Laird BL654 User manual

Quick Start Guide
451-00004
BL654 USB Dongle - Nordic/Zephyr

BL654 USB Dongle
Quick Start Guide
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REVISION HISTORY
Version
Date
Notes
Contributors
Approver
1.0
10 July 2019
Initial Release
Jamie Mccrae
Jonathan Kaye

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1Introduction..........................................................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Scope.........................................................................................................................................................................4
1.2 Background................................................................................................................................................................4
2Hardware Description..........................................................................................................................................................4
3Programming Setup.............................................................................................................................................................4
3.1 GUI Setup ..................................................................................................................................................................4
3.2 CLI Setup...................................................................................................................................................................7

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1INTRODUCTION
1.1 Scope
The purpose of this document is to give an overview for programming application code to the Laird Connectivity 451-00004 –
BL654 based USB dongle supporting Nordic / Zephyr based application deployment.
Note: Laird Connectivity also makes a variant of this product which supports smartBASIC development (Laird part # 451-
00003). The variants have different hardware and are dedicated to their specific development environments.
1.2 Background
The Laird Connectivity 451-00004 USB dongle is a self-contained Bluetooth product which contains a Bluetooth v5 radio and
Cortex M4 processor using Nordic’s nRF52840 silicon. It comes pre-programmed with the Nordic open bootloader to allow for
flashing applications to the dongle. The USB pins are directly connected to the nRF52840, unlike the 451-00003 on which the
USB pins are connected to an FTDI USB to UART transceiver. This allows for the use of custom USB profiles. It comes in a
sealed plastic case and is production-ready. Please note that this dongle does not run smartBASIC, use the 451-00003
dongle for smartBASIC.
2HARDWARE DESCRIPTION
The Laird Connectivity BL654 USB dongle contains an nRF52840 Bluetooth SoC and the following supporting components:
▪32-kHz crystal (20 ppm accuracy)
▪Blue LED connected to P0.13 (active high)
▪USB data lines connected directly to nRF52840
▪GPIO voltage set to 3.3v by default bootloader
▪Readback and CPU debug protection enabled by default bootloader
The bootloader supports updating the following:
▪The Nordic soft-device (optional)
▪User application
▪Bootloader (requires a signed update)
The bootloader on the dongle can be updated to the Nordic secure bootloader which forces signed application updates and
prevents loading of unauthorised code to the product. Laird will generate subsequent documentation to detail how to enable
this functionality.
3PROGRAMMING SETUP
This section describes how to program the dongle. There is a simple interactive GUI-based programming system and a more
complex CLI programming system. The CLI system is required to generate DFU packages which can be use with the secure
bootloader. If the bootloader remains unchanged with the open bootloader, then signing firmware upgrades is not required.
3.1 GUI Setup
Nordic’s nRF connect application (available for Windows/Linux/Mac) can be used to interact with the module via the use of an
interactive graphical user interface. This software can be downloaded from the Nordic nRF Connect for Desktop page.
To set up the GUI, follow these steps:
1. Install and open the application.
2. Click the Add/Remove apps tab.

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Figure 1: nRF Connect GUI
3. Scroll down and click the Programmer Install button.
Figure 2: Add/remove apps Install button
4. Once installed, return to the Launch app tab and click the Programmer Launch button.
Figure 3: Launch app tab Programmer Launch button
5. Plug the USB dongle into the computer and check that the LED is getting brighter and darker and that it is enumerating
as a USB device. If it fails to do this, use a thin object to press the button on the dongle through the hole in the case
(whilst keeping the USB dongle plugged into the computer) to restart in bootloader mode.

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Figure 4: Dongle reset button
6. From the Select device drop-down menu, select the applicable USB dongle.
Note: If there is more than one device, disconnect the other device(s) to get and select the ID of the correct dongle.
Figure 5: Select device drop-down menu
Once connected, the memory map updates to show which parts of the memory are used by what sections. Hover the
mouse over the nRF52840 text to view further details.
Figure 6: nRF52840 memory space
To program an application, your build tool must generate a hex file. This hex file only includes the application code or
application and soft-device code (if using the Nordic SDK); it must not include a bootloader or an MBR update.
7. Drag the hex file onto the window or click Add HEX file > Browse and select the hex file. The file memory layout
updates to show the sections in the file.
The following is the colour code for
different parts of the memory space:
Bootloader
Application
Soft-device
MBR

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8. Click Write to begin the programming procedure.
Figure 7: Click Write
Once programming is complete, the module automatically restarts and begins execution of the code.
Note: To return to bootloader mode, press the button through the hole of the dongle at any time.
3.2 CLI Setup
Nordic’s command line utility nrfutil (available for Windows/Linux/Mac) can be used to interact with the module and to create
firmware upgrade files from a terminal or command prompt. For windows, a build is available from the nrfutil Github Releases
page; for Linux/Mac, follow the instructions listed on the front page of the nrfutil Github Repository.
To set up the CLI, follow these steps:
1. Use the applicable link to install the Nordic command line utility (nrfutil) and add it to the path.
2. Locate the folder with the applicable output hex file from which to create a firmware upgrade.
3. Open a command prompt window or terminal in the directory with the hex file.
4. Use the following command to create an update zip file using a single hex file that does not use the soft-device:
nrfutil pkg generate --hw-version 52 --application app.hex --application-version 1 --sd-req 0x00 out.zip
If the soft-device is used, use the following command:

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nrfutil pkg generate --hw-version 52 --application app.hex --application-version 1 --softdevice softdevice.hex --sd-id
0xB6 --sd-req 0xB6 out.zip
Notes: Soft-device hex files include the Nordic MBR and soft-device.
The Nordic MBR is located at 0x0 –0x1000 and cannot be updated.
The soft-device starts at 0x1000 and is variable in length.
The 6.x series soft-device end at address 0x26000.
The MBR must be removed from the hex files before an update file is generated.
The soft-device ID is dependent upon the version of the soft-device you are using. If your application does not use
the soft-device, set it to 0 or 0x00. If it does use the soft-device, you must use the correct IDs which can be found
on the nrfutil github page.
The following are the current soft-device versions and corresponding IDs:
▪6.0.0 –0xA9
▪6.1.0 –0xAE
▪6.1.1 –0xB6
This creates a new DFU package at out.zip which can be programming using the nRF connect GUI or nrfutil command line
tool. Replace the app.hex with the hex file of the application you want programmed (and softdevice.hex with the soft-device file
minus the MBR, if used).
This can then be program using the following:
nrfutil dfu usb_serial -pkg out.zip -p COMx
Where COMx is the serial port of the USB dongle (which will be a /dev/ttyX path on Linux/Mac), ensure that the dongle is in
bootloader mode before running this command (the LED should be going from bright to dim when in bootloader mode). If not,
enter bootloader mode using a thin object to press the button on the dongle through the hole in the case (whilst keeping the
USB dongle plugged into the computer).
Once the module is programmed, it will begin execution of the code.