NB-IoT SIM7000E HAT

NB-IoT is a new wireless technology in LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network). Different from LoRa or Sigfox, NB-IoT comes from Telco infrastructures, in Malaysia, it must be coming from Maxis, Celcom, Digi, TM, etc.

This is NB-IoT HAT for Raspberry Pi, which comes with a SIM7000E module that is mainly applicable in Europe, Africa, Australia, and Southeast Asia that supports Band 3, 8, 20, and 28.

Note: This HAT can only be used with NB-IoT SIM card, and only support B3, B8, B20, and B28, and of course, coverage will depend on the respective Telco NB-IoT network. Cytron is not responsible for SIM cards, the wrong network band, and network coverage.

This Raspberry Pi HAT features multi-communication functionalities: NB-IoT, eMTC, EDGE, GPRS, and GNSS.

The NB-IoT (NarrowBand-Internet of Things) and eMTC (enhanced Machine Type Communication) are rising IoT communication technologies that evolved from LTE (4G), with advantages that include low power, low cost, wide coverage, etc. They are suited for applications such as intelligent instruments, remote controlling, asset tracking, remote monitoring, E-health, mobile POS terminals, sharing bikes, and so on. While the GSM/GPRS, and EDGE are traditional 2G/2.5G technologies capable of sending SMS or making other wireless communications.

Therefore, the SIM7000E NB-IoT HAT would be an ideal choice for either evaluating new rising technologies or simply communicating/positioning via multiple ways.

A test using a normal 4G SIM card was performed on this NBIOT hat. This is the sample result based on testing in our HQ office at Bukit Mertajam, Malaysia. 

• Celcom network was unable to connect due to the unavailability of a Celcom 2G line in this area.
• OneXOX network was unable to connect because it using the same Celcom line.
• DIGI network was found to be connectable, albeit only to 2G, with 4G being unavailable.

 Upon performing a scan (AT+COPS=?), it was observed that only DIGI 2G and Maxis 2G networks were available.

Another test using the Adafruit library on the DIGI sim card. Everything works well and noted that the baudrate needs to be set to 9600. Plus, SMS and GPRS were also tested and functioning well.

• Raspberry Pi connectivity, compatible with Raspberry Pi Zero/Zero W/Zero WH/2B/3B/3B+
• Supports TCP, UDP, PPP, HTTP, FTP, MQTT, SMS, Mail, etc.
• Supports GNSS positioning (GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou and Galileo)
• Onboard USB interface, to test AT Commands, get GPS positioning data, and so on
• Breakout UART control pins, to connect with host boards like Arduino/STM32
• Onboard voltage translator, 3.3V by default, allows being switched to 5V via 0Ω resistor
• SIM card slot, compatible with both normal SIM card and NB-IoT specific card
• 2x LED indicators, easy to monitor the working status
• Baudrate: 300bps~3686400bps
• Control via AT commands (3GPP TS 27.007, 27.005, and SIMCOM enhanced AT Commands)
• Supports SIM application toolkit: SAT Class 3, GSM 11.14 Release 98, USAT
• Comes with development resources and manual (examples for Raspberry Pi/Arduino/STM32)
• Compatible with:
  • Raspberry Pi 4 Model B(1GB, 2GB, 4GB)
  • Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+
  • Raspberry Pi 3 Model B
  • Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+
  • Raspberry Pi Zero
  • Raspberry Pi Zero W
  • Raspberry Pi Zero WH

Communications Specifications:

GNSS Specifications:

• Receiver type:
  • 16-channel
  • C/A code
• Sensitivity:
  • Tracking: -162 dBm (GPS)/-157 dBm (GLONASS)/TBD (BD)
  • Cold starts: -148 dBm
• Time-To-First-Fix:
  • Cold starts: less than 35s
  • Hot starts: less than 1s
• Accuracy
  • Position: less than 2.5m CEP

Other Specifications:

• Power supply: 5V
• Operating voltage: 5V/3.3V (3.3V by default)
• Sleep Mode current: 1.2mA(@DRX=2.56s)
• Power Save Mode current: 9uA
• Operating temperature: -40°C ~ 85°C
• Storage temperature: -45°C ~ 90°C
• Dimension: 30.2mm x 65mm

Packing list:

• 1 x NB-IoT SIM7000E HAT
• 1 x GSM Antenna
• 1 x GPS External Antenna (B) 
• 1 x USB type A plug to micro plug cable 
• 1 x RPi screws pack (2pcs)

• SIM7000E NB-IoT HAT, Waveshare Wiki
• Manual
• Schematic
• Source code
• SIM7000 Driver