Is nRF51 SDK 8.0.0 compatible with nRF51822-QFAA-G0 (rev 2)?

[Gigel]

In the release notes of the nRF51 SDK v8.0.0, section "Supported devices" it says that "This SDK is optimized for IC revision 3".

I am using a Laird BL600-SA-04 module based on nRF51822-QFAA-G0 (I figured this out from Laird's "Application Note - Finding the BL600-Sx Revision Number.pdf"), and according to Nordic's "nRF51_Series_Compatibility_Matrix_v1.2.pdf" it is a revision 2 IC.

Also the release notes of SDK 8.0.0 do not mention MDK-ARM version 5.10 compatibility.

Note that at page 6 in nRF51_Series_Compatibility_Matrix_v1.2.pdf, it says that SDK 8.0.0 and S110 8.0.0 are only compatible with rev 3 IC... a big pain in the.. if I have to support two different IC revisions.

My question is:

Can I use SDK v8.0.0 and S110 8.0.0, with my BL600 rev. 2 IC and Keil MDK-ARM v5.10? Anybody tested this configuration?

Thanks!

[Gigel]

According to a Nordic engineer from technical support, the SDK v8.0.0 was not tested on rev. 2 IC at all, but that does not mean it couldn't work. So I will give it a try.

Unfortunately there are many modules and products on the market, built around the rev. 2 IC, and at risk of being left out. Those unlucky rev. 2 IC product owners would have to support two hardware platforms which only differ by the IC revision.

I also noticed that the bug fixes and improvements to the SDK and SD might have broken the software backwards compatibility, and changes to your code (API, functionality, flows) and even some architecture adjustments might be needed. This is not really a good path forward.

UPDATE 2015-Aug-11

SDK 6.1.0 and SD110 v7.3 are the newest releases that I could use on the rev. 2 of the nRF51822. If you're using rev. 2 of the IC like me, I strongly recommend to use this combination of SD110 and SDK, and do not bother to use older or newer versions unless the nRF Compatibility Matrix document says they are compatible with rev. 2 of IC.

:)

[Stefan Birnir Sverrisson]

Noted, thanks for you feedback