5G HUB EG95NA USB Modem LTE Cat 4 Cat1 and GNSS User Manual

: June 15, 2024
: 5G HUB

5G HUB EG95NA USB Modem LTE Cat 4 Cat1 and GNSS User Manual

Purpose of the Document

The purpose of this document is to explain the technical specifications and manual for using the LTE Cat 4/Cat 1 USB modem.

Document History

Version	Author	Date	Description
A	5G HUB	08.12.2020	Initial Document
B	5G HUB	09.12.2023	Add EG95NA, EG95EX, and EG91NAX

Package contents

LTE Cat. 4 USB Modem Package

USB modem with LTE & Diversity & GNSS antenna connectors.
USB modem comes with either one of the following modem modules:
- EG95NA: Cat 4 for North America
- EG95EX: Cat 4 for Europe, Middle East, and Africa
- EG91NAX: Cat 1 for North America

General Description

Overview

The LTE Cat 4 USB modem is a cellular and GPS modem in a USB stick form factor. The USB modem has UFL connectors for LTE & Diversity & GNSS antennas. The board is a powerful board that features a microcontroller and wireless modem. The microcontroller is an Atmel’s SAMD21G18A MCU which features a 32-bit ARM Cortex® M0+ core. The wireless modem is EG9x which is an embedded LTE Cat 4 or LTE Cat 1 wireless communication module. EG9x wireless modem provides a maximum data rate of 150Mbps downlink and 50 Mbps uplink for Cat 4 and 10 Mbps downlink and 5 Mbps uplink for Cat 1. It provides data connectivity on LTE-FDD/HSPA/WCDMA networks. It also provides GNSS to meet customers’ specific application demands.

The USB modem provides rich sets of Internet protocols, industry-standard interfaces (USB/UART/I2 C/Status Indicator) and abundant functionalities. The board offers a high integration level and enables integrators and developers to easily design their applications and take advantage ofthe board low power consumption, many functionalities, and USB drivers for Windows 7/8/8.1/10, Linux and Android.

The USB modem is a rich hardware board that can be used for the 4G LTE wireless technology and enables a variety of smart applications for devices. It enables many applications such as wireless POS, smart metering, tracking, smart transportation, smart buildings, smart city, and smart homes.

The board is also compatible with Arduino and Arduino software (IDE). Arduino sketches and examples are provided with the kit and additional sketches can be developed and uploaded to the board.

Key Features

Microchip SAMD21G18 ARM Cortex® M0+ MCU
Quectel EG95NA (Cat 4) or EG95EX (Cat 4) or EG91NAX (Cat 1) module
Supports LTE/HSPA/WCDMA
Supports GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS
LTE & Diversity & GNSS UFL antenna connector
Supports receiver diversity (MIMO 2×2)
Nano USIM card slot
Supports the protocols TCP/UDP/PPP/ SSL/ TLS/ FTP(S)/ HTTP(S)/ NITZ/ PING/ MQTT
Supports SMS
Supports AT commands
Compact board size of 65.1 mm x 32mm
Window, Linux, Android software drivers
Arduino IDE Compatible
Ready for smart applications and development (smart home, smart city, smart transportation, smart metering, smart farming, smart waste management, asset tracking, location, navigation, mapping, and timing applications). Application such as Gas Detector, Soil PH Tester, Optical Sensor, Machinery Alarm System, Irrigation Controller, Elevator, Asset Tracking Electronics, Person/Pet Tracking, Water/Gas Metering, Smart Parking System, Fire Hydrant, Smoke Alarm, Trash Bin, Street Lighting
The board can be powered via the USB connector
Each of the 14 general purpose I/O pins on the board can be used for digital input or digital output using pinMode(), digitalWrite(), and digitalRead() functions. Pins used for PWM can be using analogWrite() function. All pins operate at 3.3 volts. Each pin can source or sink a maximum of 10 mA and has an internal pull-up resistor (disconnected by default) of 20-60 K ohm.

RF Bands

EG95NA: North America
- LTE-FD: B2/B4/B5/B12/B13
- WCDMA: B2/B4/B5
- GSM/EDGE: –
EG95EX: Europe, Middle East, Africa
- LTE-FD: B1/B3/B7/B8/B20/B28
- WCDMA: B1/B8
- GSM/EDGE: B3/B8
EG91NAX: North America
- LTE-FD: B2/B4/B5/B12/B13/B25/B26
- WCDMA: B2/B4/B5
- GSM/EDGE: –

Overview Diagrams

Figure 1. USB Modem Overview Diagram (EG95NA/EG95EX/EG91NAX)– Top View
Overview Diagrams

Figure 2. USB Modem Overview Diagram (EG95NA/EG95EX/EG91NAX)– Bottom View
Overview Diagrams

Physical Characteristics

The width and length of the USB modem is 32 mm (width) by 65 mm (length). The board have two screw holes in each corner that allows the board to be attached to a surface or case.

Figure 3. Physical Characteristics.

Peripherals – Pin out

Figure 4. USB Modem Top Side (EG9x)
Peripherals – Pin out

Figure 5. USB Modem Bottom Side

Hardware Specification

Technical Specification

Notes:

UART can be programmed through any of general-purpose pins.
SPI can be programmed through any of general-purpose pins.

PIN Description

PIN	DIRECTION	Description
USB Connector	I	The USB modem is powered from the USB port (3.8V-5V)
LED1 (USER)	O	LED which can be controlled from MCU (D25). When the pin is

HIGH value, the LED is on, when the pin is LOW, it is off
LED2 (USER)| O| LED which can be controlled from MCU (D26). When the pin is HIGH value, the LED is on, when the pin is LOW, it is off
LED (NET)| O| Indicate the EG9x operation status
LED (STAT)| O| Indicate the EG9x network activity status
MCU RESETbutton| I| Not mounted
EG95 RESETbutton| I| Not mounted
User Button| I| Not mounted
USB Switch| I| 1 switch to connect to MCU directly or EG95 directly
IOREF| O| Provides the voltage reference with which the MCU operates. A device can read the IOREF pin voltage and select the appropriate power source or enable voltage translators on the outputs for working with the 5V or 3.3V
3.3V| O| 3.3V generated by the on-board regulator. Maximum current drawn is 3A. The regulator also provides power to the MCU andEG9x
5V| O| 5V generated from the board. The board is supplied with power from USB connector (typical 5V)
GND| | Ground
A0| IO| Six analog inputs which can provide up to 12 bits of resolution (i.e. 4096 different values). By default, each input measures from ground to 3.3 volts, though is it possible to change the upper end of their range using the AREF pinA0 can also be used as a DAC output and provides a 10 bit voltage output with analogWrite() functionAnalog pins can be used as GPIOs
A1| IO
A2| IO
A3| IO
A4| IO
A5| IO
SCL| IO| I2C. The SCL (clock line). Can be used as GPIO
SDA| IO| I2C. The SDA (data line). Can be used as GPIO
AREFA| I| Input reference voltage for the analog inputs used for either he ADC or the DAC
SCK| IO| SPI Interface. Can be used as GPIO
MISO| IO| SPI Interface. Can be used as GPIO
MOSI| IO| SPI Interface. Can be used as GPIO
SS| IO| SPI Interface. Can be used as GPIO
TX/TX3| IO| GPIO or UART
RX/RX3| IO| GPIO or UART
PA21/PA28| IO| GPIO
Cortex Debug Connector| IO| Using Single Wire Debug to burn bootloader and debug the board
ADC0| I| Connected to EG95. General purpose analogue to digital converter
ADC1| I| Connected to EG95. General purpose analogue to digital converter
GPIO26| IO| Connected to EG95. General purpose IO
GPIO64| IO| Connected to EG95. General purpose IO
USIM| I| Used to insert a Nano USIM. Connected to EG95
USB Boot| I| Connected to EG9x. Force the EG9x to enter emergency download mode

Precaution
The USB modem runs at 3.3V. The maximum voltage that the I/O pins can tolerate is 3.3V. Applying voltages higher than 3.3V to any I/O pin could damage the board.

EG95NA/EG95EX/EG91NAX chipset

All functionality of the EG9x module shall be implemented excluding the following features. That is, the following features are not supported:

Audio, Earphone, and Codes are not supported.
PCM and I2 C are not supported.
PSM_IND and AP_READY are not supported.

Interface between SAM21D and EG95NA/EG95EX/EG91NAX

The Microcontroller communicates with the EG95 through UART interfaces:

UART1: (PA12/PA13/PA14/PA15). Used for data transmission and AT command communication 115200bps by default. The default frame format is 8N1 (8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit) Support RTS and CTS hardware flow control.
RI/DCD: (PB10/PB11)

Using the Board with Arduino IDE

Installing the Software
To use the board with Arduino IDE and starts running Arduino projects and sketches, install the following software:

Setting Up the Board
Gently move the switch S1 upward to put the board in Arduino mode as in the picture below

Setting Up Arduino IDE

Insert the USB modem into the USB port of a computer. Launch Windows device manager and you shall see the Arduino board as below.

When the switch is positioned into the EG9x USB, Windows device manager shows the following ports.
Launch Arduino IDE and choose File->Preferences. In the Additional Boards Manager URLs, insert the following URL:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/5ghub/5G-NB-IoT/master/package_5G-NB- IoT_index.json
In Arduino IDE, choose Tools->Board->Boards Manager, select and install “5G-NB-IoT SAMD Boards”.
Choose “5G NB-IoT (Native USB Port)”
In the Arduino IDE, Choose Port and select the serial port where the board appears.
In the Arduino IDE, Choose Sketch->Include Library->Add .Zip Library and select the file 5G-NB-IoT_Arduino.zip

You are now ready to start running Arduino sketches and projects.
Setting Up Arduino IDE

Running Arduino Sketch

Using Arduino IDE, open any Arduino sketch such as TurnOnAllPins.ino, choose Sketch->Upload and it will run on the USB modem.

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Documents / Resources

| 5G HUB EG95NA USB Modem LTE Cat 4 Cat1 and GNSS [pdf] User Manual
EG95NA, EG95EX, EG91NA, EG91NAX, EG95NA USB Modem LTE Cat 4 Cat1 and GNSS, EG95NA, USB Modem LTE Cat 4 Cat1 and GNSS, LTE Cat 4 Cat1 and GNSS, Cat 4 Cat1 and GNSS, Cat1 and GNSS, and GNSS
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