Migrating nRF52840 to nRF52833

[Joel V]

Hi DevZone !

I am currently trying to migrate from nRF52840 to nRF52833 because of a backorder problem with the former.

My application consist of a Mesh configurations with the ESB protocole between multiple devices. 

It is using SPIM to read on external devices and RTC to periodically send packets.

I am using the SDKs:

• nRF5_SDK_15.0.0_prf
• nRF5_SDK_for_Thread_and_Zigbee_2.0.0_29775ac_min

I am currently trying to program a nRF52833-DK to make some test before implementing it with my real board.

I have already talked to one of your collegues to verify the hardware validity and it seems ok. 

Now, I have been able to program my DK by adding the dependencies of the nRF52833 in my SDK. 

I am not using any softdevice and I use a makefile to compile and program the device.

Now, I can't use my clock or my mesh library to send anything on the ESB protocole. I was wondering what could cause that problem.

Thanks you,

Joel V.

[Vidar Berg]

Hello,

Are you able to debug the application to see if the program hangs or crashes? It should generally be fairly straight forward port FW from the 52840 to 52833. The most important step is probably to remember to include the correct startup files and update the linker settings to reflect the new memory address ranges.

The relevant startup files are:

$(SDK_ROOT)/modules/nrfx/mdk/gcc_startup_nrf52833.S

$(SDK_ROOT)/modules/nrfx/mdk/system_nrf52833.c

Also remember to replace the preprocessor flag "NRF52840_XXAA" with NRF52833_XXAA in your makefile.

Now, I have been able to program my DK by adding the dependencies of the nRF52833 in my SDK. 

Did you update the MDK files in  /nRF5_SDK_15.0.0_a53641a/modules/nrfx/mdk/ with files with one of the more recent MDK releases here: https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Development-tools/nRF-MDK?

Best regards,

Vidar

[Joel V]

Hi Vidar,

I couldn't reply to your last message so I replied here, I read the regs and got this:

Seems like the faulty IRQ is the 0 which is POWER_CLOCK. Any hint on what could cause that ?

Thanks,

Joel V.

[Vidar Berg]

Hi Joel,

Actually, the problem is probably that 'POWER_CLOCK_IRQHandler' is *not* being redefined. Assuming you use the SDK drivers, you need the nrfx_irqs_nrf52833.h (this line) to connect POWER_CLOCK_IRQHandler to the nrfx_power_clock_irq_handler()  in nrfx_power_clock.c.

Please make sure the your nrfx_irqs.h file includes the following line: https://github.com/NordicSemiconductor/nrfx/blob/1aa7824f45d46b5f81250801868bef050ba72440/soc/nrfx_irqs.h#L47 and that nrfx_irqs_nrf52833.h is in your include path.

Best regards,

Vidar

[Joel V]

Hi Vidar,

The nrfx_irqs_nrf52833.h path is included and the following line is written

https://github.com/NordicSemiconductor/nrfx/blob/1aa7824f45d46b5f81250801868bef050ba72440/soc/nrfx_irqs.h#L47

I have tried multiple configurations and there is still those 2 variables that are undefined in my system:

NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCEN and NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCENHV

Thanks,

Joel V.

[Vidar Berg]

Hi Joel,

I realize now that there must be more files needing to be patched to get 52833 support in SDK 15.0.0, so it might be easier to just update the entire nrfx directory.

Have you tried to see if your project compiles against the latest nrfx 1.x release?  I don't believe there should be any breaking changes as long as you stay on the 1.x branch.

Joel V said:

NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCEN and NRFX_POWER_CONFIG_DEFAULT_DCDCENHV

I need to look more into this later.  Unlike the 52840, the 52833 does not have a high voltage DCDC regulator, so it kind of makes sense that the last symbol is undefined here.

Best regards,

Vidar

[Joel V]

First, I realized that I was using almost exclusively the nRF5_SDK_for_Thread_and_Zigbee_2.0.0_29775ac_min

I tried using nRF5_SDK_16.0.0 instead and it solved some problems (i think), then I had the errors I told you about.  Then I found the nrfx_power.c in the 16.0.0 and i didnt have the error anymore, but I cannot find the nrfx_power_clock.c so I commented it and debbugged my nrf52833 and it goes in an infinite loop in nrfx_spim.c while trying to send or receive data to my antenna, is there something to change in terms of pinout for the antenna in the software ?

I think it my solve the problem.

Thanks,

Joel V.

[Vidar Berg]

Hi,

So you no longer have the problem where the program hangs in the Default_Handler? The nrfx_power_clock.c implementation we had in sdk 15 is removed in more recent SDKs. Now we have the nrfx_power_clock.h header to connect the shared CLOCK_POWER IRQ handler to the handler in nrfx_power.c or nrfx_clock.c: https://github.com/NordicSemiconductor/nrfx/blob/1aa7824f45d46b5f81250801868bef050ba72440/drivers/include/nrfx_power_clock.h#L74

Joel V said:

goes in an infinite loop in nrfx_spim.c while trying to send or receive data to my antenna, is there something to change in terms of pinout for the antenna in the software ?

Could you point me to where it hangs? Also, what is the role of the SPIM in your app? We don't have anything that's controlled through SPI on the 52833 DK.

If possible, maybe you could share your project along with the the files you have modified? I think it would be helpful if I could debug the code here on a DK.

Best regards,

Vidar

[Joel V]

Hi Vidar,

I have managed to resolve the rest of my issues.

First, I had a PIN mapping problem causing my SPI to wait for response.

Second, I took the ESB library from the nRF_15.0.0 and it resolved my communication issue.

I would like to thanks you very much for your help, it is much appreciated !

Best regards,

Joel V.

[Vidar Berg]

Hi Joel,

Thank you for the update. I'm happy to hear it is working now.

Best regards,

Vidar