RE: Radio Test not generating detectable carrier also modulated function hangs in rnd8

Håkon Alseth — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 08:36:49 GMT

Hi!

[quote user="anthony.asterisk"]

The HFCLK and NRF_RNG->TASKS_START were the main issues, thanks for your helpful response!

[/quote]

I am glad to hear that you solved the issues!

Cheers,

Håkon

RE: Radio Test not generating detectable carrier also modulated function hangs in rnd8

Anthony Ambuehl — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 17:39:49 GMT

Thanks Håkon,

The HFCLK and NRF_RNG->TASKS_START were the main issues, thanks for your helpful response!

RE: Radio Test not generating detectable carrier also modulated function hangs in rnd8

Håkon Alseth — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 13:04:06 GMT

Hi,

[quote user=""]1) my product is BLE, what mode of operation should I use? RADIO_MODE_MODE_Nrf_2Mbit or RADIO_MODE_MODE_Ble_1Mbit or another?[/quote]

For normal 1MBit BLE, the RADIO_MODE_MODE_Ble_1Mbit should be used with modulated tx output. Note that you may have to use 2MBit BLE as well, depending on what you're going to use in your application.

Specific for BLE certification, test houses usually prefer to use direct_test_mode (DTM).

For unmodulated, it does not matter, as the carrier does not contain any data (ie: unmodulated = pure sine wave)

[quote user=""]2) for radio certification testing, should I use RADIO_TXPOWER_TXPOWER_0dBm or RADIO_TXPOWER_TXPOWER_Pos4dBm or ?[/quote]

This should match your applications max. tx output. You should inherit your own applications TXPOWER setting.

[quote user=""]3) when I call radio_modulated_tx_carrier, why does it hang during random number generation:[/quote]

Its likely that the RNG isn't started in your initialization routine. Try starting the RNG similar to this (in your init() function):

NRF_RNG->TASKS_START = 1;

[quote user=""]4) In DTM test, I see the code configures some additional values (NRF_RADIO->MODECNF0, NRF_RADIO->BASE0, NRF_RADIO->CRCCNF, NRF_RADIO->CRCPOLY, NRF_RADIO->CRCINIT, but this not included in radio_test do I need to configure them ?[/quote]

direct test mode is setup per the bluetooth core specification, and is made to be interfaced with a dedicated bluetooth tester. If you want to do bluetooth certification, I recommend that you run this as a separate action, as compared to teleregulatory compliance.

[quote user=""]5) when observing the radio behavior with RSSI viewer, I do not see any radio activity. Does the softdevice leave the radio in a partially initialized state that is incompatible with the radio_test functions? How do I initialize radio after disabling the softdevice to allow radio_test operation?[/quote]

You should disable the softdevice, then start up the hfclk and other dependencies the radio_test requires to run. The current consumption of the device is usually a good indication on which state it is in. 3-4 mA indicates the CPU is running.

Kind regards,

Håkon