firmware/variants/xiao_ble

Xiao BLE/BLE Sense + Ebyte E22-900M30S

A step-by-step guide for macOS and Linux

Introduction

This guide will walk you through everything needed to get the Xiao BLE (or BLE Sense) running Meshtastic using an Ebyte E22-900M30S LoRa module. The combination of the E22 with an nRF52840 MCU is desirable because it allows for both very low idle (Rx) power draw and high transmit power. The Xiao BLE is a small but surprisingly well-appointed nRF52840 board, with enough GPIO for most Meshtastic applications and a built-in LiPo charger. The E22, on the other hand, is a famously inscrutable and mysterious beast. It is one of the more readily available LoRa modules capable of transmitting at 30 dBm, and includes an LNA to boost its Rx sensitivity a few dB beyond that of the SX1262. However, its documentation is relatively sparse overall, and seems to merely hint at (or completely omit) several key details regarding its functionality. Thus, much of what follows is a synthesis of my observations and inferences over the course of many hours of trial and error.

Acknowledgement and friendly disclaimer

Huge thanks to those in the community who have forged the way with the E22, without whose hard work none of this would have been possible! (thebentern, riddick, rainer_vie, beegee-tokyo, geeksville, caveman99, Der_Bear, PlumRugOfDoom, BigCorvus, and many others.)

Please take the conclusions here as a tentative work in progress, representing my current (and fairly limited) understanding of the E22 when paired with this particular MCU. It is my hope that this guide will be helpful to others who are interested in trying a DIY Meshtastic build, and also be subject to revision by folks with more experience and better test equipment.

Obligatory liability disclaimer

This guide and all associated content is for informational purposes only. The information presented is intended for consumption only by persons having appropriate technical skill and judgement, to be used entirely at their own discretion and risk. The authors of this guide in no way provide any warranty, express or implied, toward the content herein, nor its correctness, safety, or suitability to any particular purpose. By following the instructions in this guide in part or in full, you assume all responsibility for all potential risks, including but not limited to fire, property damage, bodily injury, and death.

Note

These instructions assume you are running macOS or Linux, but it should be relatively easy to translate each command for Windows. (In this case, in step 2 below, each line of xiao_ble.sh would also need to be converted to the equivalent Windows CLI command and run individually.)

1. Update Bootloader

The first thing you will need to do is update the Xiao BLE's bootloader. The stock bootloader is functionally very similar to the Adafruit nRF52 UF2 bootloader, but apparently not quite enough so to work with Meshtastic out of the box.

1. Connect the Xiao BLE to your computer via USB-C.

2. Install adafruit-nrfutil by following the instructions here.

3. Open a terminal window and navigate to firmware/variants/xiao_ble (where firmware is the directory into which you have cloned the Meshtastic firmware repo).

4. Run the following command, replacing /dev/cu.usbmodem2101 with the serial port your Xiao BLE is connected to:

   adafruit-nrfutil --verbose dfu serial --package xiao_nrf52840_ble_bootloader-0.7.0-22-g277a0c8_s140_7.3.0.zip --port /dev/cu.usbmodem2101 -b 115200 --singlebank --touch 1200
   

5. If all goes well, the Xiao BLE's red LED should start to pulse slowly, and you should see a new USB storage device called XIAO-BOOT appear under Locations in Finder.

 

2. PlatformIO Environment Preparation

Before building Meshtastic for the Xiao BLE + E22, it is necessary to pull in SoftDevice 7.3.0 and its associated linker script (nrf52840_s140_v7.ld) from Seeed Studio's Arduino core. The xiao_ble.sh script does this.

1. In your terminal window, run the following command:

   sudo ./xiao_ble.sh
   

 

3. Build Meshtastic

At this point, you should be able to build the firmware successfully.

1. In VS Code, press Command Shift P to bring up the command palette.

2. Search for and run the Developer: Reload Window command.

3. Bring up the command palette again with Command Shift P. Search for and run the PlatformIO: Pick Project Environment command.

4. In the list of environments, select env:xiao_ble. PlatformIO may update itself for a minute or two, and should let you know once done.

5. Return to the command palette once again (Command Shift P). Search for and run the PlatformIO: Build command.

6. PlatformIO will build the project. After a few minutes you should see a green SUCCESS message.

 

4. Wire the board

Connecting the E22 to the Xiao BLE is straightforward, but there are a few gotchas to be mindful of.

• On the Xiao BLE:

  • Pins D4 and D5 are currently mapped to PIN_WIRE_SDA and PIN_WIRE_SCL, respectively. If you are not using I²C and would like to free up pins D4 and D5 for use as GPIO, PIN_WIRE_SDA and PIN_WIRE_SCL can be reassigned to any two other unused pin numbers.

  • Pins D6 and D7 were originally mapped to the TX and RX pins for serial interface 1 (PIN_SERIAL1_RX and PIN_SERIAL1_TX) but are currently set to -1 in variant.h. If you need to expose a serial interface, you can restore these pins and move e.g. SX126X_RXEN to pin 4 or 5 (the opposite should work too).

• On the E22:

  • There are two options for the E22's TXEN pin:

    1. It can be connected to the MCU on the pin defined as SX126X_TXEN in variant.h. In this configuration, the MCU will control Tx/Rx switching "manually". As long as SX126X_TXEN and SX126X_RXEN are both defined in variant.h (and neither is set to RADIOLIB_NC), SX126xInterface.cpp will initialize the E22 correctly for this mode.

    2. Alternately, it can be connected to the E22's DIO2 pin only, with neither TXEN nor DIO2 being connected to the MCU. In this configuration, the E22 will control Tx/Rx switching automatically. In variant.h, as long as SX126X_TXEN is defined as RADIOLIB_NC, and SX126X_RXEN is defined and connected to the E22's RXEN pin, and E22_TXEN_CONNECTED_TO_DIO2 is defined, SX126xInterface.cpp will initialize the E22 correctly for this mode. This configuration frees up a GPIO, and presents no drawbacks that I have found.

    • Note that any combination other than the two described above will likely result in unexpected behavior. In my testing, some of these other configurations appeared to "work" at first glance, but every one I tried had at least one of the following flaws: weak Tx power, extremely poor Rx sensitivity, or the E22 overheating because TXEN was never pulled low, causing its PA to stay on indefinitely.

    • Along the same lines, it is a good idea to check the E22's temperature frequently by lightly touching the shield. If you feel the shield getting hot (i.e. approaching uncomfortable to touch) near pins 1, 2, and 3, something is probably misconfigured; disconnect both the Xiao BLE and E22 from power and double check wiring and pin mapping.

  • Whether you opt to let the E22 control Rx and Tx or handle this manually, the E22's RXEN pin must always be connected to the MCU on the pin defined as SX126X_RXEN in variant.h.

Note

The default pin mapping in variant.h uses 'automatic Tx/Rx switching' mode. If you wire your board for manual Rx/Tx switching, make sure to update variant.h accordingly by commenting/uncommenting the necessary lines in the 'E22 Tx/Rx control options' section.

 

---

 

Example wiring for "E22 automatic Tx/Rx switching" mode:

 

MCU -> E22 connections

Xiao BLE pin	variant.h definition	E22 pin	Notes
D0	SX126X_CS	19 (NSS)
D1	SX126X_DIO1	13 (DIO1)
D2	SX126X_BUSY	14 (BUSY)
D3	SX126X_RESET	15 (NRST)
D7	SX126X_RXEN	6 (RXEN)	These pins must still be connected, and SX126X_RXEN defined in variant.h, otherwise Rx sensitivity will be poor.
D8	PIN_SPI_SCK	18 (SCK)
D9	PIN_SPI_MISO	16 (MISO)
D10	PIN_SPI_MOSI	17 (MOSI)

   

E22 -> E22 connections:

E22 pin	E22 pin	Notes
TXEN	DIO2	These must be physically connected for automatic Tx/Rx switching to work.

Note

The schematic (xiao-ble-e22-schematic.png) in the eagle-project directory uses this wiring.

 

---

 

Example wiring for "Manual Tx/Rx switching" mode:

MCU -> E22 connections

Xiao BLE pin	variant.h definition	E22 pin	Notes
D0	SX126X_CS	19 (NSS)
D1	SX126X_DIO1	13 (DIO1)
D2	SX126X_BUSY	14 (BUSY)
D3	SX126X_RESET	15 (NRST)
D6	SX126X_TXEN	7 (TXEN)
D7	SX126X_RXEN	6 (RXEN)
D8	PIN_SPI_SCK	18 (SCK)
D9	PIN_SPI_MISO	16 (MISO)
D10	PIN_SPI_MOSI	17 (MOSI)

E22 -> E22 connections: (none)

 

5. Flash the firmware to the Xiao BLE

1. Double press the Xiao's reset button to put it in bootloader mode.

2. In a terminal window, navigate to the Meshtastic firmware repo's root directory, and from there to .pio/build/xiao_ble.

3. Convert the generated .hex file into a .uf2 file:

   ../../../bin/uf2conv.py firmware.hex -c -o firmware.uf2 -f 0xADA52840
   

4. Copy the new .uf2 file to the Xiao's mass storage volume:

   cp firmware.uf2 /Volumes/XIAO-BOOT
   

5. The Xiao's red LED will flash for several seconds as the firmware is copied.

6. Once the firmware is copied, to verify it is running, run the following command:

   meshtastic --noproto
   

7. Then, press the Xiao's reset button again. You should see a lot of debug output logged in the terminal window.

 

6. Troubleshooting

• If after flashing Meshtastic, the Xiao is bootlooped, look at the serial output (you can see this by running meshtastic --noproto with the device connected to your computer via USB).

  • If you see that the SX1262 init result was -2, this likely indicates a wiring problem; double check your wiring and pin mapping in variant.h.

  • If you see an error mentioning tinyFS, this may mean you need to reformat the Xiao's storage:

    1. Double press the reset button to put the Xiao in bootloader mode.

    2. In a terminal window, navigate to the Meshtastic firmware repo's root directory, and from there to variants/xiao_ble.

    3. Run the following command:  cp xiao-ble-internal-format.uf2 /Volumes/XIAO-BOOT

    4. The Xiao's red LED will flash briefly as the filesystem format firmware is copied.

    5. Run the following command:  meshtastic --noproto

    6. In the output of the above command, you should see a message saying "Formatting...done".

    7. To flash Meshtastic again, repeat the steps in section 5 above.

  • If you don't see any specific error message, but the boot process is stuck or not proceeding as expected, this might also mean there is a conflict in variant.h. If you have made any changes to the pin mapping, ensure they do not result in a conflict. If all else fails, try reverting your changes and using the known-good configuration included here.

  • The above might also mean something is wired incorrectly. Try reverting to one of the known-good example wirings in section 4.

• If the E22 gets hot to the touch:

  • The power amplifier is likely running continually. Disconnect it and the Xiao from power immediately, and double check wiring and pin mapping. In my experimentation this occurred in cases where TXEN was inadvertenly high (usually due to a pin mapping conflict).

 

7. Notes

• There are several anecdotal recommendations regarding the Tx power the E22's internal SX1262 should be set to in order to achieve the advertised output of 30 dBm, ranging from 4 (per this article in the RadioLib github repo) to 22 (per this conversation from the Meshtastic Discord). When paired with the Xiao BLE in the configurations described above, I observed that the output is at its maximum when Tx power is set to 22.

• To achieve its full output, the E22 should have a bypass capacitor from its 5V supply to ground. 100 µF works well.

• The E22 will happily run on voltages lower than 5V, but the full output power will not be realized. For example, with a fully charged LiPo at 4.2V, Tx power appears to max out around 26-27 dBm.

 

8. Testing Methodology

During what became a fairly long trial-and-error process, I did a lot of careful testing of Tx power and Rx sensitivity. My methodology in these tests was as follows:

• All tests were conducted between two nodes:

  1. The Xiao BLE + E22 coupled with an Abracon ARRKP4065-S915A ceramic patch antenna

  2. A RAK 5005/4631 coupled with a Laird MA9-5N antenna via a 4" U.FL to Type N pigtail.

  • No other nodes were powered up onsite or nearby.

    
    

• Each node and its antenna was kept in exactly the same position and orientation throughout testing.

• Other environmental factors (e.g. the location and resting position of my body in the room while testing) were controlled as carefully as possible.

• Each test comprised at least five (and often ten) runs, after which the results were averaged.

• All testing was done by sending single-character messages between nodes and observing the received RSSI reported in the message acknowledgement. Messages were sent one by one, waiting for each to be acknowledged or time out before sending the next.

• The E22's Tx power was observed by sending messages from the RAK to the Xiao BLE + E22 and recording the received RSSI.

• The opposite was done to observe the E22's Rx sensitivity: messages were sent from the Xiao BLE + E22 to the RAK, and the received RSSI was recorded.

While this cannot match the level of accuracy achievable with actual test equipment in a lab setting, it was nonetheless sufficient to demonstrate the (sometimes very large) differences in Tx power and Rx sensitivity between various configurations.