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Cap sense using single pin per sensor

Hi,

  I'm using the nRF52840 dev kit for a BLE-based application.  I need to implement a capacitive touch button for detecting button presses and releases (no sliding).  I only have 1 analog input pin connected to my sensor.  I've looked at the nrf52-capsense-example project here, but it is based on SDK-12. 

  Is this still the recommended method to follow when only a single pin is connected to the touch sensor?

  Are there any issues using this method along with BLE (SoftDevice S140)?

  Is there any way to use the csense library in this configuration?

  Thanks...

Brian

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  • Hi Brian,

    Is this still the recommended method to follow when only a single pin is connected to the touch sensor?

    No. A very important point is that regardless of which SW implementation you use, this will only work as a demo, and is not suitable for production due to nRF52832 erratum 84. This erratum does not exist for other nRF52 series devices, but that is not because the issue is fixed, but because the feature was removed from the product specification.

    Are there any issues using this method along with BLE (SoftDevice S140)?

    It should be possible to make this work with a SoftDevice as measurements are done using PPI and SW is not time-critical. (I have not tested it, though.)

      Is there any way to use the csense library in this configuration?

    The example you refer to was written before the Capacitive Sensor library was available, and I recomend you refer to that instead. That also supports using two pints to measure the discharge time of the sensor cap. You should note that the library is not particularly advanced though, and may not function well in a practical product which is used in an environment with varying air humidity, etc. So you should consider the SDK code as proof of concept more than anything else.

    Einar

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  • Hi Brian,

    Is this still the recommended method to follow when only a single pin is connected to the touch sensor?

    No. A very important point is that regardless of which SW implementation you use, this will only work as a demo, and is not suitable for production due to nRF52832 erratum 84. This erratum does not exist for other nRF52 series devices, but that is not because the issue is fixed, but because the feature was removed from the product specification.

    Are there any issues using this method along with BLE (SoftDevice S140)?

    It should be possible to make this work with a SoftDevice as measurements are done using PPI and SW is not time-critical. (I have not tested it, though.)

      Is there any way to use the csense library in this configuration?

    The example you refer to was written before the Capacitive Sensor library was available, and I recomend you refer to that instead. That also supports using two pints to measure the discharge time of the sensor cap. You should note that the library is not particularly advanced though, and may not function well in a practical product which is used in an environment with varying air humidity, etc. So you should consider the SDK code as proof of concept more than anything else.

    Einar

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