ANT Forum

As part of our continuous improvement efforts, Dynastream is upgrading the N548 module series to rev B with new factory pre-loaded software. One significant enhancement of this upgrade is the addition of the ANT-WP (Wireless Programming) bootloader which enables over-the-air firmware updates. Other upgrades are the S210 SoftDevice and the ANT Network Processor code. The N5 ANT SoC Module Datasheet rev 1.4 has been released to detail all of the new added functions, as well as important notes thereof.

Nowadays products are getting smarter and smaller with ever shorter cycles from design to market. With this, user friendly field updates providing new features or bug fixes becomes mandatory. Just about a month ago, the new N5 Starter Kit SDK was released with ANT DFU (Device Firmware Updates) reference codes. Now this over-the-air firmware update feature is embedded into the N5 module through the combination of three factory pre-loaded software components – the ANT-WP bootloader, the ANT Network Processor code and the S210 SoftDevice v.4.0.1.

In the N5 module rev B, the firmware update function can be triggered either by tying one input pin to high during power up or by sending a serial command to the module. Not only does this firmware update feature enable out-of-the-box use (e.g. in a production line to load custom application), but it also showcases to developers how the OTA update feature can be tailored and implemented in different ways to fit in their product needs or unique use cases.

With the release of rev B, we also open this new ANT hardware product forum. Please join us as we would like to hear from you.
      [ Edited: 13 August 2015 12:57 PM by thomas zhao ]

So Thomas, is this a soft upgrade, meaning, I could upgrade the firmware on my modules?
     

Your understanding is correct. There is no hardware change, just the factory pre-loaded software.      

I have a N548M4CB Rev A. Is there a document describing the procedure for updating it to a Rev B ?

Thanks for the help.      

Hi Nicolas,

At this time there is no document detailing the process, but the only difference between the revisions is the pre-loaded software on each device. You may find the difference between the two revisions here.

You may use nRFgo Studio to load the updated softdevice, bootloader and network processor build's to the rev A module.

Cheers      

Thanks for the information.

If i understand correctly i can use the UART of the Rev A module and the nRFgo Studio to update the firmware ?
And i need Keil and nRF SDK to create the binary for the bootloader and network processor from the source.      

How can i put the N548 module in DFU mode ?
When i use the nRFgo Studio bootloader, what baudrate and flowcontrol should i use ?      

Hi Nicolas,

Answering your previous question, you must use a J-Link Programmer to reprogram the module, the Rev A module does not contain DFU bootloader natively.

Correct, you must use Keil to create the binary for the bootloader, but the network processor is already provided as a precompiled binary.

If you have already flashed the module with the new softdevice and bootloader, you may refer to the "ANT AN Over the Air Firmware Updates using ANT-FS" application note for more information on how to restart the device in DFU mode.

You cannot do the update through nRFgo Studio when using the native ANT module bootloader.      

Thanks for the information.
I was able to program the ant_network_processor_s210.hex but i'm unable to program the s210_nrf51422_4.0.1_softdevice.hex.
I found that i wasn't able to erase the flash memory from address 0 to 0xBFFF.
Is there some kind of flash memory protection ? If yes how do i remove it ?      

You must flash the SoftDevice before you flash any other hex image, there shouldn't be any other flash write protections in place, but typically an "Erase all" is done rather than selectively erasing sections. What error are you seeing when you attempt to do a flash erase?      

With an erase all, i was able to program the soft device and the network processor.
For the compilation of the bootloader (ant_device_firmware_update), i still have some problem because there are files missing (app_timer.c, app_scheduler.c, pstorage.c, softdevice_handler.c, nrf_delay.c, nrf_nvmc.c and some .h). Would it be possible to have the .hex of the bootloader ?