XM122 XB122 prototyping

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

Sigurd Hellesvik — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 06:31:19 GMT

Hi Andreas,

Nice to hear that you were able to solve your problem, good job!

[quote user="AndreasLiebenberg"]I do now have a next problem[/quote]

Could you create a new ticket for this new problem?
It would help us keep DevZone tidy, and easier for other users to find solutions later.

Regards,
Sigurd Hellesvik

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

AndreasLiebenberg — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 20:32:16 GMT

Hi Sigurd,

Thanks nRF52840DK did the trick. I used the 10pin Cable connected to Debug Out on the nRF52840 DK and the SWD/JTAG on the XB122. To solve the power supply I shorted the SB47 on the nRF52840 DK which gave the XB122 power through the debug interface and prevents me from updating the nRF52840 DK itself. I could deploy the bootloader using commands":
nrfjprog -f nrf52 --erasepage 0xFE000-0x100000
nrfjprog -f nrf52 --program production_sw.hex --sectorerase --verify
nrfjprog -f nrf52 --reset

And the could load the supplied S140_nRF52.6.1.1_Softdevice.hex

After that I could reload old samples and device is functioning normal.

This put me back on deploying my own App. I followed your advice and used the command

nrfutil pkg generate --hw-version 52 --application-version 1 --application acc_bluetooth_beacon.hex --softdevice s140_nrf52_6.1.1_softdevice.hex --sd-req 0xB6 --sd-id 0xB6 app_dfu_package.zip

which included the --softdevice setting. This managed to deploy and I can redeploy, so the alignment and combination of the .hex files seems fine. Thanks!

I do now have a next problem, the sample now fails in the create_envelope_service() function.

service_handle = acc_service_create(envelope_configuration); returns a NULL handle, all up to this point looked fine...

The errors in the debug window shows:

"<error> app: sensor_protocol:Timeout waiting for event on sensor 1
<error> app: cpd_cbank_and_vana_calibration:Failed to get result for vana setting=0
<error> app: cpd_cbank_and_vana_calibration:Get Vana result failed
<error> app: sensor_manager:Calibration failure for sensor 1
<info> app: Could not create envelope service"

Any idea where to start looking for this next problem?

Thanks

Cheers

Andreas

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

Sigurd Hellesvik — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 12:30:18 GMT

Hi Andreas,

Yes, if it looks like the bootloader is broken, a debugger is the only option.

You can use a J-Link as you say.

Another alternative is to use any of our nRF Developement Kits, as they come with a debugger on board, and are able to program external chips.
For example the nRF52840DK.

Regards,
Sigurd Hellesvik

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

AndreasLiebenberg — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 11:55:55 GMT

Thanks Sigurd,

I will look into this in more detail. No, unfortunately I cannot DFU Serial anymore, it cannot connect to COM5, probably caused by the same issue. As I understand J-link is now my only option?

Thanks

Cheers

Andreas

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

Sigurd Hellesvik — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 11:08:20 GMT

Hi Andreas,

Likely, your bootloader has support for BLE integrated.

But I think I have figured out what have gone wrong here.
From "nrfutil pkg generate --help":

"--softdevice TEXT The SoftDevice firmware file."

So to add a softdevice to the image, you must tag it as a soft-device.

You meged it into the application with:

[quote user="AndreasLiebenberg"]mergehex -m merged.hex s140_nrf52_6.1.1_softdevice.hex -o merged_output.hex[/quote]

Because of this, nrfutil does not know that this is a softdevice, and may have written it to the wrong place in flash.
Therefore, the bootloader can no longer access the softdevice to do BLE.

However, as you said, you can do dfu over serial, right?

[quote user="AndreasLiebenberg"]nrfutil dfu serial -pkg bluetooth_demo_app_xm122.zip -p COM5[/quote]

In this case, try to generate a new zip file for DFU using the --softdevice. See nRF52840 Dongle Programming Tutorial for how to use nrfutil properly.

Regards,
Sigurd Hellesvik

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

AndreasLiebenberg — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 13:08:55 GMT

Zip Uploaded.

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

AndreasLiebenberg — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 13:08:34 GMT

devzone.nordicsemi.com/.../1602.app_5F00_dfu_5F00_package.zip

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

Sigurd Hellesvik — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 11:58:00 GMT

Hi,

Can you send the last zip file you uploaded to the device before it stopped working?

Last time you uploaded firmware to the device, did you use serial(cable) or Bluetooth(mobile)?

Regards,
Sigurd Hellesvik

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

AndreasLiebenberg — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 11:21:37 GMT

Oops, I managed the same, I also pressed Verify instead of reply, hope you can see this reply and reopen.

I am not 100% sure, but I did use my Android phone and nRF Util to DFU the device, so I assume the bootloader has BLE capabilities. But I have tried that again, and currently cannot see the device in nRF Util on my Andoid, hence I assume it has been overwritten with my last DFU

Cheers

Andreas

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

Sigurd Hellesvik — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 11:12:36 GMT

Hi Andreas,

If you have not used a J-Link yet, I think the bootloader should still be present on the device, since the bootloader should not be able to overwrite itself.

To do DFU over Bluetooth Low Energy (LE), as the tutorial explains, you need to have Bluetooth LE supported when in DFU mode.

Do you know if the last firmware you uploaded to the device has support for sending firmware over Bluetooth LE? (Also known as Firmware Over the Air (FOTA)

Do you know if the Bootloader has support for Bluetooth LE (Not in the application, but in the bootloader?

Regards,
Sigurd Hellesvik

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

AndreasLiebenberg — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 10:52:45 GMT

No, I do not have a J-Link, I was hoping there might be another solution...

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

Sigurd Hellesvik — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 10:37:50 GMT

Hi Andreas,

Sorry for the notifications, but I managed to misclick on your answer and "Mark as Solution".

[quote user="AndreasLiebenberg"]This also worked and I could see distance measurements on my phone as the demo should do.[/quote]

Ah, so it worked first, good to know!

Just to be sure: Have you ever connected a J-Link debugger or other debugger to your XM/XB122?

Regards,
Sigurd Hellesvik

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

AndreasLiebenberg — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 15:46:23 GMT

Hi Sigurd,

Thanks, here the answers:

I take your point on the XM122 User guide and Acconeer, but am I missing something? Are all the steps not referring to your tools? It starts with "Download and install “nRF5x Command Line Tools” from www.nordicsemi.com" I must say, it is confusing who's tools is who's and who to talk to. Thanks for the patience!

I did follow a tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaVWA4c8-2I (not sure if it is the one you are referring to), which instructed me on how to put the bootloader on the device. This DFU was done successfully. I did not generate the package with HRM (I do not know what HRM is). I downloaded a file acc_module_server_dfu_package.zip and deployed that with the command "nrfutil dfu serial -pkg acc_module_server_dfu_package.zip -p COM5"

This worked. I deployed a second .zip "nrfutil dfu serial -pkg bluetooth_demo_app_xm122.zip -p COM5"

This also worked and I could see distance measurements on my phone as the demo should do.

Regarding the last part of restoring the bootloader. Their instructions on how I loaded the original with nrfutil does not work again, it just says no response from COM5. So, I suspect XM/XB122 it is in a vegetable state, I need a "Factory Reset" and a J-Link debugger is the only option?

Thanks again

Cheers

Andreas

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

Sigurd Hellesvik — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 13:37:54 GMT

Hi Andreas:

[quote user="AndreasLiebenberg"]The instructions from the XM122 Module Software User Guide says:[/quote]

If you have questions to the XM122 guides, contact Acconeer.

[quote user="Sigurd Hellesvik"]Just to be clear, you have already followed the tutorial and generated the package with hrm and performed a DFU successfully? [/quote]

I did not get the answer to this. Have you ever been able to do DFU on your device?

[quote user="AndreasLiebenberg"]

1) Do I need a J-Link device, is this now the only way to communicate with the XB122?

2) If so, which is the smallest/cheapest version that will get the job done?

3) If not, what is the alternative way?

[/quote]

There are two ways to program a device: Using a Debugger or a Bootloader.

Here is the top result when I search for "bootloader vs debugger": https://www.playembedded.org/blog/difference-bootloader-debugger/

I suspect the XB122 came preprogrammed with a bootloader.
If you programmed it using a debugger, you might have overwritten the bootloader.
In this case you need to program an application with a bootloader to the chip using a debugger.

With a bootloader, you no longer need a debugger to program the chip.

Regards,
Sigurd Hellesvik

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

AndreasLiebenberg — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 10:21:57 GMT

Hi Sigurd,

I have read so much and downloaded so much and tried so many things, I decided I will redo my first basic steps to confirm the actual versions before I answer in detail, but now I see after my last DFU I cannot see the device to do a DFU again. I assume I must now first restore the bootloader. The instructions from the XM122 Module Software User Guide says:

"2.4 Restore Bootloader

A backup copy of the bootloader is delivered as part of the “production sw.hex” file, which also includes Nordic’s softdevice (containing their Bluetooth stack). Bootloader and softdevice has been merged into a single hex file, because as of version 15.3.0 of the Nordic SDK they cannot be flashed separately. To restore an XM122 device to its factory condition, do the following using a J-Link: 1. Download and install “nRF5x Command Line Tools” from www.nordicsemi.com 2. Download and install “J-Link Software and Documentation Pack” from www.segger.com nrfjprog -f nrf52 -- erasepage 0 xFE000 -0 x100000 nrfjprog -f nrf52 -- program production_sw . hex -- sectorerase -- verify nrfjprog -f nrf52 -- reset "

My 3 questions now are:

1) Do I need a J-Link device, is this now the only way to communicate with the XB122?

2) If so, which is the smallest/cheapest version that will get the job done?

3) If not, what is the alternative way?

Thanks

Cheers

Andreas

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

Sigurd Hellesvik — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 14:14:25 GMT

Hi,

Which Python application and distance demo are you referring too?

Just to be clear, you have already followed the tutorial and generated the package with hrm and performed a DFU successfully?

Regards,
Sigurd Hellesvik

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

AndreasLiebenberg — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 14:07:35 GMT

Hi Jared,

Already did that, I flashed the DFU with the standard DFU package and looked at the explorer data via Python App.

I then also put the Distance Demo on and can see that running from an Android App.

So the device is working, and how I update seems to be working.

What I am trying to do is to create my own package to update. I have not modified the sample other than the two items mentioned (Version fix on the RAM vs RAM1) and adding .hex as additional output to the linker.

The demo App is almost exactly what I need, just distance info in the BLE advertising header.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Cheers

Andreas

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

Jared — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 12:55:15 GMT

Hi there,

Let's simplify this a bit by starting with an easier example.

Can you try to do a DFU with your device and phone by following all the steps until D in this tutorial. If this works then we could conclude that your HW is probably ok.

regards

Jared

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

AndreasLiebenberg — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 11:29:39 GMT

Hi Jared,

Thanks for the prompt reply, I made some progress, but stuck again. After lots of reading and downloading, I have now picked all the tools to be used, and all steps working, except the actual DFU flashing (which now also works, but BLE not advertising).

Toolset:

SEGGER Embedded Studio for ARM Release 6.34a Build 2022083102.51023 Windows x64

Python 3.7

nrfutil - latest version 6.1.6

mergehex - latest version 10.17.3

nRF5_SDK_15.3.0_59ac345

Sample App acconeer_xm122_v2_11_0.zip

Sample project segger_embedded_studio.emProject

The project compiles after fixing the issue as explained in undefined reference to `__RAM1_segment_end__'

I changed the link settings to add a .hex file as output, also seems successful

I thengenerated the settings.hex with:

nrfutil settings generate --family NRF52 --application acc_bluetooth_beacon.hex --application-version 1 --bootloader-version 2 --bl-settings-version 1 settings.hex

Then merged settings with app with:

mergehex -m acc_bluetooth_beacon.hex settings.hex -o merged.hex

Then added what seems to be the appropriate softdevice with:

mergehex -m merged.hex s140_nrf52_6.1.1_softdevice.hex -o merged_output.hex

Then generated the deployment package with:

nrfutil pkg generate --hw-version 52 --application-version 1 --application merged_output.hex --sd-req 0xB6 --sd-id 0xB6 app_dfu_package.zip

All seems fine. But when I try to deploy package to XM122 via XB122 and nRF Toolbox DFU app, the process fails after Bootloader Enabled - ok

Initializing DFU - fail

Ok, now for the catch, I was repeating these steps as I was typing and this time it worked, no fail on DFU Init. BUT when I reset the XB-/XM122 I do not see any BLE advertisements as expected, I do not even see the device.

Any advice on how to debug this will be appreciated.

Thanks

Cheers

Andreas

RE: XM122 XB122 prototyping

Jared — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 09:33:35 GMT

Hi there,

[quote user=""]Can I put custom software on a XM122 using the XB122 dev kit?[/quote]

This is an external third party module, but as far as I can see it has a nRF52840 which has a SWD debug interface that can be used to flash fw. I'm not sure if the devkit you're referring to has an on board debugger that can be used to flash external boards (It doesn't look like it). Either way, you could use a stand alone J-link debugger from SEGGER to flash the XM122 as long the SWD interface has been routed out.

regards
Jared