TECHSHIP IS A GLOBAL SUPPLIER OF WIRELESS COMPONENTS

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Question

Example on how to control a Techship MC201 adapter via GPIO signals when it is assembled as a hat on a Raspberry PI4.

Solution

Example on how to control a Techship MC201 adapter via GPIO signals when it is assembled as a hat on a Raspberry PI4.

Hardware:
Assemble the MC201 adapter as a hat for the Raspberry PI4 unit and Assemble a 40-pin riser header between the PCBs.

To use signals from the GPIO socket to control the MC201 adapter, place jumper links on the MC201's pin headers mentioned below, depending on the function you want be able to control by GPIO.

Host system OS / software:
In this example we are running Raspberry Pi OS and using the raspi-gpio tool to configure and control the Raspberry PIs GPIO signals.
Configure the Raspberry Pi's GPIO pins 16,22,26,27 for output functionality with no pull down.
sudo raspi-gpio set 16,22,26,27 op pn

GPIO 27 - Controlling the MC201 adapters power IC enable signal
(Ensure J7 have a jumper link between pin 2-3 on MC201 PCB)
Enable signal on:
sudo raspi-gpio set 27 dh
Enable signal Off:
sudo raspi-gpio set 27 dl

GPIO 22 - Controlling the M.2 sockets Full Card Power Off signal
(Ensure J2 have a jumper link between pin 1-2 on MC201 PCB)
Power on card:
sudo raspi-gpio set 22 dh
Power off card:
sudo raspi-gpio set 22 dl

GPIO 16 - Controlling the M.2 sockets Wireless Disable signal
(Ensure J4 have a jumper link between pin 1-2 on MC201 PCB)
Wireless disable Off:
sudo raspi-gpio set 16 dh
Wireless disable on:
sudo raspi-gpio set 16 dl

GPIO 26 Controlling the M.2 sockets Hardware Reset signal
(Ensure J8 have a jumper link on MC201 PCB)
Activate reset signal:
sudo raspi-gpio set 26 dh
Release reset signal:
sudo raspi-gpio set 26 dl

For detailed information of the GPIO control signals routing please refer to the Techship MC201 adapter hardware guide.

For details about cellular modem behaviour to control signals, timings, etc. please refer to the modem manufacturers hardware guide.

Question

How is the active antenna feature enabled on the Sierra Wireless EM7590 module?

Solution

The active GNSS antenna feature on the Sierra Wireless EM7590 module sets 3.3V on the GNSS antenna port.

First, make sure that the GNSS feature is enabled. This can be checked by using the following command:

AT!CUSTOM?

If GNSS is enabled, the return of this command will contain:

		"GPSENABLE"          0x01

If GNSS isn't enabled, it can be enabled with the following commands:

AT!ENTERCND="A710"
AT!CUSTOM="GPSENABLE",1

The EM7590 also supports configuring the GNSS receiver path to the AUX antenna port. However, the active antenna feature is only available on the dedicated GNSS antenna port so make sure the receiver path is set to the dedicated GNSS port if you wish to utilize the active GNSS antenna feature. This setting also be checked with the same command as before:

AT!CUSTOM?

If the return doesn't contain:

		"GPSSEL"             0x01

Then the GNSS receiver path is set to the dedicated GNSS antenna port.

If the above criteria is met, the active GNSS antenna feature can be enabled by sending the following command:

AT+WANT=1

Please refer to the EM7590 AT Command Guide for more details about the commands mentioned in this FAQ,

Question

How can we send an SMS with AT commands?

Solution

Sending an SMS with AT commands is a relatively simple procedure and requires only two commands.

First, you want to set the module to text mode using the following command:

AT+CMGF=1

After that, you want to set the number that will receive your SMS. This is done with the following command:

AT+CMGS="+46#########"

Then you will be greeted by an ">" marker. This is where you write your SMS. When you are done with your SMS, hit ctrl+Z simultaneously and your SMS will be sent!

Question

The status LED on my adapter doesn't show any activity when the Telit FN990 module is powered on, why?

Solution

By default, the blink functionality of the status LED pin (M.2 pin 10) is set to off. However, this functionality can be enabled by using the following AT command:

AT#WWANLED=,[,[,]]

Here, the argument is an integer denoting which state this command should configure the status LED pin for. The following options are available for the argument:

0 : Low power mode
1 : Offline
2 : No service
3 : In Service, Roaming
4 : Data Active

This command can only be used to configure the status LED functionality for one particular state at a time.

The argument enables or disables the blinking functionality. Here, 1 enables the functionality while 0 disables it.

The and arguments are used to set the blinking pattern. These arguments are integers that specificity how many 10th's of a second the respective durations should be.

Please refer to the FN990 Family AT Commands Reference Guide for further information about this command.

Question

The SIM card isn't detected on the FN990 module when it is inserted in the primary SIM card slot on the MU201 adapter. How can this issue be resolved?

Solution

The SIM detect signal on the FN990 module series is active low while the SIM slot on the MU201 adapter pulls this signal high when a SIM card is inserted. Therefore the polarity of the SIM detect signal on the FN990 module has to be changed in order to detect the SIM card.

The SIM Hot-Swap feature of the FN990 module series is not supported on the MU201 adapter. It is therefore recommended to turn of this feature while using the FN990 module with the MU201 adapter.

The command sequence below can be used to configure the FN990 module to detect SIM cards inserted in the primary SIM card slot on the MU201 adapter.

AT#SIMDET=0
AT#HSEN=1,0
AT#SIMINCFG=1,1
AT#REBOOT

Please refer to the FN990 Family HW Design Guide, the FN990 Family AT Commands Reference Guide and the M.2 key B to USB3 Adapter Series Hardware Guide for further information.

If you are still experiencing SIM detection issues after following this guide, please submit a support ticket. A support ticket can be created by clicking the following link: https://techship.com/support/new/

Question

How to configure and save a "User Profile" using AT-commands on selected Telit modems.

Solution

Sometimes you might want to store some settings to be automatically loaded on startup, without having to configure your modem or make a script.
Fortunately Telit has made it easy to do this, by creating a "User Profile", and this FAQ will guide you through on how to set this up.

For this example, we'll make some configurations to the GPS settings of the module, but you can choose whichever settings you like.

First, send the AT command:

AT&V0?

You will get a long list with info, but the one I want you to check is the last one:

DEFAULT PROFILE                : &Y0=user profile 1 

Make note of the "Y0" - This might be different on your setup, but don't worry, we'll change this in the next step.

Send the following AT command:

AT&P0

This sets the modem to a custom user profile. (There are 2 user profiles available, "0" and "1". We are using "0" here.)

Now check that we have updated the profile with the AT command:

AT&V0?

And now it should say at the bottom:

DEFAULT PROFILE                : &P0=user profile 1 

Great! Now we're editing our user profile, so go ahead and type your settings:

AT$GPSP=1
AT$GPSANTPORT=3
AT$GPSACP
AT$GPSNMUN=1
AT$GPSNMUN=1,1,1,1,1,1,1
AT$GPSSAV

To save these settings, it's not enough to only type "AT$GPSSAV", we need to save some of the settings to our profile!

Type the following AT command to do a "save profile":

AT&W

Now do a reboot with:

AT#REBOOT 

And when it's up and running again type:

AT$GPSNMUN?

And it should say:

$GPSNMUN: 1,1,1,1,1,1,1

More info regarding the different modes and settings can be found in the AT Command Guide here.

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Question

How to collect initial diagnostics data and logs for Fibocom cellular modules needed when requesting Techship technical support?

Solution

In order to ease the troubleshooting of technical problems and understand your end-product or application and its usage scenario we ask you to please provide the following information when creating a technical support ticket at: techship.com/technical_support/ 
 
Please give a detailed problem description and in what precise circumstances it is present. 
 
Describe the host system: 
-Hardware (system board, processor architecture, other peripheral devices...) 
-Operating system with detailed versions (E.g. Windows version and build, Linux distribution, kernel version) 
-Drivers used and versions (Linux: out-of-tree vendor drivers or in-kernel drivers?) 
 
Details from the cellular module label: 
-Model 
-SKU/BOM or P/N code 
IMEI number 
 
For Linux systems, capture terminal logs from commands: 
uname -a 
lsusb 
lsusb -t 
ifconfig -a 
ls -l /dev/serial/by-id 
ls -l /sys/bus/usb-serial/devices 
dmesg 
 
The cellular module logs can be acquired by accessing one of the USB enumerated serial (COM) interfaces or physical UART serial interfaces accepting AT commands. In Windows device manager they are generally found as modem infterface or serial and ports interface types). 
 
Send AT commands to module and capture the text output: 
Test that you get a OK reply: 
AT 
Enable AT command echo: 
ATE1 
Verbose error reporting: 
AT+CMEE=2 
Module model: 
AT+CGMM 
Firmware version: 
AT+CGMR 
IMEI Code: 
AT+CGSN 
USB endpoint configuration: 
AT+GTUSBMODE? 
Serial port configuration: 
AT+GTUSBMODE=? 
Operational mode: 
AT+CFUN? 
Selected network access techniques: 
AT+WS46? 
List network operator info: 
AT+COPS? 
Network registration status: 
AT+CREG? 
AT+CGREG? 
AT+CEREG? 
Signal strength: 
AT+CSQ 
Signal quality parameters: 
AT+CESQ 
List APN details: 
AT+CGDCONT? 
List Packet switch enable/disable status: 
AT+CGATT? 
List PDP profiles status: 
AT+CGACT? 
List bearers and IP addresses: 
AT+CGCONTRDP= 
AT+CGPADDR= 
Check Temperaure: 
AT+MTSM? 
Check SIM status: 
AT+GTUSIM? 
Selected radio access technology: 
AT+GTRAT? 
Selected RAT and active frequency band(s): 
AT+GTACT 
 
For modems supporting 5G 
List CA information: 
AT+GTCAINFO? 
 

Question

When trying to send AT commands in ModemManager I get the following error:

"Cannot send AT command to modem: operation only allowed in debug mode"

Solution

AT commands can only be sent to your cellular modem when you're running ModemManager in debug mode. This FAQ will show you how this is done as well as explain some syntax standards.

To set ModemManager into debug mode you will first have to stop the process. This needs to be done for NetworkManager as well because NetworkManager runs ModemManager as a child process.

  1. Mask and stop the services:

    $> sudo systemctl disable NetworkManager ModemManager

    $> sudo systemctl stop NetworkManager ModemManager

  2. Manually run with debug enabled:

    $> sudo /usr/sbin/ModemManager --debug

  3. Open a new terminal, find the modem index and send the AT command:

    $> sudo mmcli -m --command="ATI" (mmcli -L to find the index)

If you write a command without the prefix it will automatically put an "AT" right before it. So sudo mmcli -m --command="cgmr" will send "ATcgmr". This will result in an error obviously, but you could send sudo mmcli -m --command="i" which will send "ATi" which is a supported command.

You can write sudo mmcli -m --command="AT" and it will send "AT" and not "ATAT". The same will not work for a lowercase "at"

To send a command you should therefore either write out the whole command as "AT+CGMR" or "+CGMR".

Sierra Wireless syntax

Sierra Wireless specific commands that uses the prefix ! has a specific way in which the command needs to be written. Instead of enclosing the command in " " you now need to use single quotation marks ' ' instead. 

The beginning of the command follow the same convention as above. So for example one can write sudo mmcli -m --command='AT!impref?' or sudo mmcli -m --command='!impref?'.

The commands which includes a string uses double quotation marks for that string. Example sudo mmcli -m --command='AT!entercnd="A710"'.

Question

How can the Telit FN980 be used to survey 5G networks?

Solution

The Telit FN980 is equipped with a function called Easy Scan. This function can be utilized by issuing the following AT command:

AT#CSURV

The new Qualcomm baseline (LE 1.4) also introduces the possibility of performing 5G SA network surveys with this command. The 5G feature is available starting from firmware version B009.

To perform a 5G SA network survey, utilize the following procedure:

  • Use AT#5GCTL=2 or 3 (SA only, SA for FR2 is not supported currently.)

  • Reboot the module

  • Use AT+WS46=38(Default) or 36 or 37 or 40, but just to be strict, you can set this value to 36 (NG-RAN only).

  • Optionally, use AT#BND can select specific RF bands.

  • Use AT#CSURV

Currently, the firmware versions that are using the new Qualcomm baseline are still under certification, making them unsuitable for finished products. However, there are beta firmware versions that can be used to test this feature for development purposes.

Please create a technical support ticket if you are interested in testing 5G network surveys on the Telit FN980. You can create a technical support ticket by clicking the following link: https://techship.com/support/new/

Question

Which antenna ports should I connect antennas to on the LTE or 5G module?

Solution

It is important to understand the functionality of the different antenna ports on the cellular module when deciding which ports to use. There is a risk of underutilizing the module by not connecting antennas to the right ports. This guide aims to explain some general terms and abbreviations used to label and describe antenna ports and their different functionalities.

Some antenna port labels that are commonly used on cellular modules are listed below:

  • MAIN – Primary transmit and receive antenna port. Required for basic functionality.

  • DIV – Diversity receive port. This port is used to receive the same signal as the primary port, but at a different spatial point. By receiving the same signal at two different spatial points, the module can mitigate destructive effects that might be present on one of the different spatial points. The diversity receive functionality is especially useful in urban environments where the interference environments may be radically different between two spatial points. It is always recommended to use the diversity receive port as this functionality improves the quality and reliability of the overall link.

  • GNSS – GNSS receive port. GNSS stands for Global Navigation Satellite System, examples of such systems are GPS, Galileo, GLONASS and BeiDou. The available systems may differ between different modules. To see what systems are available for a specific module, please consult the modules hardware documentation. As this antenna port is used for positioning applications, a suitable GNSS antenna needs to be connected to this port in order to utilize this functionality.

  • MIMO – MIMO port. MIMO stands for Multiple Input Multiple Output and refers to the amount of antennas used at each side of the link. For example, 4x4 DL MIMO means that the base station and the module each use 4 antennas for the modules downlink. Usually, the MIMO label is used to denote antenna ports that are used for spatial multiplexing which is a technique used for increasing the bitrate. This is achieved by splitting the signal into different streams that are transmitted and received on spatially separated antennas on each side of the link. For the majority of cellular modules, spatial multiplexing is only available for the module's downlink.

  • AUX – Auxiliary antenna port. The available functions on this port may differ between modules. Examples of functionalities that can be present on this port are diversity receive, DL-MIMO and GNSS. Please consult the module's hardware documentation to see which functionalities are present on this port.

Some cellular modules have numeric, non-descriptive labels on their antenna ports. These modules can have different functionalities for different frequency intervals/bands, on one single antenna port. For these modules, consult the hardware documentation to find what functionalities are present for which frequency intervals/bands one the different antenna ports. Please note that antenna ports with transmit functionality for certain frequency bands need to have a antenna connected in order to utilize these frequency bands.

If you have further inquiries regarding antenna ports on cellular modules, please create a Support Ticket by visiting the following link: https://techship.com/support/new/