nRF51 Development Kit Developing with the MDK-ARM Microcontroller Development Kit User Guide v1.0 Copyright © 2014 Nordic Semiconductor ASA. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 1 Introduction The nRF51 Development Kit combined with the nRF51 SDK forms a complete solution for product development based on nRF51 series chips. The nRF51 Development Kit is fitted with the nRF51422 chip, which is a powerful, highly flexible multiprotocol System on Chip (SoC) ideally suited for ANT™/ANT+, Bluetooth® low energy (BLE), and 2.4 GHz proprietary ultra-low power wireless applications.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 1.2 Required tools Below is a list of hardware and software tools that is required if you plan to explore all the features on this development kit. All the tools may not be required for all use cases. Nordic Tools Description nRFgo Studio nRFgo Studio is our tool to program and configure devices. It supports the programming of nRF51 SoftDevices, applications, and bootloaders.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 Third party tools Description Keil MDK-ARM Development Kit Keil MDK-ARM Development Kit is a development environment specifically designed for microcontroller applications that lets you develop using the nRF51 SDK application and example files. SEGGER J-Link Software The J-Link software is required to debug using the J-Link hardware that is packaged with this development kit. ANTware II ANTWare is an application used for the control of ANT wireless devices.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 1.4 Development Kit release notes Date October 2014 Kit version 1.0 Description • First release.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 2 Kit content In addition to hardware, the nRF51 Development Kit consists of firmware source code, documentation, hardware schematics, and layout files which are available from www.nordicsemi.com.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 3 Getting started This section shows you how to get access to the tools, libraries, and documentation. Connect your nRF51 Development Kit to a computer. 1. Connect your nRF51 DK board to a computer with a USB cable. 2. The status light (LD5) will come on, indicating it has power. 3. After a few seconds, the computer will recognize the nRF51 DK board as a standard USB drive. Figure 2 Windows example Get started with the toolchain and examples. 1.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 4 Interface MCU Interface MCU LD5 Power switch IF BOOT/RESET button Figure 3 Interface MCU 4.1 IF Boot/Reset button The nRF51 DK board is equipped with a boot/reset button (SW5). This button is connected to the interface MCU on the board and have two functions: • Reset button for the nRF device. • Enter boot loader mode of the interface MCU. During normal operation the button will function as a reset button for the nRF device.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 4.2 Virtual COM port The on-board Interface MCU features a Virtual COM port via UART. • Flexible baudrate setting up to 1 Mbps • Dynamic Hardware Flow Control (HWFC) handling • Tri-stated UART lines while no terminal is connected Table 1 shows an overview of the UART connections on nRF51422 and the interface MCU. nRF51422 Interface MCU Default GPIO UART UART P0.08 RTS CTS P0.09 TXD RXD P0.10 CTS RTS P0.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 5 Hardware description This chapter describes the nRF51 Development Kit board (PCA10028). The nRF51 Development Kit can be used as a development platform for the nRF51 device. It features an onboard programming and debugging solution. In addition to radio communication, the nRF51 device can communicate with a computer through a virtual COM port provided by the interface MCU. 5.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 Figure 5 nRF51 DK board bottom 5.2 Block diagram %DWWHU\ ([WHUQDO VXSSO\ *3,2 &XUUHQW PHDVXUHPHQW 3RZHU VZLWFK 9ROWDJH UHJXODWRU 'HEXJ RXW 9&&BQ5) /('V 'HEXJ LQ %XWWRQV $QWHQQD 6:' 3RZHU VZLWFK 9%86 86% 86% VHQVH ,QWHUIDFH 0&8 'DWD Q5) 8$57 2VF N+] ,) %227 5(6(7 2VF 0+] Figure 6 nRF51 DK board block diagram Page 11 0DWFKLQJ QHWZRUN
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 5.3 Power supply The nRF51 DK board has several power options: USB External power supply Coin cell battery Figure 7 Power supply options The 5 V from the USB is regulated down to 3.3 V through an on-board voltage regulator. The battery and external power supply are not regulated. The power sources are routed through a set of diodes (D1A, D1B, and D1C) for reverse voltage protection, where the circuit is supplied from the source with the highest voltage.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 USB power voltage regulator V5V Reverse voltage protection SB10 USB_DETECT VBUS C17 1.0μF GND AP7333-33SAG-7 nRF current measurement V5V VIO VDD_nRF R6 SW6 D1A U3 Vin Vout C16 1.0μF Power switch N.C.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 5.4 Connector interface Access to the nRF51422 GPIOs is available at connectors P2, P3, P4, P5, and P6 on the nRF51 DK board. In addition there is access to ground and power on the P1 connector. Figure 10 nRF51 DK board connectors The signals are also available on bottom side connectors P7, P8, P9, P10, P11, and P12.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 When the nRF51 DK board is used as a shield together with an Arduino standard motherboard, the Arduino signals is routed like shown in Figure 11.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 5.5 Buttons and LEDs The four buttons and four LEDs on nRF51 DK board are connected to dedicated I/Os on the nRF51422 chip. The connections are shown in Table 3. Part GPIO Short Button 1 P0.17 - Button 2 P0.18 - Button 3 P0.19 - Button 4 P0.20 - LED 1 P0.21 SB5 LED 2 P0.22 SB6 LED 3 P0.23 SB7 LED 4 P0.24 SB8 Table 3 Button and LED connection If GPIO P0.21 - P0.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 5.6 32.768 kHz crystal nRF51422 can use an optional 32.768 kHz crystal (X2) for higher accuracy and lower average power consumption. On the DK board, P0.26 and P0.27 are by default used for the 32.768 kHz crystal and are not available as a GPIO on the connectors. Note: When using ANT/ANT+, the 32.768 kHz crystal (X2) is required for correct operation. If P0.26 and P0.27 are needed as normal I/Os the 32.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 5.7 Measuring current The current drawn by the nRF51422 device can be monitored on the nRF51 DK board. To measure the current, you must first prepare the board by cutting the shorting of solder bridge SB9. There are two ways of measuring the current consumption: 1. Connect an ampere-meter between the pins of connector P22. This will monitor the current directly. Cut SB9 Figure 16 Current measurement with ampere-meter 2. Mount a resistor on the footprint for R6.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 5.8 RF measurements The nRF51 DK board is equipped with a small size coaxial connector for conducted measurements of the RF signal (J1). The connector is of SWF type from Murata (part no. MM8130-2600) with an internal switch. By default, when there is no cable attached, the RF signal is routed to the on-board PCB trace antenna. A test probe is available from Murata, part no.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 5.9 Debug input The debug input, Debug in (P18) connector, enables connection of external debuggers in order to debug while running on battery or external power supply. P18, Debug in Figure 19 Debug input connector 5.10 Debug output The nRF51 DK board supports programming and debugging of external boards. To debug an external board, connect to the Debug out (P19) connector with a 10 pin cable.
nRF51 Development Kit User Guide v1.0 Liability disclaimer Nordic Semiconductor ASA reserves the right to make changes without further notice to the product to improve reliability, function or design. Nordic Semiconductor ASA does not assume any liability arising out of the application or use of any product or circuits described herein.
