radio test NCS nrf52820 and nrf21540

[Muhammad Usman]

Hi All!

I am using NCS v2.0.0 and nrf52820 custom board and an example to test is radio test . I tested that example with nrf52833DK , code is executing/ printing messages on UART. But when I tested the same code by selecting the nrf52833_52820 then it was unable to run/ execute the code fully as it was with nrf52833. can you please help me in this regard?

Only this message on UART , after that no response when loaded program for nrf52820

But when i loaded the program for nrf52833 the program run properly as you can see the output it moves forward not stuck at the point where nrf52820.

Thanks in advance!

[Vidar Berg]

Hello,

Does your custom have the exact same UART pinout as the DK? I see you are able to receive messages so the TX pin must be correct, but it's not clear if the nRF is receiving your command input.

Ideally you should define new board files for your custom board (https://developer.nordicsemi.com/nRF_Connect_SDK/doc/latest/nrf/app_boards.html#custom-boards) and use that when building the sample. 'nrf52833dk_nrf52820' is not meant to be run on an actual 52820 IC.

Best regards,

Vidar

[Muhammad Usman]

Hello Vidar Berg 

Thank you so much for the response! Yes, UART pins are the same as that of DK. As receiving the messages. As you can see that nrf52820 stuck before the "clock has started" the message which was displayed by the nrf52833DK. 

Thank you for the link, I will follow it to find the issue and will update you further on this to configure the board according to the custom board configuration!

Thanks & Regards,

Muhammad Usman

[Muhammad Usman]

Hi,

Hi,

Again thank you so much for the support and response! I just tried as per your latest instructions. Same behavior not showing the clock startup time.

Thanks & Regards,

[Vidar Berg]

No problem! Could you try the same with the peripheral_uart example that worked earlier? It would be good to know what the startup time is.

Edit: I guess I misread your previous response. I thought it worked with peripheral_uart but failed with another application. Are you able to debug the application to confirm that it hangs in the while loop?

[Muhammad Usman]

Hi ,Vidar Berg,

Thank you for your wonderful support! I just tested another custom board that only has the nrf52820 sodered without soldering the nrf21540 IC . This board is working fine for the uart_perpherial example. Can it be issue with the nrf21540? 

Although, the same board/PCB I tested with nrf52833+nrf21540 worked fine with the same components stuffed.

Any expert opinion about that? again thank you for your time and help!

[Muhammad Usman]

Sorry, that was not worked with the peripheral_uart example. I tested  with RTT viewer showing me this 

 

[Vidar Berg]

Hi,

Thanks for confirming. This clearly suggests that there is a problem with the crystal on this  board. But what I don't understand is how it seemingly worked fine with the nRF5 SDK. Could there be a bad solder joint that causes the problem to become a bit intermittent?

Muhammad Usman said:

I tested the same custom board by soldering the nrf52833 instead of nrf52820 IC.

The same as in same PCB design, or did you actually replace the nRF52820 with a nRF52833 IC on the failing board?

[Muhammad Usman]

Hi 

Thank you so much for the response!

Yes, it might be a bad solder joint! 

PCB design is exactly the same but with fresh PCB not with the failing board.

Again Thank you for your time and concern!

[Vidar Berg]

I'm happy to help. So lets hope it's just a soldering issue and that you won't run into the same problem on other boards.

[Muhammad Usman]

Thank you so much!