u-blox LEXI-R10 Series Cellular Evaluation Kits User Guide

: July 3, 2024
: u-blox

Table of Contents

u-blox LEXI-R10 Series Cellular Evaluation Kits
Specifications
Product Usage Instructions
FAQ
Document information
Introduction
Board quick start
Register to network
EVK-R10 hardware
Appendix
Contact
References
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Download This Manual (PDF format)

u-blox LEXI-R10 Series Cellular Evaluation Kits

Specifications

Product Name: EVK-R10
Series : LEXI-R10 series cellular evaluation kits
Type Numbers:
- EVK-R10401D-00-00
- EVK-R10801D-00-00
Supports: LTE Cat 1bis cellular radio access technology
Revision Date: 05-Jun-2024

Product Usage Instructions

Introduction

The EVK-R10 kits are a powerful tool for evaluating the u-blox LEXI-R10 series multi-band LTE Cat 1bis cellular modules. The kits simplify the evaluation process and include the following components:

Antenna connector
USB connector for the GNSS module

Board Quick Start

Board Setup

SIM and Antenna Setup:

Insert a SIM card into J300, the SIM card holder.
Connect the cellular antenna provided with the EVK-R10 evaluation kit box to J106, the cellular antenna SMA connector.

FAQ

Q : Can the cellular adapter boards of the evaluation kit be purchased separately?
A : Yes, the cellular adapter boards of the evaluation kit can be purchased separately.

Document information

Title| EVK- R10|
---|---|---
Subtitle| LEXI-R10 series cellular evaluation kits
Document type| User guide|
Document number| UBXDOC-686885345-1985|
Revision and date| R02| 05-Jun-2024
Disclosure sensitivity| C1-Public|

This document applies to the following products:

Product name	Type number
EVK-R10401D	EVK-R10401D-00-00
EVK-R10801D	EVK-R10801D-00-00

Introduction

The EVK-R10 kits are a powerful and easy-to-use tool that simplifies the evaluation of the ultra-small u-blox LEXI-R10 series multi-band LTE Cat 1bis cellular modules. In details:

The EVK-R10401D kit is available to evaluate the LEXI-R10401D data-only LTE Cat 1bis module that is mainly designed for operations in the North American region.
The EVK-R10801D kit is available to evaluate the LEXI-R10801D data-only LTE Cat 1bis module that is mainly designed for operations in the Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions.

See the datasheet [2] and the system integration manual [3] for features supported by each LEXI-R10 series module.

Both the EVK-R10401D and the EVK-R10801D evaluation kits are herein simply referred as EVK-R10. As shown in Figure 1, the EVK-R10 evaluation kits are formed by three boards:

The EVB-WL3 contains the power supply and other peripherals for the cellular module.
The cellular adapter board, ADP-R10, contains the LEXI-R10 cellular module and other connectors.
The GNSS adapter board, ADP-GNSS, contains the u-blox MAX-M10S GNSS module, the GNSS antenna connector and the USB connector for the GNSS module.

u-blox-LEXI-R10-Series-Cellular-Evaluation-Kits-FIG-1

For more hardware details about the EVK-R10 evaluation kit, see section 4.
The cellular adapter boards of the evaluation kit can be purchased separately.

Board quick start

Board setup
SIM and antenna

Insert a SIM card into J300, the SIM card holder.
Connect the cellular antenna provided with the EVK-R10 evaluation kit box to J106, the cellular antenna SMA connector.

Power supply

u-blox-LEXI-R10-Series-Cellular-Evaluation-Kits-FIG-3

Connect the AC / DC +12 V power supply adapter to J400, the 9 – 18 V power input connector; LED DL401 light turns blue;
Provide a jumper socket on both J404 and J109, the cellular VCC supply jumpers;
Turn SW400, the main power switch, to the “ON” position; the LED DL400 light turns green.

Local connectivity

u-blox-LEXI-R10-Series-Cellular-Evaluation-Kits-FIG-4 Communication via USB

For communication via the cellular USB interface, connect a USB cable to J105, the Cellular native USB connector. LED DS100 turns blue.
Press SW302, the cellular power-on button, to switch on the cellular system of the LEXI-R10 module.
Once the cellular system is switched on, the COM ports in Table 1 are enabled by the Windows USB driver after the module boot (see Windows device manager for numbering of ports)1:\

Parameter	Type	Remarks
u-blox Modem	Ports (COM & LPT)	Diagnostic log
u-blox Modem	Ports (COM & LPT)	AT command interface and data communication
u-blox Modem	Ports (COM & LPT)	AT command interface and data communication

Table 1: Cellular USB interface configuration
Run an AT terminal (e.g., the u-blox m-center tool), select the AT port with below settings:

Data rate| Data bits| Parity| Stop bits| Flow control
---|---|---|---|---
115200 bit/s| 8| N| 1| HW

See Appendix A for how to configure the u-blox m-center AT terminal for Windows.

To execute the FW update of the LEXI-R10 module over USB, a jumper socket must be inserted on the 2-pin header connector J107 on the cellular adapter board. Otherwise, for normal boot and operation of the module, do not insert any jumper socket on the 2-pin header connector J107.

1 A message “driver installation fail” may appear on Windows if the USB cable has been connected before the end of the module boot, but this can be ignored as the normal operating functionality will be available anyway after the end of the module boot.

Communication via UART
For communication via the UART interfaces of the cellular module, the following connections are allowed and can be alternatively enabled in a mutually exclusive way (see Table 2 for switches and jumper position and LED status):

Connect a USB cable to J501 (mini-USB), the cellular USB main UART; the LED DL501 light turns blue. When a USB cable is connected to this mini-USB connector, two COM ports are enabled in Windows: the main 8-wire UART interface of the LEXI-R10 module is available over the first COM port opened by the driver, after the end of the boot of the LEXI-R10 module. Press SW302, the cellular power-on button, to switch on the LEXI-R10 module.
Connect an RS232 cable to J500, the cellular RS232 main UART, a DB9 connector: the main
8- wire UART interface of the LEXI-R10 module is available over RS232, after the end of the boot of the module. Press SW302, the power-on button, to switch on the LEXI-R10 module.
Connect a USB cable to J201 (mini-USB), the cellular USB two UARTs; the LED DS201 light turns blue. When a USB cable is connected to this mini-USB connector, two COM ports are enabled in Windows: the two 4-wire UART interfaces of the LEXI-R10 module are respectively available over the two numbered COM ports opened by the driver, after the end of the boot of the module. Press SW302, the cellular power-on button, to switch on the LEXI-R10 module. To enable two UART interfaces, see the AT commands manual [1], +USIO AT command.

Type of connections	SW401	SW403
Access to the main UART interface over J501 (EVB-WL3)	ONBOARD	MINIUSB
Jumper socket on pins 1-2	DL403 DL501
Access to the main UART interface over J500 (EVB-WL3)	ONBOARD	DB9
Jumper socket on pins 1-2	DL405
Access to the two UART interfaces over J201 (ADP-R10)	B2B	Do not care
Jumper socket on pins 2-3	DL404 DS201

Access to UART interface(s) over

J104 (ADP-R10)

| B2B| Do not care| No jumper socket| DL404

Table 2: Serial interface configuration

See the datasheet [2] and the +USIO AT command description in the AT commands manual [1] for the description and configuration of the USIO variants.

Run an AT terminal (such as the u-blox m-center tool) selecting the AT port, with these settings:

Data rate| Data bits| Parity| Stop bits| Flow control
---|---|---|---|---
115200 bit/s| 8| N| 1| HW

See Appendix A for how to configure the u-blox m-center AT terminal for Windows.
Switch off the cellular system
To switch off the cellular system in the EVK-R10, send the +CPWROFF AT command.

Issue the AT+CPWROFF command before switching off the main power supply, otherwise, settings and configuration parameters may not be saved in the non-volatile memory of the cellular module.

Register to network

Enabling error result codes

The command sent by DTE (user)| DCE response (module)| Description
---|---|---
AT+CMEE=2| OK| Enable the cellular module to report verbose error result codes.

PIN code insertion (when required)

The command sent by DTE (user)| DCE response (module)| Description
---|---|---
AT+CPIN=”8180″| OK| Enter the PIN code, if needed (enter the PIN of the SIM card – 8180 is an example).
AT+CLCK=”SC”,0,”8180″| OK| Unlock the PIN at power-on (the last parameter is the PIN of the SIM card – 8180 is an example).
AT+CLCK=”SC”,1,”8180″| OK| Lock the PIN at power-on (the last parameter is the PIN of the SIM card – 8180 is an example).

Registration on a cellular network

Command sent by DTE (user)	DCE response (module)	Description
AT+CREG?	+CREG: 0,1 OK	Verify the CS network registration.
AT+CEREG?	+CEREG: 0,1,”5684″,”03761b14″,7 OK	Verify the EPS network

registration.
AT+COPS=0| OK| Register the module on the network.

The cellular module automatically registers itself on the cellular network. This command is necessary only if the auto-registration failed (AT+CREG? returns 0,0).

AT+COPS?| +COPS: 0,0,”I TIM”,7 OK| Read the operator name and radio access technology (RAT).

For the complete description and syntax of the AT commands supported by LEXI-R10 series modules, see the AT commands manual [1].

EVK-R10 hardware

EVK-R10 block diagram and basic description
Figure 5 shows the main interfaces and internal connections of the EVK-R10 evaluation kit: u-blox-LEXI-R10-Series-Cellular-Evaluation-Kits-
FIG-5

The ADP-R10 and the ADP-GNSS are connected by male header board-to-board connectors on the bottom of the adapter boards and their corresponding female connectors on top of the EVB-WL3. As illustrated in section 2.1.3 and summarized in Table 2, for communication via the UART interfaces of the cellular module, the following connections are allowed and can be alternatively enabled in a mutually exclusive way:

If the ON-BOARD / B2B switch (SW401) on the EVB-WL3 board is set to “ON-BOARD” and if a jumper socket is inserted on the pin 1 and pin 2 of the 3-pin header J248 on the cellular adapter board (see Figure 6), then the main UART interface of the LEXI-R10 module, routed through the DIL header board-to-board connectors mounted on the bottom of the cellular adapter board, can be accessed as converted to USB interface on the USB connector (J501) on the EVB-WL3 board, or it can be accessed as converted to RS232 interface on the RS232 DB9 connector (J500) on the EVB-WL3 board, according to the MINIUSB / DB9 switch (SW403) setting.
If the ON-BOARD / B2B switch (SW401) on the EVB-WL3 board is set to “B2B” and if a jumper socket is inserted on the pin 2 and pin 3 of the 3-pin header J248 on the cellular adapter board (see Figure 6), the UART interfaces of LEXI-R10 module can be accessed as USB interfaces on the USB connector (J201) on the cellular adapter board.
If the ON-BOARD / B2B switch (SW401) on the EVB-WL3 board is set to “B2B” and if there is no jumper socket inserted on the 3-pin header J248 on the cellular adapter board (see Figure 6), then the UART interface(s) of the LEXI-R10 module can be accessed at 1.8 V CMOS signal levels on the DIL header connector mounted on the top of the cellular adapter board, to communicate, for example, with an external MCU.

u-blox-LEXI-R10-Series-Cellular-Evaluation-Kits-FIG-6

The USB interface of the cellular module is available on the native USB connector (J105) mounted on the cellular adapter board. Other LEXI-R10 peripherals are available on the dual-in-line male board-to-board connectors (J103 and J104) provided on the top layer of the cellular adapter board.
Switches, jumpers, and buttons

u-blox-LEXI-R10-Series-Cellular-Evaluation-Kits-FIG-7

Function	Description	Name	Board
Main power switch	Power on/off the whole evaluation kit	SW400	EVB-WL3
Cellular VCC	Jumper socket to provide the 3.8 V supply to the cellular VCC
input	J404	EVB-WL3
	J109	ADP-R10
Cellular power-on	Push button to switch on / off LEXI-R10 modules	SW302

EVB-WL3
Cellular reset| Push button to reset LEXI-R10 modules| SW303| EVB-WL3
Cellular UART detach| Slide switch to attach/detach cellular main UART from USB / RS232 connectors| SW401| EVB-WL3
Cellular UART routing| Slide switch to select cellular main UART routing on USB or RS232 connector| SW403| EVB-WL3
Cellular UARTs routing| 3-pin header jumper to route cellular UART(s) interfaces to the USB two UARTs connector on the ADP-R10, or over the USB or RS232 connectors on the EVB-WL3, or over the DIL B2B connector on the ADP-R10| J248| ADP-R10
Cellular GPIO detach| Slide switch to attach/detach the cellular GPIOs from peripherals: when detached, the signals are available only on the DIL B2B connector on ADP-R10| SW300| EVB-WL3
Cellular GNSS detach| Slide switch to attach/detach the cellular system to the GNSS module mounted on the ADP-GNSS: when detached, signals are available only on the DIL B2B connector on the ADP-R10 board| SW304| EVB-WL3
GNSS BCKP| Slide switch to connect/disconnect backup battery to V_BCKP pin of the GNSS module mounted on the ADP-GNSS| SW204| EVB-WL3
GNSS Tx routing| 3-pin header jumper to route and make accessible GNSS UART Tx over the USB connector on the ADP-GNSS or to use it as Tx data ready for the cellular module| J104| ADP-GNSS

Table 3: EVK-R10 switches, jumpers and buttons description

LEDs

u-blox-LEXI-R10-Series-Cellular-Evaluation-Kits-FIG-8

Function	Colour	Description	LED #	Board
Main power		The power supply plugged in the 9 – 18 V power input	DL401

Red light blinks at UART TX or RX data on J501

Red light blinks at UART TX or RX data on J500

Connectors

u-blox-LEXI-R10-Series-Cellular-Evaluation-Kits-FIG-9

Function	Description			Name	Board
9 – 18 V power input	Connector for the AC / DC power adapter of EVK AC:
100-240 V, 0.8 A, 50-60 Hz / DC: +12 V, 2.5 A		IEC 60417-5172

Class II equipment

Table 5 : EVK-R10 connectors description

In the unlikely event of a failure in the internal protection circuitry, there is a risk of an explosion when charging a fully or a partially discharged battery. Replace the battery when it no longer has sufficient charge for unit operation. Check the battery before use if the device has not been used for an extended period.
Risk of explosion if the battery is replaced with an incorrect type. Dispose battery according to rules!

EVK-R10 pinout
Table 6 lists the pins/interfaces of the LEXI-R10 modules, as routed up to the 42-pin dual-in-line board-to-board header connectors (J103 and J104) available on the ADP-R10 adapter board of the evaluation kit.

LEXI-R10 module		Connector	LEXI-R10 module		Connector
Pin no.	Pin ID	Signal name	Name / pin number	**Pin
no.**	Pin ID	Signal name	Name / pin number
1	B1	GND	J104 pins 7-10	27	P15
2	C1	RSVD	Not available	28	N15
3	D1	GND	J104 pins 7-10	29	M15
4	E1	RXD	J104 pin 15	30	L15
5	F1	TXD	J104 pin 16	31	K15
6	G1	CTS	J104 pin 13	32	J15
7	H1	RTS	J104 pin 14	33	H15
8	J1	DCD	J104 pin 12	34	G15
9	K1	DTR	J104 pin 11	35	F15
10	L1	RI	J104 pin 18	36	E15
11	M1	DSR	J104 pin 17	37	D15
12	N1	SCL	J103 pin 19	38	C15
13	P1	SDA	J103 pin 22	39	B15
14	R2	GPIO1	J104 pin 34	40	A14
15	R3	GPIO2	J104 pin 32	41	A13
16	R4	GPIO3	J104 pin 31	42	A12
17	R5	GPIO4	J104 pin 26	43	A11
18	R6	GPIO5	J104 pin 23	44	A10
19	R7	RSVD	J104 pin 4	45	A9
20	R8	USB_D-	Not available	46	A8
21	R9	USB_D+	Not available	47	A7
22	R10	RSVD	Not available	48	A6
23	R11	GPIO7	J103 pin 26	49	A5
24	R12	GPIO8	J103 pin 21	50	A4
25	R13	GPIO9	J103 pin 23	51	A3
26	R14	GPIO10	J103 pin 24	52	A2

Table 6: Interfaces of LEXI-R10 modules

Dual-in-line board-to-board connector J104| Dual-in-line board-to- board connector J103
---|---
Signal name| Pin no.| Pin no.| Signal name| Signal name| Pin no.| Pin no.| Signal name
Not connected| 1| 2| GND| Not connected| 1| 2| GND
Not connected| 3| 4| RSVD #19| Not connected| 3| 4| Not connected
Not connected| 5| 6| Not connected| RFCTRL1| 5| 6| RFCTRL2
GND| 7| 8| GND| VCC| 7| 8| VCC
GND| 9| 10| GND| VCC| 9| 10| VCC
DTR| 11| 12| DCD| Not connected| 11| 12| Not connected
CTS| 13| 14| RTS| SIM_IO| 13| 14| VSIM
RXD| 15| 16| TXD| SIM_RST| 15| 16| SIM_CLK
DSR| 17| 18| RI| Not connected| 17| 18| Not connected
Not connected| 19| 20| Not connected| SCL| 19| 20| Not connected
Not connected| 21| 22| RSVD #47| GPIO8| 21| 22| SDA
GPIO5| 23| 24| GPIO6| GPIO9| 23| 24| GPIO10
Not connected| 25| 26| GPIO4| RESET_N| 25| 26| GPIO7
Not connected| 27| 28| Not connected| Not connected| 27| 28| Not connected
Not connected| 29| 30| PWR_ON| Not connected| 29| 30| Not connected
GPIO3| 31| 32| GPIO2| Not connected| 31| 32| Not connected
Not available| 33| 34| GPIO1| Not connected| 33| 34| Not connected
V_INT| 35| 36| Not connected| Not connected| 35| 36| Not connected
Not connected| 37| 38| Not connected| Not connected| 37| 38| Not connected
Not connected| 39| 40| Not connected| Not connected| 39| 40| Not connected
GND| 41| 42| Not connected| GND| 41| 42| Not connected

Table 7: Pin-out of the 42-pin dual-in-line board-to-board connectors (J103, J104)

The pins/interfaces that are not supported by LEXI-R10 modules should be not driven by an external device. See the datasheet [2] and the system integration manual [3] to learn about the features supported by LEXI-R10 modules.

Current consumption measurement
To measure the current consumption of LEXI-R10 modules, remove the jumper socket from the cellular VCC supply jumper J109 on the ADP-R10 board, as shown in Figure 7.

u-blox-LEXI-R10-Series-Cellular-Evaluation-Kits-FIG-10

A suitable external digital multi-meter (as the Keysight 34465A, 34410A or 34411A) can be used for current consumption measurements: in this example, the 3.8 V supply circuit on the EVB-WL3 will supply the cellular module, with the digital multi-meter placed in series as illustrated in Figure 8.

u-blox-LEXI-R10-Series-Cellular-Evaluation-Kits-FIG-11

Alternatively, a suitable external DC power supply with dynamic current measurement capabilities (e.g., the portable and cheap Qoitech Otii Arc, or the more accurate Keysight N6705B, or the models designed for mobile communications Keysight 66319B/D or 66321B/D) can be used, acting also as 3.8 V supply source for the cellular module mounted on the adapter board, as illustrated in Figure 9.

Appendix

A Setting up AT terminal communication
The u-blox m-center cellular module evaluation tool is a powerful platform for evaluating, configuring and testing u-blox cellular products. m-center includes an AT commands terminal for communication with the device and can be downloaded for free from https://www.u-blox.com/en/product/m-center. For m-center example scripts, visit https://github.com/u-blox/m-center.

Follow the board setup instructions in section 2 to provide all the required connections and switch on the cellular module.
Run the u-blox m-center tool: after the m-center start-up, the Home page appears, as shown in Figure 10.
On the Home page, set up the AT COM port with the setting values below:
- Data rate: 115200 bit/s
- Data bits: 8
- Parity: N
- Stop bits: 1
- Flow control: HW
Check in the Windows Device Manager to find out which specific COM port is being used by the EVK-R10.
Enable the connection to the u-blox cellular module by clicking on the Connect button.
Retrieve the module and network information by clicking on the Get info button.
The module information is retrieved and displayed on the Home page.
8. Click on the AT Terminal button, found at the upper right of the Home page. A new window opens, and the AT command terminal is now ready for communication with the EVK-R10.

For more information on using the u-blox m-center, press the F1 key to open the m-center help window on the computer. For the complete list of the AT commands supported by the modules and their syntax, see the AT commands manual [1].

B Glossary

Abbreviation	Definition
AC	Alternating current
ADC	Analog to Digital Converter
ADP	Adapter Board
APN	Access Point Name
AT	AT Command Interpreter Software Subsystem, or attention
B2B	Board-To-Board
CTS	Clear To Send
DC	Direct current
DCD	Data Carrier Detect
DCE	Data Communication Equipment
DIL	Dual In Line
DSR	Data Set Ready
DTE	Data Terminal Equipment
DTR	Data Terminal Ready
EVB	Evaluation Board
EVK	Evaluation Kit
GND	Ground
GNSS	Global Navigation Satellite System
GPIO	General Purpose Input Output
HW	Hardware
I2C	Inter-Integrated Circuit
IoT	Internet of Things
IP	Internet Protocol
LED	Light Emitting Diode
LTE	Long Term Evolution
MCU	Micro-Controller Unit
NB	Narrow Band
PDP	Packet Data Protocol
PSU	Power Supply Unit
RAT	Radio Access Technology
RF	Radio Frequency
RI	Ring Indicator
RTS	Request To Send
Rx	Receiver
SIM	Subscriber Identity Module
SMA	SubMiniature version A
TCP	Transfer Control Protocol
Tx	Transmitter
CART	Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter serial interface