Hi
I recently purchased one of the SIM7080G pico units and a Pico with headers already done on order 1000389551 and I have a Telstra activated NBIoT SIM inserted but it is failing the AT tests and does not appear to recognise the SIM is inserted.
The AT test script from the Waveshare doc runs OK in Thonny and the SIM7080G gets a red LED come up but will not connect to the Telstra NBIoT network or respond to the AT commands and does get the “Is the SIM inserted” question.
The Pico appears to be working OK in general and I have also reloade the Micropython firmware but still can not get any response from the SIM7080G
Could you please confirm this unit is supposed to work on Telstra NBIoT network in Australia? I am assuming it does or would not be for sale in Aust as it would be useless here but wanted to check.
The SIM7080G is not responding to any AT commands (including just AT) but does appear to power up as it gets the red LED on at the start but this also goes off after a while.
Just to confirm, are you receiving any AT commands back from the HAT?
Would it be possible to send through a photo of how you have the HAT setup?
Yeah the band allocation on this module matches the available bands on Telstra’s NB-IoT network (Bands 28, and 3)
From the schematic it seems like the only available LEDs are the ‘netlight’ - a simple AT-command controlled LED
and
‘Charge’ - only should be on if the onboard LiPo charger is currently running
I don’t yet have an answer regarding the AT commands but after your follow-up question regarding what voltages SIM cards in Australia use I may be able to shed some light.
I’ve done some reading and the standard grade Hologram Global sims we stock (they are available in Industrial and Standard grades) run at 1.6V, 3V and 5V. This stage exchange thread indicates that these devices will always attempt to run at the lowest voltage compatible, and if a response is not given at one voltage they will retry with a higher voltage until a compatible level is found.
This is the RPI Pico version of the SIM7080G rather than the RPI Hat
version for the ‘normal’ RPIs (or supposed to be at least and what is
printed on the box).
There are no responses to the AT commands using either the Waveshare
supplied AT test script or direct entry of AT commands.
The commands are echoed with no response and show like
I looked at the Hologram Global SIM info and pricing but while they
mention LTE CAT-M1 (and note possible limited coverage availability),
they dont mention NBIoT as a usable connection type.
Do you know if they support NBIoT as well as LTE-M1 in Australia?
Their country list only shows LTE-M1 in Australia so I am guessing they
dont support NBIoT and possibly not anywhere.
I guess it may not matter given the LTE coverage is not much less than
LTE-M1/NBIoT in Australia and their pricing does not differentiate like
the Aust Carriers do (LTE-M/NBIoT starts at lower minimum monthly prices
than LTE from the Carriers) but I am interested to know the how this
works for Hologram with the LTE-M and NBIoT networks.
Are you able to test if the Hologram SIMs work in the SIM7080G card with
the Pico?
The Waveshare doc shows it requires a AT command to select between LTE-M
and NBIoT on this board.
I am happy to test this on the devices I have if you want to send me a
Hologram SIM
From the photo, it looks like the antenna isn’t connected which can lead to a damaged radio and ‘failed’ AT commands
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to dabble with the Hologram SIMs at all in my Maker journey just yet.
The safest bet might be to stick with your current SIM and try to get the Pico connected.
If you run the ATI command is the device ID returned?
Both antennas have been connected every time it has been powered on, the
photo had no power connected and I remove both the antenna flyleads when
storing the unit as it is not yet mounted in a box and these leads are
easily damaged.
There was no response at all to any AT commands in the Waveshare AT test
script which also includes GPS AT commands which should work even if the
radio is upset.
I am aware many radios like this require the antenna connected to avoid
damage but I do not think this is mentioned anywhere in the sales or
support doc for this unit which it really should be if this is the case.
I have been moving house and not had a chance to try again but I have
ordered a Hologram SIM in case the Telstra one is not 1.8V compatible
(they have not yet been able to confirm this).
I will try again when I get a chance.
Regards
Andrew
And you can get our latest projects and tips straight away by following us on:
