gap_tx_power_set(BLE_GAP_TX_POWER_ROLE_ADV, 0, <TXPOWER>) after enabling the Softdevice. The default is 0 dBm.

For the beacon example, you can call advertising stop to stop all BLE activity. It is not necessary to disable the Softdevice, etc. There is also a beginners' guide on BLE advertising here that you may be interested in https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/nordic/short-range-guides/b/bluetooth-low-energy/posts/ble-advertising-a-beginners-tutorial

RE: Configuration changes from nRF52832-DK to BL654PA module

michael_sensor — Mon, 11 May 2020 15:27:03 GMT

UPDATE:

it woks now. after several times erasing and flashing it seems to work now. with this code

static void pa_lna_assist(uint32_t gpio_pa_pin, uint32_t gpio_lna_pin)
{
    ret_code_t err_code;

    static const uint32_t gpio_toggle_ch = 0;
    static const uint32_t ppi_set_ch = 0;
    static const uint32_t ppi_clr_ch = 1;
    
    // Configure SoftDevice PA/LNA assist
    ble_opt_t opt;
    memset(&opt, 0, sizeof(ble_opt_t));
	
    // Common PA/LNA config
    opt.common_opt.pa_lna.gpiote_ch_id  = gpio_toggle_ch;        // GPIOTE channel
    opt.common_opt.pa_lna.ppi_ch_id_clr = ppi_clr_ch;            // PPI channel for pin clearing
    opt.common_opt.pa_lna.ppi_ch_id_set = ppi_set_ch;            // PPI channel for pin setting
	
    // PA config
    opt.common_opt.pa_lna.pa_cfg.active_high = 1;                // Set the pin to be active high
    opt.common_opt.pa_lna.pa_cfg.enable      = 1;                // Enable toggling
    opt.common_opt.pa_lna.pa_cfg.gpio_pin    = gpio_pa_pin;      // The GPIO pin to toggle
  
    // LNA config
    opt.common_opt.pa_lna.lna_cfg.active_high  = 1;              // Set the pin to be active high
    opt.common_opt.pa_lna.lna_cfg.enable       = 1;              // Enable toggling
    opt.common_opt.pa_lna.lna_cfg.gpio_pin     = gpio_lna_pin;   // The GPIO pin to toggle

    err_code = sd_ble_opt_set(BLE_COMMON_OPT_PA_LNA, &opt);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
}

and this is the function call:

pa_lna_assist(NRF_GPIO_PIN_MAP(1,2),NRF_GPIO_PIN_MAP(1,4));

I am happy that it worked and the chip is not damaged. But I still don't know how to set tx power and I also dont know how to deactivate the ble again.

Is there a guide with simple explanations?

kind Regards

Michael

RE: Configuration changes from nRF52832-DK to BL654PA module

michael_sensor — Mon, 11 May 2020 14:58:46 GMT

Hello it's me again...

As I am not a very experienced programmer, the guide which you suggested to me was somehow to advanced and I was not able to understand how I have to extend the example code fron the ble_app_beacon or ble_app_blinky.

But I looked for similar posts in the forum and I found this post (PA_LNA Support S140). I copied the function and the function call into the example und flashed the soft device and the code to the board even though I was not completely understanding the code (shame on me).

Now the current consumtion of my BL654PA is around 100mA which made me curious and I hope I did not destroy the chp 😞 Also when I erase the chip it still draws 100mA... this matches the current consumption of the data sheet at maximum tx power. but I am still not able to see the chip on my phone.

Normal example (without BLE) still work on the chip..

What am I doing wrong? Was it a bad approach to copy the code from this post?

kind regards

Michael

RE: Configuration changes from nRF52832-DK to BL654PA module

michael_sensor — Mon, 11 May 2020 09:26:29 GMT

thanks for your answer! I will have a look at this guide.

Thanks a lot!

RE: Configuration changes from nRF52832-DK to BL654PA module

Vidar Berg — Mon, 11 May 2020 07:49:43 GMT

You may try to select "Debug" instead of the default "Release" configuration in the drop-down menu in the top left corner of SES. This will make the project a bit more debug friendly. However, your debug log already shows that the initialization completed successfully. So I took a closer look at the module you are using, and I see now that it integrates an external Skyworks PA/LNA. This means you have to implement additional control logic in the application code for the radio signals to reach the antenna port. Please take a look at the "Nordic SDK Based App Development" guide from Laird for more details.

RE: Configuration changes from nRF52832-DK to BL654PA module

michael_sensor — Fri, 08 May 2020 14:16:22 GMT

Before I am flashing the S140 and the code I always do a full chip erase in CMD window with nrfjprog --family nRF52 --eraseall

Somehow I am not able to set a breakpoint in the main next to idle_state_handle(); But i set a breakpoint in the function itself and after i click run on the top left it seems like it reaches the funcion. The LOG output also says

00> <info> app_timer: RTC: initialized.
00>
00> <info> app: Beacon example started.
00>

but i still cant find the device on my phone... are there some settings to enable the external antenna?

RE: Configuration changes from nRF52832-DK to BL654PA module

Vidar Berg — Fri, 08 May 2020 13:18:27 GMT

You're using the correct settings, thanks for confirming. I suggest you start by placing a breakpoint at idle_state_handle() in main to see if the program gets that far. Also, some modules ship with a bootloader pre-programmed in flash, not sure if it is the case for this particular module, but it may prevent the main app from booting. So you may want to try to erase the chip before you start debugging.

RE: Configuration changes from nRF52832-DK to BL654PA module

michael_sensor — Fri, 08 May 2020 13:00:49 GMT

This is my code section (sdk_config.h), it matches yours exactly in my opinion... 😕

// <h> Clock - SoftDevice clock configuration

//==========================================================
// <o> NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_SRC  - SoftDevice clock source.
 
// <0=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_SRC_RC 
// <1=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_SRC_XTAL 
// <2=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_SRC_SYNTH 

#ifndef NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_SRC
#define NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_SRC 0
#endif

// <o> NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_RC_CTIV - SoftDevice calibration timer interval. 
#ifndef NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_RC_CTIV
#define NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_RC_CTIV 16
#endif

// <o> NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_RC_TEMP_CTIV - SoftDevice calibration timer interval under constant temperature. 
// <i> How often (in number of calibration intervals) the RC oscillator shall be calibrated
// <i>  if the temperature has not changed.

#ifndef NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_RC_TEMP_CTIV
#define NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_RC_TEMP_CTIV 2
#endif

// <o> NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY  - External clock accuracy used in the LL to compute timing.
 
// <0=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_250_PPM 
// <1=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_500_PPM 
// <2=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_150_PPM 
// <3=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_100_PPM 
// <4=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_75_PPM 
// <5=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_50_PPM 
// <6=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_30_PPM 
// <7=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_20_PPM 
// <8=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_10_PPM 
// <9=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_5_PPM 
// <10=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_2_PPM 
// <11=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_1_PPM 

#ifndef NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY
#define NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY 1
#endif

Okey, as I am not very experienced, where should I set breakpoints in the example?

Thanks and kind regards

Michael

RE: Configuration changes from nRF52832-DK to BL654PA module

Vidar Berg — Fri, 08 May 2020 11:54:13 GMT

Hi Michael,

The most common reason for code failing to run on custom boards is wrong clock settings so could you just double again check that you have the following clock settings in sdk_config.h

// <h> Clock - SoftDevice clock configuration

//==========================================================
// <o> NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_SRC  - SoftDevice clock source.
 
// <0=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_SRC_RC 
// <1=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_SRC_XTAL 
// <2=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_SRC_SYNTH 

#ifndef NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_SRC
#define NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_SRC 0
#endif

// <o> NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_RC_CTIV - SoftDevice calibration timer interval. 
#ifndef NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_RC_CTIV
#define NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_RC_CTIV 16
#endif

// <o> NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_RC_TEMP_CTIV - SoftDevice calibration timer interval under constant temperature. 
// <i> How often (in number of calibration intervals) the RC oscillator shall be calibrated
// <i>  if the temperature has not changed.

#ifndef NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_RC_TEMP_CTIV
#define NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_RC_TEMP_CTIV 2
#endif

// <o> NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY  - External clock accuracy used in the LL to compute timing.
 
// <0=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_250_PPM 
// <1=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_500_PPM 
// <2=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_150_PPM 
// <3=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_100_PPM 
// <4=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_75_PPM 
// <5=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_50_PPM 
// <6=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_30_PPM 
// <7=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_20_PPM 
// <8=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_10_PPM 
// <9=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_5_PPM 
// <10=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_2_PPM 
// <11=> NRF_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY_1_PPM 

#ifndef NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY
#define NRF_SDH_CLOCK_LF_ACCURACY 1
#endif

// </h>

It would also be good if you can try to debug the code in Segger embedded studio or similliar and try to find out if the program gets stuck somewhere.

Thanks,

Vidar