Which Segger J-link programmer should I get?

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Which Segger J-link programmer should I use?
There are couple of models, but I’m leaning towards the “EDU” model. The programmer must be able to flash.

Here is a summary of all the models and features: https://www.segger.com/products/debug-probes/j-link/models/model-overview/

CONTEXT: I aim to move away from Arduino to a more professional workflow. So I brought an nrf52840 board (Xiao BLE Sense).

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Hi Meng,

You’re definitely on the right track with the J-Link EDU. It’s very handy to have a probe that works with whatever platform you want to work with down the line (as opposed to an ST-Link or some other proprietary probe).

The downside is that they are out of stock pretty much everywhere, and hobbyists have reached out to Segger themselves regarding stock/manufacturing, and have gotten back something along the lines of “we have no idea when we’ll have this in stock again, could be months/years”.

I’ve had to go with ST parts due to this, but I’m sure other debug probes exist that might do the trick for you. Having a cursory look reveals that people are already trying to get around shortages by repurposing Picos and the like:
https://visualgdb.com/tutorials/raspberry/pico/picoprobe/

All the best with the search, and know you’re not alone with this difficult task!
-James

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Hi MengLin,

Which series of Microcontrollers were you looking to use?
From a cursory look, Segger have implemented JTAG and SWD really well but if you are just looking to program SoCs, the onboard USB peripheral (And making sure the microcontroller has booted into the correct mode) will let you program them. (JTAG is really powerful for debugging the hardware on chip and code whereas SWD is good for code)

I picked up an ESP-PROG for Espressif MCUs and use onboard ST-Links for STM32 microcontrollers.
Depending on the MCU

In the same vein, you might want a UDPI programmer or ICSP: MPLAB PICkit 4 In-Circuit Debugger | Sparkfun PGM-15797 | Core Electronics Australia

Liam

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Thank you for the insight into the J-Link market.
I’ve reached out to my university to see if they have any - awaiting response.

In the meantime, I’ve also heard that an ST-Link or Raspberry Pi with OpenOCD could also work.
So I brought a cheap ST-Link. Still arriving…

The ESP-PROG sounds interesting since I also work with a log of esp32s. I’m hoping that the Espressif IDF provides better Bluetooth Performance. (Arduino Bluetooth speeds are horrible).

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I found this supplier for J-Link. Not sure how legit this is. Could be a scam?

Anyways got the site link from digipart.com.