Content
Version History
| Version | Date | Changes |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Initial Version | |
| 1.0.1 | Extending the description of the serial adapter board |
Components
The NB | DEV KIT hardware consists of two boards:
- The EX-COM210 NB-IoT communication board, including the NB-IoT modem, a microcontroler, an SMA Antenna connector and and a micro SIM card slot.
- The EX-EVL210 USB/RS232 serial adapter board, including three different external connectors to be able to communicate with the EX-COM210 board.
Both boards are plugged in together via header pins. The following figure shows the complete NB | DEV KIT and its components.
EX-EVL210 USB/RS232 serial adapter board
UART Interface selection
The EVL210 has three serial UART interfaces, which can be used to interact with the EX-COM210 NB-IoT board:
Label | Connector type | Voltage level | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
J102 | female screw terminals | 3.3V | pin mapping: U1 = TX, U2 = RX, U3 = GND |
J103 | micro USB connector | 5V | The micro USB connection is also the power supply, therefore it must always be connected (even if not used as UART). |
J104 | RS232 connector | 12V |
In order to the select the desired serial interface, the jumper on J101 has to be changed:
Interface | Connected jumper pins |
|---|---|
| screw terminals | J4 & J2 |
| mirco USB | J1 & J2 |
| RS232 | J3 & J2 |
Peripherals
The reset button triggers a hard reset of the EX-COM210 NB-IoT board. Any state of the microcontroller and the NB-IoT modem will be reset, therefore a (Re-)Attach is needed.
There are also three status LEDs:
- LED1 indicates the power status of the EX-COM210 board
- LED2 indicates if the microcontroller is updating its status; in normal situations the LED should blink every second
- LED3 indicates if the NB-IoT modem is attached to a NB-IoT cell (LED on = attached, LED off = detached)
- LED4 indicates if a modem procedure (attach, transmit, receive, ...) is ongoing
The EX-COM210 NB-IoT communication board
- Microcontroller
- Controls the modem
- Communicates with user via UART interface
- NB-IoT Modem
- Attaches device to NB-IoT nework
- Transmit & receives data via NB-IoT network
- Reads cell information (if attached)
- Micro SIM card slot
- Micro NB-IoT SIM card to be inserted to be able to attach to NB-IoT network
- Cut corner of SIM card to be positioned in the left bottom corner of the card slot
- SMA Antenna connector
- Attach antenna to be able to transmit and receive NB-IoT signals
UART Interface
When using the UART interface to communicate with the device, then the following parameter shall be used:
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Baud Rate | 115200 |
| Flow Control | None |
| Data Bits | 8 |
| Stop Bits | 1 |
| Parity | None |
EX-COM210 Stand-alone usage
The EX-COM210 can be used as a standalone device when unplugged from the EX-EVL210. Then the user needs to take care of the correct PIN connection and power supply.
The following figure shows the PIN assignments.
| PIN | Assignment | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GND | Ground |
| 3 | RESET | Microcontroller reset |
| 7 | 3V3_A | 3.3V voltage for ADC measurements |
| 10 | 3V3 | 3.3V voltage for microcontroller |
| 11 | 3V3_SARA | 3.3V voltage for NB-IoT modem |
| 14 | GND | Ground |
| 15 | ANT | Antenna |
| 16 | GND | Ground |
| 23 | LED1 | LED 1 |
| 24 | LED2 | LED 2 |
| 25 | UART_TX | Transmission pin of external UART |
| 26 | UART_RX | Reception pin of external UART |
| 27 | LED4 | LED 4 |
| 28 | LED3 | LED 3 |
| 29 | GND | Ground |
Warning
All unused pins MUST NOT be connected.