Can I use an nRF52805 module like BC805M for a HID device? How?

[CataCluj]

Dear Sir/Madam,

While I did take a course in Bluetooth I am still a beginner.

I know some boards have HID "support" (RN42 for example) I find it hard to believe that it's not something that can be added to any module.

If so, what is the minimal/simplest path to use a BC805M  for sending Mouse/Keyboard commands from the UART/GPIO to a Bluetooth-connected phone or computer?

I mean what IDE do I need to use, programming pod, library, maybe example code.  Maybe evaluation board, although I believe I can connect the module myself to the rest of my device.

If the nRF52805/BC805M is not right for me (I need smallest, cheapest MODULE, not chip), can you please recommend another, again with IDE to use, etc.

Thanks and best,

Cat

[CataCluj]

Hi Simon,

In case I want to use the Dev. kit you proposed:

It seems the nRF52 Dev kit does NOT have an "nRF52805" and it is "for" "nRF52810" so I have 2 further questions please:

1. Does the dev kit include the "nRF52810" or is that to be added on some small daughterboard? (can't tell for sure from product brief; for != with)

2. Will anything I develop for the "nRF52810" using the dev-kit work on the "nRF52805"?  I suppose there are some differences?

Thanks,

Cat

[Simonr]

Hi

I see, yes there are some features on the DK your specific application might not need, but it is way easier to use and develop with than with a module without an onboard debugger for instance.

1. No, the nRF52DK includes an nRF52832 which is able to emulate being both an nRF52810, and an nRF52805. You can check out this development for nRF52805 guide here on DevZone for details. It should cover all you need to know to emulate using an nRF52805 on the nRF52DK.

Best regards,

Simon

[CataCluj]

After a very unpleasant experience installing the recommended IDE (Segger) I may (or may not) have Segger ES running, although to start it I have to first start "nRF Connect", then from there start the "Toolchain Manager" and only then can I start Segger Studio!

And then I opened the keyboard sample project only to find that it may be too big for the nRF52805; if I understand this build failure correctly, although it does not look right; I think I got NOTHING RIGHT:

zephyr\zephyr_prebuilt.elf section `noinit' will not fit in region `SRAM'

section .intList VMA [20006000,20006097] overlaps section noinit VMA [200038a0,200075ae]

region `SRAM' overflowed by 5551 bytes

In fact I think I did not even get the right project because now I see it's called app/libapp.a

[Simonr]

Hi

Since last time we spoke we have releaset the Visual Studio Code extension for development in the nRFConnect SDK (NCS). So if you're finding SES for NCS hard to get used to, I would recommend moving to Visual Studio Code, which I personally find a lot easier to use.

When opening an NCS project in SES the project will indeed be called libapp.a, so nothing strange there.

The nRF52805 is indeed very limited in terms of memory, and the error you get seem to be due to the application not fitting onto the RAM. You can try removing unnecessary parts of your application, as I'd imagine you only have a very specific use in mind?

You can also try using the nRF5 SDK which in general uses less memory, since it does not have to fit an RTOS onto the SoC. A slim example with the S112 SoftDevice for example should be able to fit I think.

If not you will indeed have to move to a SoC with more memory.

Best regards,

Simon

[CataCluj]

Thank you SImon; this is very useful.

It is sad that I can't choose with/without RTOS without having to change SDK, but what an you do.

So if I want to use nRF5 SDK can I still use same IDE(s)? or what?

Cat