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Re-work hints for QSPI flash on PCA10056

The design I'm working on will tentatively use "Original SPI" (like "Original Coke" ...), so I started cutting up the QSPI bridges to disconnect DIO2 and DIO3 (which are also other things ...) prior to pulling them up to Vcc.

Has anyone else done this? I'm comfy working under a microscope, but I'm an old geezer fart and I'm always looking for huge pads and buttons and knobs and dials I can use.

  • Hi Julie

    There are several standard SPI interfaces in the nRF51840, both master and slave, so you shouldn't need to repurpose the QSPI interface for this.

    If you just need standard SPI I would simply use the SPIM0 or SPIM1 interface instead ;)

    Best regards
    Torbjørn

  • I was asking about physically reworking the board with a soldering iron, not changing the code. One of the issues with the development kits is the number of GPIO pins used for all manner of things -- buttons, LEDs, etc. -- and the PCA10056 adds to that with the QSPI flash tying up pins for DIO2 and DIO3. I'd like to see Nordic produce "dumber" boards that didn't include so many buttons and LEDs.

  • Hi Julie

    How to disconnect the QSPI memory chip is explained here.

    The pins connected to buttons and LED's can typically be re-purposed without having to make any changes, as neither the buttons nor the LED's should pull the pins low or high when not in use (pressing the buttons will obviously pull the pins).

    There is a USB dongle board planned based on the nRF52840. It will have less buttons and LED's, but also less total IO available, since the board is much smaller.

    Best regards
    Torbjørn

  • Thanks. The disconnecting was easy, but the two pins on the flash part for DIO2 and DIO3 need to be pulled up to Vcc. Pin 8 is Vcc, so I ran a piece of Kynar wire between DIO2 (pin 3), DIO3 (pin 7) and Vcc. I thought i was going to have a much harder time soldering on the chip-side of the two SBs I had to cut, but the leftover pad was just wide enough.

    The USB dongle board will be very handy. For the nRF52832, I've used the Sparkfun breakout board WRL-13990, but we need the extra GPIO pins and RAM of the nRF52840, so if you could make a USB dongle in that form-factor, with all the GPIO pins broken out, that would be super-handy.

  • Hi Julie

    We have to wait for the production version of the part before we can make the USB dongle, so it will be a bit of a wait unfortunately (expected Q1 2018). Because of the smaller size, and to avoid using non standard header sizes, it won't have all GPIO's broken out. Currently we are looking at around 14 available GPIO's, with some of the remaining GPIO's used for things like LED's and buttons.

    Best regards
    Torbjørn

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