NRF52840: Difference between revisions
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== Software == | == Software == | ||
Links: | Links: | ||
* Nordic technical documentation: https://docs.nordicsemi.com/category/nrf52840-category | * Nordic technical documentation: https://docs.nordicsemi.com/category/nrf52840-category | ||
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* See also https://github.com/pdcook/nRFMicro-Arduino-Core | * See also https://github.com/pdcook/nRFMicro-Arduino-Core | ||
* https://github.com/ICantMakeThings/Nicenano-NRF52-Supermini-PlatformIO-Support | * https://github.com/ICantMakeThings/Nicenano-NRF52-Supermini-PlatformIO-Support | ||
Getting 'circuitpython' to work: | Getting 'circuitpython' to work: | ||
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* HOWEVER, it also says "On nRF boards, CircuitPython 8.2.0 and later require UF2 bootloader version 0.6.1 or later. Older bootloaders cannot load the firmware. See Update UF2 Bootloader below.". Guess what bootloader came with my board ... 0.6.0 | * HOWEVER, it also says "On nRF boards, CircuitPython 8.2.0 and later require UF2 bootloader version 0.6.1 or later. Older bootloaders cannot load the firmware. See Update UF2 Bootloader below.". Guess what bootloader came with my board ... 0.6.0 | ||
* They point you to https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_nRF52_Bootloader/releases/tag/0.9.2 but now what!?!!! | * They point you to https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_nRF52_Bootloader/releases/tag/0.9.2 but now what!?!!! | ||
=== Arduino adafruit platform === | |||
To be figured out: | |||
* Does this typically use the serial DFU, or the UF2? | |||
platformio.ini | |||
<pre> | |||
... | |||
</pre> | |||
Revision as of 20:59, 29 November 2025
| Project NRF52840 | |
|---|---|
| File:Nopicture.jpg | |
| Investigating Arduino on inexpensive NRF52840 boards | |
| Status | In progress |
| Contact | bertrik |
| Last Update | 2025-11-29 |
Intro
This page is about getting Arduino to work on inexpensive NRF52840 boards.
NRF52840 is potentially a very nice platform:
- low-power. quick wake-up
- inexpensive
- decent amount of flash (1024k), RAM (256k) and CPU cycles (64 MHz)
- support various radio protocols like zigbee, ble, thread, matter, enhanced shockburst
- built-in support for quadrature counting
- looks like it can run arduino too
However the eco-system of inexpensive boards is a complicated landscape:
- AliExpress sellers offer "promicro" and "supermini" board with unclear characteristics
- LEDs are often swapped (blue = hardware charge, red = software led?)
- Various firmware upload interface options (which one to use?):
- Using nrfutil, sends a .zip file containing various parts
- Serial DFU, used by nrfutil?
- Mass storage UF2, possibly activated using the double-reset
- SWD debug interface (requires soldering!)
- Confusing situation regarding bootloaders:
- Most boards seem to come with a modified version of a bootloader meant for another type of board
- Type of bootloader depends on type of firmware you want to run, "ZMK", Arduino using Arduino IDE, Arduino using platformio
- Space for "SoftDevice" needs to be reserved, what is this?
- Risk of accidentally overwriting the bootloader, with UF2 flash offsets sometimes being absolute, sometimes being relative
- Even multiple levels of bootloader? Like the normal one during application and another one using the double-reset method?
Hardware
The boards I have are the "promicro" and "supermini". These boards look basically identical hardware-wise.
There is a 4-pad connector to program it using SWD (VDD/SWD/SDC/GND). This can be used to write the bootloader for example. The pads have a spacing of 1.5mm.
The blue LED appears to flash independently of software, this is probably the charge circuit behaving randomly without a battery present. The red LED appears to be under software control.
promicro
The INFO_UF2.TXT says (after double-tap reset):
UF2 Bootloader 0.6.0 lib/nrfx (v2.0.0) lib/tinyusb (0.10.1-41-gdf0cda2d) lib/uf2 (remotes/origin/configupdate-9-gadbb8c7) Model: nice!nano Board-ID: nRF52840-nicenano SoftDevice: S140 version 6.1.1 Date: Jun 19 2021
The CURRENT.UF2 file is 1.4 MB
Kernel log says:
[509372.005339] usb 1-2.3: new full-speed USB device number 96 using xhci_hcd [509372.132351] usb 1-2.3: New USB device found, idVendor=239a, idProduct=00b3, bcdDevice= 1.00 [509372.132361] usb 1-2.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3 [509372.132364] usb 1-2.3: Product: nice!nano [509372.132366] usb 1-2.3: Manufacturer: Nice Keyboards [509372.132368] usb 1-2.3: SerialNumber: 98D93A272A6CCC7D [509372.187474] cdc_acm 1-2.3:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device [509372.190177] usb-storage 1-2.3:1.2: USB Mass Storage device detected [509372.190467] scsi host3: usb-storage 1-2.3:1.2 [509373.200470] scsi host3: scsi scan: INQUIRY result too short (5), using 36 [509373.200481] scsi 3:0:0:0: Direct-Access Adafruit nRF UF2 1.0 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2 [509373.200825] sd 3:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg0 type 0 [509373.202317] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] 65801 512-byte logical blocks: (33.7 MB/32.1 MiB) [509373.202556] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off [509373.202559] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00 [509373.202782] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] No Caching mode page found [509373.202784] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through [509373.296933] sdb: [509373.297002] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI removable disk
supermini
The bag that it came in, says "Nice Nano V2.0" and "Pro Micro".
The INFO_UF2.TXT says:
UF2 Bootloader 0.6.0 lib/nrfx (v2.0.0) lib/tinyusb (0.10.1-41-gdf0cda2d) lib/uf2 (remotes/origin/configupdate-9-gadbb8c7) Model: nice!nano Board-ID: nRF52840-nicenano SoftDevice: S140 version 6.1.1 Date: Jun 19 2021
Kernel log says:
[509738.557683] usb 1-2.3: new full-speed USB device number 97 using xhci_hcd [509738.684319] usb 1-2.3: New USB device found, idVendor=239a, idProduct=00b3, bcdDevice= 1.00 [509738.684329] usb 1-2.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3 [509738.684332] usb 1-2.3: Product: nice!nano [509738.684335] usb 1-2.3: Manufacturer: Nice Keyboards [509738.684337] usb 1-2.3: SerialNumber: C06AD6DDE508BCD6 [509738.747638] cdc_acm 1-2.3:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device [509738.750113] usb-storage 1-2.3:1.2: USB Mass Storage device detected [509738.750535] scsi host3: usb-storage 1-2.3:1.2 [509739.783832] scsi host3: scsi scan: INQUIRY result too short (5), using 36 [509739.783842] scsi 3:0:0:0: Direct-Access Adafruit nRF UF2 1.0 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2 [509739.784177] sd 3:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg0 type 0 [509739.785504] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] 65801 512-byte logical blocks: (33.7 MB/32.1 MiB) [509739.785712] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off [509739.785713] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00 [509739.785916] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] No Caching mode page found [509739.785918] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through [509739.861761] sdb: [509739.861829] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI removable disk
Software
Links:
- Nordic technical documentation: https://docs.nordicsemi.com/category/nrf52840-category
- Here is a wiki full of useful information on specific boards: https://github.com/joric/nrfmicro/wiki
- Specifically the supermini https://github.com/joric/nrfmicro/wiki/Alternatives#supermini-nrf52840
- See also https://github.com/pdcook/nRFMicro-Arduino-Core
- https://github.com/ICantMakeThings/Nicenano-NRF52-Supermini-PlatformIO-Support
Getting 'circuitpython' to work:
- Here's a page on making it work on nicenano: https://circuitpython.org/board/nice_nano/
- HOWEVER, it also says "On nRF boards, CircuitPython 8.2.0 and later require UF2 bootloader version 0.6.1 or later. Older bootloaders cannot load the firmware. See Update UF2 Bootloader below.". Guess what bootloader came with my board ... 0.6.0
- They point you to https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_nRF52_Bootloader/releases/tag/0.9.2 but now what!?!!!
Arduino adafruit platform
To be figured out:
- Does this typically use the serial DFU, or the UF2?
platformio.ini
...