how to upgrade nrf51822-beacon kit using nrf51-dk

RE: how to upgrade nrf51822-beacon kit using nrf51-dk

shinho — Mon, 27 Apr 2015 08:43:32 GMT

Hi Martin, In my case, I tested again just ago to check if my way is wrong. I just used coin battery without supplying external power supply. It works well. hmm.

RE: how to upgrade nrf51822-beacon kit using nrf51-dk

MartinBL — Mon, 27 Apr 2015 07:52:39 GMT

Hi Sarah. Make sure you try Shinhos suggestions. Also, a common misconception is that the Vtref (also known as Vtg (target voltage)) pin on the J-Link adapter is providing power to the external board. This is not the case however. The sole purpose of the Vtref pin is to detect the voltage on the external board. That is how the J-Link knows an external board is present and what voltage levels to use during programming. Hence you need an additional power supply for your beacon kit. You can, of course, use the Vdd and GND output pins on the nRF51 DK to power the beacon, but this will require some soldering.

EDIT - got a little confused by names and comments. This comment was meant as an answer for Sarahs question.

RE: how to upgrade nrf51822-beacon kit using nrf51-dk

shinho — Mon, 27 Apr 2015 07:21:14 GMT

Hi Sarah, Check as following,

You have to put the coin battery to the BK (PCA20006). It makes for the DK board to recognize the BK by comparing voltage differences between the DK and BK. It is very important.
Connect the DK and BK with TC2030-CTX-NL connector as you know.

Try it again. You can down load to the BK. That's all. Good Luck.

RE: how to upgrade nrf51822-beacon kit using nrf51-dk

Sarah — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 15:10:11 GMT

@martinbl Hi Martin, I'm doing exactly what you're saying to program the beacon kit (using the TC2030 connector to connect), but the beacon kit just does not get recognized by the DK, I can only upload to the DK. I measured the voltage on them at it's about 2.8-2.9V. Is there really no way to power the beacon from the DK. Why does that not work and what would you suggest I do to get the beacons recognized?

RE: how to upgrade nrf51822-beacon kit using nrf51-dk

shinho — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 00:16:19 GMT

Thank you Martin,

I solved with your answer. I use nRF51822-CEAAE0 and tried SDK v8.0.0 and softdevice 8.0.0, but could not proceed because of no SD hex file and so on.

I just applied softdevice 7.1.0 as in the sample. It works well.

Thanks again.

RE: how to upgrade nrf51822-beacon kit using nrf51-dk

MartinBL — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 12:37:29 GMT

Can you please give us some more details?

What SDK and Softdevice are you using? If the markings on the nRF51 on your beacon says "nRF51822-CEAAD0" you should be using SDK v6.1.0 and softdevice 7.0.0. If the markings says nRF51822-CEAAE0 you should use SDK v8.0.0 and softdevice 8.0.0. SDKs are found here. Info on markings and SDK compatibility here.
What source code are you using? There are beacon examples in both SDKs mentioned above. You can find documentation on the examples here.
To program your beacon with the nRF51 DK should be easy. Just attach your TC2030 to the DK (make sure you connect it the right way) and plug it into your beacon. The nRF51 DK should automatically recognize the beacon and program this instead of the onboard nRF chip. Remember that you need a battery in your beacon. You cannot supply the beacon with power from the nRF51 DK.
What step-by-step explanations do you need? There are some tutorials here that can help you getting started. You should also browse this forum. A lot of people have already asked questions about how to use the beacon.