User Guide

Introduction

The evaluation board features a PAN1780-AT Bluetooth® Low Energy (LE) module which is based on the Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 single-chip controller with integrated BlueRadios nBlue™ Bluetooth AT.s LE Command Set.

Note

For further information on the BlueRadios nBlue™ Bluetooth AT.s LE Command Set, please contact your local Panasonic Sales representative.

Features

• All GPIOs accessible via pin headers

• Power measurement interface

• FTDI USB to UART Interface

• 4x buttons attached to firmware control inputs

• 4x LEDs attached to firmware status outputs

• Module native USB interface

• NFC antenna connector

Block Diagram

Board Overview

1 USB connector - X1
You can use the USB connector to power the board and gain access to the UART communication.

2 Reset button
You can use the reset button to reset the board to a known-good state.

3 Buttons
You can use the buttons to trigger special functions of the firmware.

Behavior of buttons on old board revisions

On old board revisions capacitors were used for debouncing the buttons. That has led to a negative impact on the startup behavior of the module. So these have been removed.

If you have an old board revision you have to press the reset button after you power the board. Otherwise it will not start up.

You can identify an old board revision by the absence of the batch label on the back. Newer versions have this label.

4 Current measurement pin header - P4
You can use the current measurement pin header to measure the current consumption.

5 Module power supply pin header - P5
You can use the module power supply pin header to disconnect the power to the module for current consumption measurement purposes.

6 Module native USB connector - X5
You can use the module native USB connector to interact with the USB functionality of the firmware.

7 UART module connection pin header - P1
You can use the UART module connection pin header to interact with the FTDI USB device or the default UART pins that are usually used. The UART pins are directly connected to the module.

9 Status LEDs
The LEDs visualize the status information of the firmware.

11 Power configuration pin header - P7
You can use power configuration pin headers to choose between 3.3 V and 5 V voltage levels.

12 Breakout pin headers - P21 and P22
You can use the breakout pin headers to access all the module GPIO pins directly. Also see GPIO Pin Access

13 Power LED
You can observe the power LED to verify that the board is correctly powered.

14 The module

15 NFC antenna connector - P19
You can use the NFC antenna connector to connect an NFC antenna.

16 NFC pin header - P23
You can use the NFC pin header to access the NFC pins directly.

17 Status LED pin header - P20
You can use the status LED pin header to control the connection of the LEDs to the module pins.

22 USB hub power LED
You can use the USB hub power LED to verify that the USB hub is correctly powered.

23 Peripheral disable pin header - P6
You can use the peripheral disable pin header to control the connection of the USB hub, FTDI adapter and Segger J-Link on-board debugger to the power supply. This is useful to disconnect certain peripherals for current consumption measurements.

GPIO Pin Access

You can access every GPIO pin of the module through the breakout pin headers P21 and P22 12.

For each GPIO pin dedicated pull-up and pull-down pins are available as well which you can bridge using a jumper. This makes it easy to permanently pull GPIO pins to GND or VCC or attach additional circuitry easily.

You can check the details of the pin mappings between the evaluation board, the module and the nRF52840 in the following table.

EVB Pin	PIO	Module Footprint	Module Pin	nRF52840 Footprint	nRF52840 Pin
3.3 V 1
5 V 2
0.02	PIO_10	A6	P0.02	B6	P0.02
0.03	PIO_1	A5	P0.03	A5	P0.03
0.04	PIO_0	A3	P0.04	C10	P0.04
0.05	PIO_16	A4	P0.05	D10	P0.05
0.06	PIO_17	B1	P0.06	E9	P0.06
0.07	PIO_15	D3	P0.07	F9	P0.07
0.08	PIO_18	C1	P0.08	E10	P0.08
0.09	NFC	A9	P0.09	F1	P0.09
0.10	NFC	A8	P0.10	E2	P0.10
0.11	PIO_3	F2	P0.11	H8	P0.11
0.12	PIO_4	F1	P0.12	G10	P0.12
0.13	PIO_2	F3	P0.13	H7	P0.13
0.14	PIO_5	F4	P0.14	J7	P0.14
0.15	PIO_7	F5	P0.15	K7	P0.15
0.16	PIO_8	G1	P0.16	H6	P0.16
0.17	PIO_9	E4	P0.17	J6	P0.17
0.19	PIO_37	F6	P0.19	K4	P0.19
0.20	PIO_25	E6	P0.20	J5	P0.20
0.21	PIO_28	E7	P0.21	J4	P0.21
0.22	PIO_30	F9	P0.22	K3	P0.22
0.23	PIO_22	E5	P0.23	H5	P0.23
0.24	PIO_6	D6	P0.24	H4	P0.24
0.25	PIO_14	F8	P0.25	K2	P0.25
0.26	PIO_21	A2	P0.26	C9	P0.26
0.27	PIO_20	A1	P0.27	D9	P0.27
0.28	PIO_11	B5	P0.28	A6	P0.28
0.29	PIO_12	A7	P0.29	C7	P0.29
0.30	PIO_13	B3	P0.30	A7	P0.30
0.31	PIO_29	B4	P0.31	C8	P0.31
1.00	PIO_42	G8	P1.00	J3	P1.00
1.01	PIO_33	F7	P1.01	J1	P1.01
1.02	PIO_38	D7	P1.02	G3	P1.02
1.03	PIO_32	C3	P1.03	F3	P1.03
1.04	PIO_43	E9	P1.04	H1	P1.04
1.05	PIO_31	C9	P1.05	G2	P1.05
1.06	PIO_36	B8	P1.06	E3	P1.06
1.07	PIO_35	D8	P1.07	G1	P1.07
1.08	PIO_19	D2	P1.08	G9	P1.08
1.09	PIO_27	E2	P1.09	F10	P1.09
1.10	PIO_26	B7	P1.10	B4	P1.10
1.11	PIO_44	C7	P1.11	A3	P1.11
1.12	PIO_41	C8	P1.12	C5	P1.12
1.13	PIO_40	B6	P1.13	A4	P1.13
1.14	PIO_39	C6	P1.14	B5	P1.14
1.15	PIO_34	B9	P1.15	C6	P1.15
GND

¹ The maximum output current using 3.3 V is 500 mA.

² The maximum output current depends on the USB supply.

Initial Preparations

Before you can work with the evaluation tool (again) you may have to check (or restore) the default jumper configuration or install device drivers, depending on the operating system you are using.

Default Jumper Configuration

You can check the default jumper configuration easily because it is imprinted with white (or blue) line markings on the silkscreen of the PCB.

For example, the default jumper configuration in the following picture is:

• One jumper put on the lower left two pins

• One jumper put on the lower right two pins

FTDI USB UART Driver

You may have to install a driver for the FTDI USB UART if the operating system you are using does not provide one automatically.

If in doubt, please refer to the FTDI website and install the drivers manually. For further information please refer to FTDI Driver Page.

Segger J-Link On-Board Debugger Driver

Warning

Do not use the Segger J-Link on-board debugger. On this evaluation board the Segger J-Link on-board debugger serves no purpose.

Do not use any tools provided by Nordic Semiconductor to access the underlying nRF52840 chipset because you can accidentally destroy the BlueRadios nBlue™ Bluetooth AT.s LE Command Set firmware.

First Steps

The evaluation board is delivered with integrated BlueRadios nBlue™ Bluetooth AT.s LE Command Set. In the following chapters you can find instructions on how to interact with that firmware.

Note

For further information on the BlueRadios nBlue™ Bluetooth AT.s LE Command Set, please contact your local Panasonic Sales representative.

The following requirements must be met:

• You have placed the jumpers on the evaluation board according to Default Jumper Configuration.

• You have installed a terminal application to interact with the firmware.

Note

If you do not have any terminal application yet, you can try Termite.

In the following steps, Termite is used.

COM Port Setup

1. Start the terminal application.

2. Click Settings 1 to choose and configure the desired COM port.

   

   The configuration dialog is displayed.

3. Configure the COM port as indicated by 1 and select the known COM port.

   

4. Select the Transmitted Text property to be Append CR 2.

5. Click Ok 3 to continue.

   The COM port is configured and the configuration dialog is closed.

When you close the configuration dialog or Termite starts, the COM port is usually opened automatically. If not, continue with the following step.

6. Click Disconnected – click to connect 1.

   

   The COM port is opened.

Connectivity Check

You can check the connectivity of the module by observing the diagnostic message after the module has been reset.

1. Press the button SW5/RESET on the evaluation board.

   

   You can observe the boot message 1.

If you can see the diagnostic message the module is fully operational.

Device Check

You can check the current status of the device.

1. Enter ATV? 1 into the input field and press Enter.

   

   The version number 2 of the firmware is displayed.

Bluetooth Device Address Check

You can read out the Bluetooth Device Address of the evaluation board.

1. Enter ATA? 1 into the input field and press Enter.

   

   The Bluetooth Device Address 2 of the module is displayed.

Cable Replacement Use Case

If you have two evaluation boards, you can easily use them to set up the cable replacement use case.

The following requirement must be met:

• You can communicate with both evaluation boards as described in Device Check.

Note

For further information on the BlueRadios nBlue™ Bluetooth AT.s LE Command Set, please contact your local Panasonic Sales representative.

Setup

1. Execute ATA? 1 on one of the evaluation boards to retrieve the Bluetooth Device Address.

   

   The Bluetooth Device Address 2 of the evaluation board is displayed.

Connection Establishment

You can establish a connection to the module immediately after restart because it does advertising in the default configuration.

1. Execute ATDMLE 1 using the retrieved Bluetooth Device Address on the other evaluation board to establish a connection.

   

   The BRSP events 2 3 indicate that a connection has been established between the two evaluation boards.

Data Transfer

You can immediately transfer data between the two evaluation boards after the connection has been established because the modules enter the so-called data mode automatically.

All data that you provide to one module through the serial port is automatically transferred to the other module and output through the serial port.

1. Enter any message 1 and press Enter to send.

   

   You can observe the message 2 after it is transferred.

You can also send data in the opposite direction now.

2. Enter any message 3 and send it by pressing Enter.

   After it is transferred, the message 4 is displayed.

Connection Termination

Note

Before you can send any new command to one of the modules again, the device must be switched from data mode to command mode again.

Afterward, you can terminate the connection.

1. Execute +++ 1 on one evaluation board to switch to command mode.

   

   The OK event indicates that the command mode is entered again.

2. Execute ATDH 2 to terminate the connection.

   The messages 3 4 show that the connection was terminated successfully.

Firmware Update

You may want to update the firmware of the module because a newer version is available.

Warning

You cannot downgrade the module to an older version of the firmware.

If you try anyway, the BlueRadios nBlue™ Programmer (nBP) fails with an extended error 0x06.

You can use different methods to update the firmware of the module:

1. UART - using the USB connector X1 1

2. USB - using the module native USB connector X5 6

3. Bluetooth - over-the-air update

The main difference is the interface that is used for the update.

For all methods you can use the BlueRadios nBlue™ Programmer (nBP), for the over-the-air update you can also use nRF Connect For Mobile on a mobile device.

The update file comes in the form of a ZIP file and is named pan1780at_vX_X_X_X.zip where X_X_X_X is the version number.

Note

Please contact your local Panasonic Sales representative for further information on the latest firmware version and the programming tools.

Firmware and Bootloader Version

You can check the firmware and bootloader version to determine if an update makes sense.

You can read the current firmware version of the device.

1. Enter ATV? 1 into the input field and press Enter.

   

   The version number 2 of the firmware is displayed.

   The response is a string of the format X.X.X.X-PAN1780, where X.X.X.X is the firmware version number.

You can read the current bootloader version of the device.

1. Enter ATBOOT 1 into the input field and press Enter.

   

   The version number 2 of the bootloader is displayed.

   The response is a string of the format NBOOT,0,YY,PAN1780, where YY is the bootloader version number.

Note

After you send the command ATBOOT, the module goes into the bootloader mode. In the bootloader mode it no longer responds to any of the AT commands.

If you want to bring the module back into regular mode, you have to toggle the reset line, for example, by pressing the reset button.

UART using USB connector X1 1

You can use the BlueRadios nBlue™ Programmer (nBP) in conjunction with the USB connector X1 1.

1. Start BlueRadios nBlue™ Programmer (nBP).

2. Plug in the evaluation board via the USB connector X1 1.

   The BlueRadios nBlue™ Programmer (nBP) detects that the evaluation board is plugged in and shows the newly discovered COM ports.

3. Click the tab UART Update 1 and select the Target Port 2 of the evaluation board.
   Make sure that the COM port is picked that is matching the USB connector X1 1.

   

4. Click the icon ... 1 and select the firmware update package 2 that you want to use for the update.
   Make sure that the options High Speed and Flow Control 3 are checked.

   

5. Click Program Module 1.

   

   The firmware update is done and the progress is visualized in the status bar 1.
   When the update is done, the BlueRadios nBlue™ Programmer (nBP) shows you an information note.

USB using module native USB connector X5 6

You can use the BlueRadios nBlue™ Programmer (nBP) in conjunction with the module native USB connector X5 6.

Note

During the update you may notice that the USB connection is reestablished multiple times because the update is done in multiple stages.

1. Start BlueRadios nBlue™ Programmer (nBP).

2. Plug in the evaluation board via the module native USB connector X5 6.

   The BlueRadios nBlue™ Programmer (nBP) detects that the evaluation board is plugged in and shows the newly discovered COM ports.

3. Click the tab UART Update 1 and select the Target Port 2 of the evaluation board.
   Make sure that the COM port is picked that is matching the module native USB connector X5 6.

   

4. Click the icon ... 1 and select the firmware update package 2 that you want to use for the update.
   Make sure that the options High Speed and Flow Control 3 are checked.

   

5. Click Program Module 1.

   

   The firmware update is carried out and the progress is visualized in the status bar 2.
   When the update is done, the BlueRadios nBlue™ Programmer (nBP) shows you an information note.

Over-the-air Update using BlueRadios nBlue™ Programmer (nBP)

You can use the BlueRadios nBlue™ Programmer (nBP) in conjunction with the a second evaluation board to update the firmware over-the-air.

1. Start BlueRadios nBlue™ Programmer (nBP) and click the tab OTA Update 1.

   

2. Plug in the evaluation board via the USB connector X1 1that you want to use to update the other evaluation board.

   The BlueRadios nBlue™ Programmer (nBP) detects that the evaluation board is plugged in and shows the newly discovered COM ports.

3. Select the COM port using the Updater Port 1. Make sure that you pick the COM port that is matching the module native USB connector X5 6.

   

4. Click the icon ... 1 and select the firmware update package 2 that you want to use for the update.

   

Power up the other evaluation board that you want to update. Make sure that the previously selected Updater Port does not change. This might happen because the BlueRadios nBlue™ Programmer (nBP) detects the additional COM ports.

5. Click Discover Devices 1 to find the other evaluation board that you want to update. You can select the Target Device Address 2 once the discovery is completed.

   

6. Click Program Module 1.

   

   The firmware update is carried out and the progress is visualized in the status bar 2.
   When the update is done, the BlueRadios nBlue™ Programmer (nBP) shows you an information note.

Over-the-air Update using nRF Connect for Mobile

You can use the nRF Connect for Mobile mobile application to update the firmware over-the-air.

The following requirement must be met:

• You have a mobile device with nRF Connect for Mobile installed.

1. Open the nRF Connect for Mobile app. Select the tab SCANNER 1 and press SCAN 2.

   

   The application starts to look for nearby devices.
   Please observe that the name of the device that you want to update is eventually shown 3 in the list of devices.

2. Press CONNECT 1.

   

   You can observe that a connection is established and that a new view opens.

3. Press ... 1 and select Bond 2.

   

4. (When requested) Confirm the pairing request.

   The mobile device pairs with the evaluation board.

5. Press the icon DFU 1.

   A file selection dialog is displayed.

6. Select Distribution packet (ZIP) 2 and press OK 3.

   

7. Navigate to the location of the firmware update package and select it.

   

   The firmware update process starts. It is visualized by a graph 1. The update may take a couple of minutes.

Note

You can observe that the firmware update takes place in two steps during which the connection is terminated and reestablished multiple times.