SIM5320E with Mega 2560

I've connected the Arduino Mega with shield with SIM5320E chip (GPS and WCDMA/3G capabilities).

For anybody who needs help, this is how I wire them:

SIM5320E <--> Power Source / Arduino Mega 2560

5V <--> 5V (Power source)
GND <--> GND (Power source)
VMCU <--> NOT CONNECTED
STXD <--> PIN 10 Arduino
STXD <--> PIN 11 Arduino
GND <--> GND (Pin 53)

NOTES:

  • SIM5320E's GND must not be disconnected from Arduino.
  • VMCU could be disconnected. I've testing with it unconnected.
  • Baud rate in SIM5320E must be 57600. Grater values results in wrong characters. Arduino Serial must be the same baud rate.
  • I've tried to connect SIM5320E through Arduino's serial 2 and other serials, but it does not work. I suppose it is because different voltage level in the TTLs. A converter must be supplied between 2 devices.

I had a similar project with Sim 5216e. A lot of work but I got it working finally.

Do you receive SMSs. I made it in text mode. But messages containing "OK" confuses the that part, because there is "OK" also in the end if SMS.

I don't remember if there are level shifters in my shield but the HW serial of the MEga 2560 works well.

Hi All,

Will this shield work with Verizon? I have used the SIM900 with T mobile but Verizon says it doesn't support it.

Stan K'

P.S. I have tried the SIM5216E but have not been able to get it to work. But it is not accepted by Verizon even if it did work

What I understand of GSM modems, is that you need a SIM card from the service provider. SIM card from T mobile does not work with Verizon. You need a Verizon card for that. You can call to and receive call from other service providers of course.

And it does not matter what modem you have. The SIM card tells who is billing you for your calls. That matters.

Atleast this is how it is in Finland.

There may be different models of SIM5216 used in different parts of the world. Different GSM frequencies. But other than that, it should work everywhere. Like all modems.

I was stupid and bought SIM5216E shield because Chinese seller said that it was Arduino GSM modem. Well, they lied. There was no SW support, so I had to do my own SW. Now I buy only Arduino cards from Arduino (for Arduino work). Nothing else.

Hi,

I thought I would mention that I have used the SIM5216E with a MEGA2560. I did get it to work for awhile, I am still trying to figure out my problem I think its hardware. it Doesn't want to connect to the network. What I use for software is the same library that I use with my SIM900 shields with minor changes, The library recommended by Itead for the SIM900.
GSM/GPRS/GPS Shield of Futura/Open-electronics
http://www.open-electronics.org/

It is not perfect but I got it to work well. Send and receive SMS and voice.
Some of the intialization AT commands are different with the SIM5216E. What I did find out is that Verizon doesn't support these modems when I try to get a SIM card for it. I am looking for a shield that will support Verizon services. Sierra wireless has modems for Verizon but they are not Arduino shields. I am in need of Verizon services and hope to find a suitable shield that will work here in California.

Stan K

First thing I had to do was to get the serial bus working. After that I used a program which just showed all serial data to see what the modem was doing.

Have you checked the manual of the modem. All the AT commands are listed there. Some kind of factory reset might help. Other than that I can't help you. I live in Finland and the modem connected to the net all by itself. And I know nothing of Verizone.

For everyone that need a help with this module.

This is how I've got it working:

The connection between SIM5320E and any device (Arduino, USB2TTL, etc) is the following:

5V --> 5V Power source (2A)
GND --> GND Power Source
RX --> TX Arduino, USB2TTL, etc.
TX --> RX Arduino, USB2TTL, etc.
GND --> GND Arduino, UAB2TTL, etc.
VMCU --> 5V or 3,3V, depending on which TTL voltage you use
RST --> I don't use it, but you can connect it to a pin of Arduino for instance.

Any monitor serial soft is able to link between module an pc.

It takes a lot of work to get GSM modem to work. That is why I recommend using genuine Arduino GSM shield. Everything is already working.

But good to hear you got it working.

I found my black Keyestudio module had R6, R8, R9, R12 fitted with 43k instead of 4k7 (from their schematic at https://wiki.keyestudio.com/Ks0287_keyestudio_SIM5320E_3G_Module_(Black) ). This may have been done to reduce power consumption by the device in e.g. standby mode.

The initial default local serial rate was 115200, and after a few bytes would produce garbage. When I reduced it to 57600 (AT+IPR=57600 sets permanently, e.g. after a reboot) then the device seems to work well.

I also used the excellent library by botletics:

Finally, for mounting the module, it's easy to hang it off the side of an Arduino (e.g. Mega) using:
Mega - SIM5320E module
AREF - 2A VCC supply for the module
GND - GND
D13 - loop VCC for module VMCU
D12 - RST
D11 - STXD
D10 - SRXD

I looped the 5v to the Arduino 5V pin, and placed a diode from the Arduino 5V ---|>|--- VIN (e.g. 9V) so as not to back bias the Mega on board regulator and blow it up.

Then set up the s/w pins #define as:

// for Keyestudio black SIM5320E AliExpress PCB
#define FONA_PWRKEY 3
#define FONA_RST 12
////#define FONA_DTR 9 // Connect with solder jumper
////#define FONA_RI 8 // Need to enable via AT commands
#define FONA_TX 11 // Microcontroller RX
#define FONA_RX 10 // Microcontroller TX
////#define T_ALERT 5 // Connect with solder jumper

Oh its nice news for me!

Hello !
I would like to share my experience with SIM5320E. I used the shield https://www.tindie.com/products/deltain/3ggps-sim5320ea-arduino-shield/ from the instructions Email 3G/GPRS Camera | Arduino Project Hub . Everything started successfully. I liked the module very much. There were no serious problems.