Hi All
I am wanting to ask if anyone has been able to successfully setup the SIM7000C board with the Arduino Mega
Versus
I am in Brisbane and intend to use either optus/Amaysim 4G sim or else Telstra M2M Sim
I welcome all advise and appreciate you r assistance in advance
Hey Claude,
I havenāt personally used the SIM7000, but it should be compatible with the Arduino Mega. Maybe someone else on here has used it themselves.
Hi,
The issue I am having is the one I bought was the 7000E which
Is for Europe not the 7000C which is for China.
So I have ordered a 7000c and hopefully that will work here in Australia
Any comments are always welcome
Claude
Hey Claude,
I think you will be fine. The 7000C has compatible bands that are used in Australia depending on the carrier that you choose. Here is a list of common Bands used in Australia: https://ausdroid.net/australian-mobile-network-frequencies/
The 7000C seems to be the better choice based on what Iāve read in that article.
Hi Claude,
Here are the known frequencies in use in our region
http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/mobile_phone_frequencies
There are some compatible channels, so hopefully itās fine. With that said, the best product for 3G is Particle Electron. Itās far more capable and has so many more features for development by comparison:
Thanks for the suggestion
I am ideally seeking one shield that offers the 3G and GPS ( non cell tower triangulation)
Claude
Thatās fine, I was just approaching from the perspective that GPS modules are so easy to work with. Typical maker favourite GPS modules have zero config and they just output constant NMEA data via UART.
As always though, if what you have works, then itās perfect.
This is from SIMCOM earlier this year and seems to say that the SIM7000E was the best to use in Australia. It looks like both the C and E have some compatible bands though.
Hi Claude,
did you get the 7000C running? If yes, which SIM card did you use?
I got one for evaluation purposes, but I donāt get it connected.
The E version is approved for australia
Claude
Thanks Claude. Did you get the 7000E running? What carrier?
Telstra its been approved for
Claude
Hi All,
I recently bought the Sim7000E from DFRobot (Sorry Graham, I was in a rush this time!), and so far can not get it to work.
Initially, I could not get the sample code to work, or the library, so I bypassed the arduino side altogether, and connected a UART directly to pins 7&8 and ground and talked to it directly. The unit seemed to have issues with baud, and some googling showed that the UNO software serial code got around this by trying to send the first command that would set the units baud from 115200 (too fast for sw serial) to 19200.Also worthy of noting - the UNO did not seem to have enough power to allow the unit to boot while holding the BOOT button for the documented 2 secs. Plugging the unit into an externally powered DUE solved this for me, but perhaps I have a faulty UNO regulator.
That aside, it would seem that at least part of the demo code worked, as the baud had indeed been changed to 19200 (the unit seems to remember the baud - you donāt have to set it every time!), so I could now talk to it with the basic AT commands.
I have an old (no longer sold) iTead 3G unit, which is working great, and the Sim7000E was to be for a similar project, so I expected that the āEā versions should be similar in band usage when I purchased. I am using an Optus/Amaysim in the iTead, which I use to send and receive SMS.
Here is the issue I have - when doing the āAT+COPS=?ā command (list available networks), on the iTead I get Optus ā50502ā and Voda (Optus being available/home (0/1 prefix in the returned line if I recall), and Voda being Unavailable (I think this was a 3 if it is seen, but the sim is not allowed to connect?)
When using the Sim7000E, I do AT+COPS=?, and not only does the command take forever to respond, it only comes back with Telstraās ā50501ā network. I wouldnāt have thought the E version would even see the Telstra band (the ITead 5216E doesnāt return it in its results at all) so I am a bit stumped.
I canāt get the unit to register on any network (I have a Telstra sim I have also tried).
I have also read up on the AT+CNBP command (sets the available bands). I have set the unit to the same āmaskā as the 5216E Itead, but no dice. I am making some big assumptions here, in that the AT commands and mask havenāt changed that much between models, but I am still wonderingā¦
ā¦ has ANYONE been able to get the E version to work at all, and where exactly are you stuck if you havenāt? Perhaps I can get you further than I did, if you have some other sims to try.
If you HAVE got it to work, what sim are you using, and what AT commands did you need to set it up with?
M.
Mine works using a Telstra M2M sim and I can also advise the 7000E is the one for Australia as Telstra have tested and approved the module
Claude
Claude,
Were you able to use the sample code with Telstra? It seems that Malās problem might lie with the board heās connecting it to. Can we verify that the sample code works?
Hi Mal,
I suspect your issues could lie with the board that you are using to control the sim7000E. Here is a list of the tested compatible boards:
| MCU | Pass | Failed | Not Tested | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arduino Uno | ā | |||
| Arduino Leonardo | ā | |||
| Arduino Mega1280 | ā | Connect D8 to D10 | ||
| Arduino Mega2560 | ā | Connect D8 to D10 |
The DUE isnāt a tested board, I donāt have a way to tell if they are compatible. If you suspect something is wrong with your UNO regulator I suggest you start there.
Yes I had no issue with Telstra sim my problem was I had the jumper pins that they require to be set for serial comma codes wrong
Claude
Hi All,
Just a follow up on this topic - I was unable to get the DFRobot board to work, so went with a SIM5320E instead, using an Optus (Amaysim) Sim. This unit worked out of the box in the same manner that the 5216E did, so hopefully this info helps anyone looking for a compatible unit for Optus.
I am in Sydney metro, since it appears that where you are in Australia (outback etc) appears to influence the network band in use - whether this is the same for Optus as well as Telstra would require more investigation.
Still determined to get the DFRobot board workingā¦ sometime 
Mal
Hi Mal,
I shared the list of bands that the different networks use earlier in this post. Each one list about four possible bands. These devices donāt catch all of them, so its entirely possible that you just donāt have coverage from the specific bands that you need in your area, despite the device supporting some of the bands that they use (somewhere)!
Hi
If you are considering moving / progressing your project commercially network approval / certification is required by law.
Luckily the sim7000e module has been approved by Telstra.
Claude
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