nRF52840: Discrepancy between Product Specification (pdf) and Infocentre. Which is right?

[jose123]

Dear Nordic support,

We are trying to know the current consumption during BLE RX & TX. However, there appears to be apparently conflicting information. Which is right?

In the product specification (nRF52840_PS_v1.6.pdf), it mentions 4.8mA TX (0dBm) and 4.6mA RX. 

But in the Infocentre page (Radio transmitting/receiving section, Electrical specification, nRF52840 v1.6), it mentions I_{RADIO_TX1} = 6.40mA (0dBm, 1 Mbps BLE mode, Clock = HFXO, Regulator = DC/DC) and I_{RADIO_RX0} = 6.26mA (1 Mbps BLE mode, Clock = HFXO, Regulator = DC/DC). Indeed we could not find any figure here which is near the figures mentioned in the product specification. 

Any idea what is going wrong? Thanks for your help.

[Susheel Nuguru]

I am guessing that the infocenter includes the HFCLK currents and the PS does not, but I will double check with our power expert and come back to you soon.

[Susheel Nuguru]

Hi, The radio chapter only includes the numbers for the RADIO, which is a common convention when giving electrical specifications for the peripherals inside that peripheral chapter. So the lower number is only the power consumption of the radio itself not including any clocks used.