nRF51822 programming question

[Max]

Hi,

I am starting my first project with nRF51822 for my thesis. I thought its a good idea to start with evolution kit so I bought nRF51822-EK I assume I will get everything I need to write my first application and should be able to talk to iPhone app. I am writing iPhone app for proximity sensing. Am I correct till this point?

Now my question for future design. I will be using 7-8 custom boards in my project. These board will be very simple just nRF51822 chip and some passive components. How do I program these custom boards?

Do I just buy this J-LINK? www.digikey.com/.../2263130

Will I be able to use SoftDevice binary that includes the bluetooth stack with my custom boards? Will there be any license issue if I am using it on my custom bords?

I will appreciate any comments on this. I am early in my development cycle but I would like to know all the road block sooner rather than later.

Thanks, Max

[Ole Morten]

The difference between the Evaluation Kit and the Development Kit is described better here.

As for programming custom boards, the J-Link you link to should work fine, as should the J-Link in the Development Kit as long as your custom boards run at ~3 V. When you buy either kit you get a Product Key that you can use to access the softdevice, and use it on any custom boards.

Making a custom board isn't really very hard, but you need to make sure to copy the reference layout as close as you possibly can. Even tiny changes to it can severely affect the RF performance, both with regard to range and compliance with regulatory rules.

[Guest]

Hello Mr. Morten,

Kindly suggest how soft device hex file can be loaded in custom board using J-link lite cortex m.

Regards

Talha