Hello guys,
I just received my EFCom GPRS/GSM Shield from Singapore today. i set everything up and loaded the example from Arduino IDE, and tried different ones. However; its not working well for some reason. Basically out of like hours and so many tries, i managed to make few calls, but thats about it. i tried to figure the problem out and compare what i've done at the beginning to what i've done when it worked, but i can seem to find anything different. Even when i made the few calls, the call drops after 30-40 seconds. and and i can see the network signal restarting or something along with the SAT light.
Basically i can load the code and run everything, for for example when i load the "Receive Call" example, all i get in the serial monitor is "Receive Voice Call" and it'll stay like this forever. when it worked for me for a few times, i get "Waiting for a call" after a like 20 seconds after the first message. I read on different websites and stuff that it needs a firmware update or something , but that was before i had a several successful attempts. I'm still really new to all this stuff, and can't seem to fully understand some of the stuff i read about AT commands and some other applications. Not even sure if thats related to what i'm doing.
I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me and guide me on what might be the problem.
Tried on different computers (Windows 7, Window8)
Tried different sim cards and tested them.
Power : USB + 9v battery
network coverage is excellent in my area
Shield: EFCom GPRS/GSM Shield http://www.elecfreaks.com/wiki/index.php?title=EFCom_GPRS/GSM_Shield
can someone also point out what is "buad 9600" ? that might be a really dumb question , but please excuse my lack of knowledge as i'm still fresh.
code :
/*
Receive Voice Call
This sketch, for the Arduino GSM shield, receives voice calls,
displays the calling number, waits a few seconds then hangs up.
Circuit:
* GSM shield
* Voice circuit. Refer to to the GSM shield getting started guide
at http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/ArduinoGSMShield#toc11
* SIM card that can accept voice calls
With no voice circuit the call will connect, but will not send or receive sound
created Mar 2012
by Javier Zorzano
This example is in the public domain.
http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/GSMExamplesReceiveVoiceCall
*/
// Include the GSM library
#include <GSM.h>
// PIN Number
#define PINNUMBER ""
// initialize the library instance
GSM gsmAccess;
GSMVoiceCall vcs;
// Array to hold the number for the incoming call
char numtel[20];
void setup()
{
// initialize serial communications and wait for port to open:
Serial.begin(9600);
while (!Serial) {
; // wait for serial port to connect. Needed for Leonardo only
}
Serial.println("Receive Voice Call");
// connection state
boolean notConnected = true;
// Start GSM shield
// If your SIM has PIN, pass it as a parameter of begin() in quotes
while(notConnected)
{
if(gsmAccess.begin(PINNUMBER)==GSM_READY)
notConnected = false;
else
{
Serial.println("Not connected");
delay(1000);
}
}
// This makes sure the modem correctly reports incoming events
vcs.hangCall();
Serial.println("Waiting for a call");
}
void loop()
{
// Check the status of the voice call
switch (vcs.getvoiceCallStatus())
{
case IDLE_CALL: // Nothing is happening
break;
case RECEIVINGCALL: // Yes! Someone is calling us
Serial.println("RECEIVING CALL");
// Retrieve the calling number
vcs.retrieveCallingNumber(numtel, 20);
// Print the calling number
Serial.print("Number:");
Serial.println(numtel);
// Answer the call, establish the call
vcs.answerCall();
break;
case TALKING: // In this case the call would be established
Serial.println("TALKING. Press enter to hang up.");
while(Serial.read()!='\n')
delay(100);
vcs.hangCall();
Serial.println("Hanging up and waiting for the next call.");
break;
}
delay(1000);
}
Thanks in advace