Sparkfun LTE Cat-M1 and Hologram SIM

[Manuel91496]

Hi
I am having a difficult time trying to get some sort of cellular/internet connection with the SIM7000E and Sparkfun LTE Cat-M1 shields.

I am using a Hologram SIM card that I purchased with the Hologram Nova. The SIM is working because it works when used with the Nova board.

As I mentioned in a previous post, my SIM7000E will not attach to the service and always gets zero signal strength. Using the same Hologram SIM card, the Sparkfun shield connects. However, I try to use the Hologram website device dash to send a TCP cloud message to my sparkfun shield with no success. The demo just sits waiting. BUT, when I take the SIM card out of the sparkfun shield and place it into the Nova board and allow the Nova board to connect then remove it from the Nova and put it back into the sparkfun shield I am miraculously able to send TCP cloud messages from the Hologram website to my sparkfun shield.

There must be some initialization step performed by the Nova board that is not done in the Sparkfun shield demo. Does any know what this may be?

[Gordon]

Hey Manuel,

It does indeed sound a little fishy. To get us started, have you worked through the Sparkfun hookup guide?

Could you also attach the code you are running so that we can see a bit more of what is going on?

[Robin57159]

This thread may shed some light on the subject, especially in regards to to the SIM7000E.

DFRobot SIM7000E Shield not attaching to network

Hi, I purchased the SIM7000E shield for the Arduino UNO. I am using it on the Telstra network in Australia. I purchased it because it has GPS built-in. I am also using a separate power supply to ensure there is enough current for the unit. The red power LED comes on. The blue LED next to it flashes on boot up and the green LED near the antenna flashes about once per second. In GPRS mode the signal strength is always 0. In NB-IoT mode the strength varies between 0 and 20+. I both modes, I can…

[Manuel91496]

Hi Gordon

OK, I did as you suggested and went through the hookup guide.
The results as as follows:

I was able to send a TCP message from the Sparkfun shield to my Hologram data without issue. However, I still had the same issue when sending TCP Cloud message from the Hologram website to my shield.
The only way to get it to work is to take the SIM out of the shield, put it into the NOVA board, let the NOVA make a successful connection, take the SIM out of the NOVA and put it back into my shield.

[Manuel91496]

Hi Robin

thanks for the reply.

This post is also from me. I have a SIM7000E and a Sparkfun LTE and both have issues. I am trying to find a way to connect my arduino to the cloud/IoT via cellular network without any good luck. The Sparkfun shield is giving better results but still has issues.