Hello! Greeting of the new Year and I hope everyone is doing Great!
I came across NRF9160 LTE chip and I was wondering if it can be programmed using Arduino IDE. Any leads or suggestions on that would be much appreciated.
Thanks in Advance 
I'm glad to hear that you're doing well and happy New Year!
The NRF9160 is a low-power, high-performance LTE-M/NB-IoT modem from Nordic Semiconductor. It is designed to be used with the company's nRF91 Series SoCs, which are low-power wireless system-on-chips that support various wireless standards, including Bluetooth Low Energy, Zigbee, and Thread.
The NRF9160 is not directly compatible with the Arduino platform, as it uses its own firmware and SDK which are not natively supported by Arduino IDE. However, there are some ways you could use the two together, for example:
- Use the NRF9160 with a development board that is compatible with the Arduino platform, such as the nRF9160 DK (Development Kit) board. This board comes with a nRF9160 SoC, and it can be programmed using the Arduino IDE via the nRF Connect SDK.
- you can use the nRF9160 SoC with an Arduino compatible board as a shield by connecting it over I2C or UART, but you will need to handle the communication protocols and functionality with the NRF9160 using a specific library and this would require knowledge of firmware development.
Please note that To use the nRF9160 DK board with the Arduino IDE, you will need to install the board support package for the nRF9160 DK. Additionally, you will need to install the nRF Connect SDK, which contains the necessary libraries and tools to program the nRF9160 SoC. The SDK is available for download from the Nordic Semiconductor website.
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Thanks for replying,
nRF9160DK can be programmed in Arduino IDE? but if the SoC itself can't be programmed in Arduino IDE so how nRF9160DK can be programmed using Arduino IDE?
I was thinking more of building something custom using nRF9160 and program it using Arduino IDE, do u think it is possible in some way?
The nRF9160 System-in-Package (SiP) is a low-power, highly integrated cellular IoT solution that includes a Cortex-M33 processor and a range of other peripherals. While it is possible to program the Cortex-M33 processor using the Arduino IDE, the nRF9160 SiP itself cannot be programmed using the Arduino IDE as it uses a proprietary software stack called Nordic SDK.
The Nordic SDK provides libraries and APIs that are needed to communicate with and control the various peripherals on the nRF9160 SiP. These libraries and APIs are specific to the nRF9160 and are not compatible with the Arduino platform.
If you want to use the nRF9160 with the Arduino IDE, you would need to use an external microcontroller that is compatible with the Arduino IDE, such as an AVR or an STM32, to interface with the nRF9160 SiP and then use that microcontroller to control the peripherals on the SiP through the Nordic SDK.
Alternatively, you can use development boards that already integrate nRF9160 chip, these boards already have the required connector and interface with the chip and you can program them directly via the Arduino IDE with the help of external libraries and boards support files provided by the supplier.
It's important to note that this would require a fair amount of programming experience, particularly in embedded systems, and also as the nRF9160 SDK is rather extensive, thus requiring a deep understanding of the SDK to successfully interface with it.
So if I get this right, I need SDK to program the nRF9160 Chipset and Arduino IDE to program the other MCU that will control it? and this MCU and nRF9160 Chipset might communicate with one another via some com protocol like UART, I2C etc?
That is correct. The nRF9160 SiP requires the use of the Nordic SDK in order to communicate with and control the various peripherals on the chip. This SDK provides libraries and APIs that are specific to the nRF9160 and are not compatible with the Arduino IDE.
To use the nRF9160 SiP with the Arduino IDE, you would need to use an external microcontroller that is compatible with the Arduino IDE, such as an AVR or an STM32, to interface with the nRF9160 SiP. This external microcontroller can then be programmed using the Arduino IDE and be used to control the peripherals on the nRF9160 through the Nordic SDK.
This external microcontroller can communicate with the nRF9160 SiP using a variety of communication protocols such as UART, I2C, or SPI, for example.
It is also worth noting that many development boards that already integrate nRF9160 chip and are available in the market, such as Nordic's nRF9160 DK or Adafruit's Feather nRF9160, which includes the external MCU, they can be programmed directly using the Arduino IDE, with the help of external libraries and boards support files provided by the supplier.
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Well the custom thing I had in mind was really really miniature thing to design and if I have to use another MCU init then it throws out the entire thing out of the picture.
So if I have to use just the nRF9160 Chipset as the only chip that does all the work meaning the GPIOs thing, reading inputs, blinking leds and going in network with SIM is it possible? and in that case do I need to use just the SDK to do that stuff from nRF9160 chipset?
It is possible to use the nRF9160 SiP as the sole chip in a project and to use it to perform tasks such as reading inputs, controlling GPIOs, and communicating over a cellular network with a SIM. The nRF9160 SiP has a Cortex-M33 processor on board which can be programmed using the Nordic SDK. The SDK provides libraries and APIs that you can use to communicate with and control the various peripherals on the chip, such as the GPIOs, ADC, UART, etc.
To use the nRF9160 SiP as the only chip in a project, you would need to program the Cortex-M33 processor using the Nordic SDK and use the libraries provided to control the peripherals on the chip. This would require some knowledge of embedded systems programming and a good understanding of the Nordic SDK.
It's also worth noting that many development boards that already integrate nRF9160 chip are available in the market, such as Nordic's nRF9160 DK or Adafruit's Feather nRF9160, it can be programmed directly using the Nordic SDK and it will take care of the communication with the SIM card and the use of cellular network.
It's worth mentioning that the nRF9160 chip has a limited amount of resources (memory, processing power) so the complexity of your project might affect the chip's performance and feasibility.
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This is really helpful!
The project is not really complicated. Just two or three push buttons two or three LEDs and making a call when the push buttons are pressed to the stored number, if nRF9160 memory can hold the numbers three possibly I'm thinking of
...that most of what most of what @m_umer_awan contributed, while plausible, is the copy/pasted output of the AI known as chatGPT.
Without attribution, disclaimer, or any hint that it was confirmed or verified before being presented as original work.
I have asked @m_umer_awan to stop using chatGPT. Until it stops, and when I see chatGPT, I will point out this use, condemn it as at least deceitful, damaging to the fora and potentially dangerous.
I will also repeat my request to @m_umer_awan Please. Stop. Copy/pasting your "wisdom and knowledge" which is actually chatGPT.
a7
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thanks for the request. considering your advice
IMHO it should be banned if it is found wandering the forum.
A recent post had three answers from chatgpt and all 3 were useless to help the OP and actually failed in some basic ways.
Have asked for a ruling from upstairs.
Suggest that if you find any then PLEASE report them until we get an official ruling.
Bob.
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