After some mix up and delays by Fedex my EK and DK kit arrived. Some might be wondering why I ordered both the EK and the DK. I don’t actually have an nRF6700 (nRFgo starter kit).
The DK, or developer kit, “requires” a starter kit for Nordic development – the nRF6700, and if I truly need it I’ll get it. However, the nRF6700 is used for essentially power and nothing else. The DK has pin headers on the back of the two boards supplied so I can just run some wires out there. It comes with five sample chips and a standalone programmer which I’ll need for developing my own board. That’s the bigger motivating factor here.
The EK, or evaluation kit, has the reference design for the nRF51422 plus a trace antenna and an on-board Segger J-link programmer and debugger. What you really need for development. Nuhorizons has these for 88 dollars, a drop from 99 dollars but only has the DK in stock. I think they have 2 EK on order though. Anyway, Honestly I think the EK price is a little high if we are comparing it to the the TI series or even an Arduino with on caveat – This is meant for ANT+ and as such comes with some Nordic backing in terms of an SDK.
The SDK comes with reference code for power meter, speed/cadence sensor, heart rate monitor, stride-distance monitor and a generic ANT communications design. In 10 minutes I had all the software installed, the ANT+ network key installed, and was transmitting the basic power profile to ANT+ display simulator. It’s programmed in a much more efficient way than my previous prototype, but it’s a good deal more complicated.
Also just rented a G3 Powertap. Time for some comparisons of my meter and a production unit. Might have to code up a multiple power meter recorder software.