SPI loopback sample for nRF9160DK

[Finny Philip Biju]

I need to test the SPI communication in my nRF9160DK. I had tried to run the spi_loopback but failed to create a project in segger studio. Are there any SPI tests available in the newer nRF connect SDKs? A few SPI samples were available in older releases of connect SDK. 

I am trying to interface an MRFC522 RFID scanner with nRF9160dk. The project is successfully built and uploaded but fails to communicate via SPI. We have tested the same application with nRF connect SDK 1.5.1. Now I doubt whether it is due to compatibility issues with newer releases of connect SDK.

It would be really helpful if I could get some resources for SPI or I2C communication for RFID reader using nRF9160dk. 

Is it possible to use the nRF52840 MCU present in nRF9160dk for RFID reader interfacing through SPI or I2C?

[Sigurd Hellesvik]

Hi

From out Release Notes:
"

nRF Connect SDK v1.9.0 is supported by both nRF Connect extensions for Visual Studio Code and SEGGER Embedded Studio Nordic Edition. In future releases, documentation on the setup and usage of Segger Embedded Studio Nordic Edition will no longer be available and all references to IDE support will instruct users with nRF Connect extensions for Visual Studio Code. In future releases, Segger Embedded Studio will no longer be tested with the build system and it is not recommended for new projects.

nRF Connect extensions for Visual Studio Code will be under continued active development and supported and tested with future nRF Connect SDK releases. It is recommended for all new projects.
"

VS Code also supports older versions of the nRF Connect SDK.

Could you try to build the SPI loopback sample using VS Code? Then post any error logs you get, and I will try to help you make it work.

The project is successfully built and uploaded but fails to communicate via SPI.

Could you try to use an Oscilloscope or logic analysator to see if there are SPI signals on the line?

Is it possible to use the nRF52840 MCU present in nRF9160dk for RFID reader interfacing through SPI or I2C?

See the nRF9160DK Schematic files, downloaded from nRF9160DK Hardware Files, for how the nRF52840 is connected in the nRF9160DK.
The nRF9160DK User Guide could also be useful here.

Regards,
Sigurd Hellesvik

[Finny Philip Biju]

Thanks for the reply. Let me try this and I will update my progress here, requesting to continue the support till I am able to get it successful.

[Finny Philip Biju]

I was able to read the RFID card with sdk v1.5.1 using VS code.

But when I try with connect v1.9.1 even though it is getting built and uploaded successfully, but unable to read the RFID. 

[Sigurd Hellesvik]

Hi

To debug this issue, I recommend that you do the following two things:

Use an oscilloscope or logic analyzer proble the signals on the I2C or SPI lines connected to the RFID card reader.
Do the signals look as expected? If not, what is wrong?

Use logs or debugging to find if the code returns any errors when trying to communicate with the RFID reader.
And verify that the code runs as excpected.

Regards,
Sigurd Hellesvik