I've got an SM5100B from Sparkfun (via LBE) and can't for the life of me get it to work. I've sorted out a comms issue; wasn't factory set to 9600 baud as advertised. Then fixed the "not enough power" issue; thanks Tronixstuff. But I still can't get it to handshake with the network. I've asked Little Bird Electronics (where I bought it from) and Sparkfun (manufacturer) and they have no answers.
I'm using a Telstra Prepaid Mobile Broadband SIM (in Australia) that works great in my iPhone 3GS. I've tried another SIM (from my wife's 3GS) and it's fine too! Anyone got an idea why I can't get
I've seen so many people having the exact same problem.
Check out the comments on the sparkfun website for this product, there are a few solutions there. http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9607 (scroll down a bit)
I was just about to purchase this gsm shield, but am now wary because of so many problems people seem to have with it.
Might end up going with an eBay cheapie.
Regards, Matt.
Got an email from Sparkfun today. I'll blast it in here in code tags if anyone wants to follow the thread. I hope Sparkfun don't mind me publicising this conversation!
Hi Toni,
Thanks for confirming things with me. Yes that is the correct Sparkfun product. And the (excellent) Tronixstuff blog on this device has been invaluable.
The SIM cards I've used (three of them) belong to Telstra and Optus networks, none are from the Three network.
I have contacted you as a last-ditch effort as I have already researched, read and tried:
- The Tronixstuff blog
- The Arduino forum
- The comments on the Sparkfun product page
- Technical support from my Australian supplier (LittleBirdElectronics.com)
Using the AT command set on my shield I have been able to read back:
- Cell tower details for nearest and alternate towers (AT+CCED?)
- Signal quality data from AT+CSQ returned +CSQ: 19,99
- The AT+SBAND command is returning 4 which is recommended for Australia by Tronixstuff (I've also tried every other band)
I have a 2A power supply feeding the board as per Tronixstuff's recommendation.
However I can't power the board from the GND/5V terminals as shown in his blog - it doesn't power up if connected that way.
The only way I've found I can power the board on external power is to use the VIN/GND terminal pair.
Any support you can give me is much appreciated. Thanks for getting in touch.
Chris.
On 6 June 2012 03:40, Level 1 <level1@sparkfun.com> wrote:
Hi Chris,
Thanks for contacting us about this. Just to verify, you are referring
to this particular cellular shield, correct?
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9607. I would recommend taking a look
at the following tutorial and working through it:
http://tronixstuff.wordpress.com/tag/sm5100b/. This is a great
tutorial, with a lot of wonderful example code and troubleshooting
ideas, so hopefully this may help you get somewhere. Also, I would
verify that your SIM card does not somehow fall under a subsidiary of
the company Three, as those apparently have compatibility issues.
Let me know if you have any other information, or can get any kind of
different output from the shield. Generally though, if you can get it
responding, even with errors like you are seeing, then it is probably
either the SIM card or some other external component.
Thanks,
Toni
Technical Support
SparkFun Electronics
6175 Longbow Drive Suite 200
Boulder, CO 80301
techsupport@sparkfun.com
1-303-284-0979
On Fri, Jun 1, 2012 at 7:25 PM, Christian Murphy <prawnhead@gmail.com> wrote:
> G'day Techies!
>
> Hey I'm unable to get my Cellular Shield to work with any SIM card. The
> normal output from the passthru Arduino sketch looks like this.
>
> +SIND: 1
>
> +SIND: 10,"SM",1,"FD",1,"LD",1,"MC",1,"RC",1,"ME",1
>
> +STIN:0
>
> +SIND: 7
>
> +SIND: 0
>
> +SIND: 10,"SM",0,"FD",0,"LD",0,"MC",0,"RC",0,"ME",0
>
> As you can see below I've asked my Australian supplier for help, I've also
> scraped the 'Net looking for answers. Is there some detail or diagnostic I
> can run to work out what's actually at fault here? I'm guessing SIM card. Is
> there a particular specification for the SIM card? I haven't found any
> documentation on it.
>
> Many thanks for any pointers you can give.
>
> Chris.
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Little Bird Team <team@littlebirdelectronics.com>
> Date: 1 June 2012 14:34
> Subject: Re: Sparkfun Cellular Shield
> To: Christian Murphy <prawnhead@gmail.com>
>
>
> Hi Chris,
>
> I don't have a good answer for you, except for it's probably the SIM card.
>
> In some googling I found in a post circa 2008 "I think most SIMs these days
> are 128k".
> In a post circa 2009 "Telstra's new NextG Universal SIM kits contain 128k
> cards that hold 500 names/numbers.".
>
> As always if you have any questions or queries whatsoever, please don't
> hesitate to contact me on marcus@littlebirdelectronics.com .
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> Marcus
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Marcus Schappi
> Director
>
> Little Bird Company Pty Ltd
> "Service Powered Electronics".
>
> http://www.littlebirdelectronics.com
>
> 17B Lodge Street,
> Hornsby NSW 2077
> Australia
>
> E: help@littlebirdelectronics.com
> T: +61 (02) 8003 3523
> F: +61 (02) 8014 8119
>
>
> On Mon, May 28, 2012 at 8:16 PM, Christian Murphy <prawnhead@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>>
>> G'day Marcus and Maddie,
>>
>> I'm after a little tech support please, if you have a minute. I have the
>> Sparkfun Cellular Shield for Arduino and can't get it to work. When I run
>> the passthrough sketch, it seems to bomb because of the SIM card:
>>
>> +SIND: 1
>>
>> +SIND: 10,"SM",1,"FD",1,"LD",1,"MC",1,"RC",1,"ME",1
>>
>> +STIN:0
>>
>> +SIND: 7
>>
>> +SIND: 0
>>
>> +SIND: 10,"SM",0,"FD",0,"LD",0,"MC",0,"RC",0,"ME",0
>>
>> I read in the comments on the Sparkfun product page that it doesn't work
>> with 64k SIMs, only 32k ones. The SIM I'm using is about 2 years old and
>> came out of a Telstra Prepaid Wireless Broadband router. Is there any way to
>> tell if my SIM is borking it?
>>
>> Thanks guys, love your work!
>>
>> Chris.
