Radio lock-up

Question

Hi, 
 Using 52833 it seems that sometimes the radio quits responding, ie, it is in NRF_RADIO_STATE_DISABLED state and there is 
 no obvious way to get it out of that state except for NVIC_SystemReset() call. 
 It usually happens when the radio is under stress, lots of interference and dropped packets. In general it is a relatively rare occurrence, 
 somewhat hard to reproduce. I can sometimes get it to happen in a debug setting if I take the development board and physically pinch the antenna with 
 my fingers firmly, and place the 2nd communicating development board a little distance away. 
 But it also happens from time to time in the field with our boards inside a protective casing. 
 We are using esb with some of our own modifications to the esb library - could we be writing a radio register at the wrong moment 
 or some other illegal operation that could cause the radio to lock up ? 
 Can the radio hardware lock up independently of software behavior, if the radio is bombarded with enough interference or errant packets ? 
 Thank You 
 Tommy

Håkon Alseth · Accepted Answer

Hi, 
 
 As long as you follow the state diagram of the radio, you should not get into such a mode: 
 https://infocenter.nordicsemi.com/topic/ps_nrf52833/radio.html?cp=4_1_0_5_17_4#concept_rnf_nml_4r 
 
 ie, it is in NRF_RADIO_STATE_DISABLED state and there is 
 no obvious way to get it out of that state except for NVIC_SystemReset() call. 
 You could try catching this scenario, then enter debug state to see if all the radio registers are in order, as well as the PPI channels / timers are enabled. 
 If power cycling the peripheral itself (NRF_RADIO->POWER =0; wait; NRF_RADIO->POWER=1; init_radio()) does not work, it is a indication that the problem is outside of the scope of the radio itself (ie. timers or ppi channels) 
 
 Which version of the SDK are you using? 
 
 Kind regards, 
 Håkon

Radio lock-up

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