Can nrf52832 works as single-antenna transmitter for nrf52811 AoA locator receiver?

[antennas]

Hello, Nordic!

Our project is at evaluation stage. We aimed to build an Bluetooth 5.1 AoA indoor locator system, where the reciever should know the location of the transmitter. For the multi-antenna receiver, we chosed nrf52811, which support direction finding as stated on the Noric website. However, for the single-antenna transmitter, can we use nrf52832? It does not support direction finding as stated on the website, but does it matter as a single-antenna transmitter.

So briefly, to achieve indoor locatation, can nrf52832 works as single-antenna transmitter for nrf52811 AoA locator receiver?

Can any body help us?

Thanks in advance.

[Mishka]

For direction finding to work, a transmitter should be able to generate CTE (constant tone extension) sequence at the end of BLE packet. Unfortunately, the nRF52832 can't do this, so you're limited to the 811, 820, or 833 of the nRF52 series.

Of course, RSSI method still can be used with 832.

[antennas]

Hi,

Sorry to come back again.

Will nRF52832 support direction finding AoA in the future? Or its fundamentally impossible?

We are still struggling because it has much lower price and more infomation on the Internet.

Best regards,

[Simonr]

Hi

The nRF52832 will not support direction finding in the future, as it is not able HW-wise to generate said CTE sequence after sending BLE packets, which makes direction finding impossible. The nRF52811 is the cheapest solution supporting direction-finding.

Best regards,

Simon

[Mishka]

antennas said:

We are still struggling because it has much lower price and more infomation on the Internet.

Hi,

when it generally depends on your distributor my personal findings are that both 811 and 820 are usually more affordable than the 832. The 833 will likely cost higher, but it's also packed with features that pump it up towards the top of the line, i.e. closer to the nRF52840.

If you're satisfied with the nRF52811 capabilities it might bring you the lowest price solution. Please note, switching between SoCs in the series is nearly trivial. For an application with no or very few peripheral devices, like a broadcasting beacon or a direction finding node, it's very unlikely you'll notice a difference between the chips.

In any case, the following comparison table is very useful: https://infocenter.nordicsemi.com/topic/struct_nrf52/struct/nrf52.html.

Best regards,
Mishka.