When designing products based on Thread or 802.15.4, you may need to test RF parameters and execute an RF certification. The nRF5 SDK for Thread and Zigbee provides examples that facilitate this task, and allows for using OpenThread diagnostic features with some extensions from Nordic.

Useful examples

For the purpose of RF testing, use the following examples:

Thread CLI Example that provides the RF diagnostic features.
- Binaries:
  - For the PCA10056 development kit: <InstallFolder>/examples/thread/cli/ftd/uart/hex/nrf52840_xxaa_pca10056.hex
  - For the PCA10059 dongle: <InstallFolder>/examples/thread/cli/ftd/usb/hex/nrf52840_xxaa_mbr_pca10059.hex
Radio Test Example inherited from nRF5 SDK that demonstrates how to configure the radio.
- Binaries in the nRF5 SDK package:
  - For the PCA10056 development kit: <InstallFolder>/examples/peripheral/radio_test/hex/radio_test_pca10056.hex
  - The dongle is not supported for this example.

To flash a binary on the development kit, or on the dongle:

To flash the firmware on the development kit, install the nRF5x Command Line Tools and run the following command:
nrfjprog --chiperase --program <hexfile>.hex
To flash the firmware on the dongle:
1. Insert the nRF52840 Dongle into an USB port.
2. Press the reset button to enter the DFU mode. The LD2 LED starts blinking red.
3. Launch nRF Connect for Desktop and start the Programmer application.
4. From the list of devices, select Nordic Semiconductor DFU Bootloader.
5. Click Add HEX file and select the correct firmware for the dongle.
6. Ensure that the beginning of the address of the firmware image is 0x00001000. If a wrong hex file is selected, the MBR section might be overwritten.
7. Click Write to flash the firmware.
8. Remove the dongle from USB port and insert it again. Do not press the Reset button.

Useful diagnostic commands

For RF testing using the Thread CLI Example, use commands from OpenThread Diagnostics Module and Nordic's Diagnostic module extension, both available on GitHub.