Perhaps a stupid question, but I have both a SAM-M8Q GPS Breakout and a ZOE-M8Q GPS Breakout and I am looking to relay the data from their GNSS receivers through cellular. I have already managed to use these receivers with the SAMD21 Pro RF (LoRa) and I am looking to try and pass data through cellular in an analogous manner.
It looks like this is definitely possible with the SparkFun LTE CAT M1/NB-IoT Shield - SARA-R4. I also checked the Particle Boron LTE IoT Development Board which is considerably cheaper. Is there a place to insert a SIM card into the Boron LTE board? In conjunction with one of my GPS Breakout boards, would it be able to send data across cellular networks that are readily available as I am assuming the SparkFun LTE CAT M1/NB-IoT Shield would?
Why is the Boron significantly cheaper? I have read the accompanying literature, but I don’t truly understand the main and crucial differences between these two items.
Any help would be huge. Thanks for reading and for any suggestions as always.
How do I edit my post? I’m trying to provide product #'s? For the record, they are CEL-14997 (LTE CAT M!) & WRL-15069 (Particle Boron) respectively. Am I missing the “edit post” icon…?
Hi YoungJah,
Both of these boards would work for your project here. From what I can tell, the Boron’s firmware limits you to using it with the [Particle Device Cloud service where the SparkFun LTE Shield can work with either the Hologram network if you purchase the [version with the SIM card included or you can use it with a host of other networks like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. We cover this and more in detail in our [Hookup Guide for this shield. The [Boron Documentation page will have more information on how to get started with that device.
The SparkFun LTE Shield can also be used with a variety of different microcontrollers since it uses the standard Arduino Shield footprint or you can connect it directly to a computer via USB.
I hope this helps clear up any confusion regarding these two cellular module products. Let us know if you have any other questions about these and we would be happy to help as much as we can.](https://docs.particle.io/reference/device-os/firmware/boron/)](LTE Cat M1/NB-IoT Shield Hookup Guide - SparkFun Learn)](SparkFun LTE CAT M1/NB-IoT Shield - SARA-R4 (with Hologram SIM Card) - CEL-15087 - SparkFun Electronics)](Particle Cloud - Scalable Hosted Cloud Service for Connected Products)
Mark,
I am attempting to set up the SparkFun LTE CAT M1/NB-IoT Shield - SARA-R4. I am following the SparkFun documentation in this link: <LINK_TEXT text="https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/lt … o-library
">https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/lte-cat-m1nb-iot-shield-hookup-guide?_ga=2.7068850.1851848564.1558454994-1972979478.1550184551#lte-shield-arduino-library
</LINK_TEXT>
When trying to upload the 00_Register_Operator example, I follow the instructions, but upon compiling, I receive this error: ‘SoftwareSerial’ does not name a type
…On the last line below:
// We need to pass a Serial or SoftwareSerial object to the LTE Shield
// library. Below creates a SoftwareSerial object on the standard LTE
// Shield RX/TX pins:
// Note: if you're using an Arduino board with a dedicated hardware
// serial port, comment out the line below. (Also see note in setup)
SoftwareSerial lteSerial(8, 9);
Furthermore, I can’t see the shield in the Serial Monitor of my Arduino IDE. It doesn’t appear in my ‘port’ section, nor can I select it from a list of Boards, or seem to find any corresponding entry in the Boards Manager selector.
I’m a more than a bit confused. Any guidance or pointers would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Hi again YoungJah,
Interesting. That error usually means that SoftwareSerial was not declared properly in the sketch but I am not able to replicate the compile error on multiple versions (1.8+) of Arduino on my computer. What version of Arduino are you using and what board are you trying to upload to?
To answer your second question, you do not upload directly to the LTE Shield. There is no board definition for the LTE Shield. The LTE Shield is intended to act as either an Arduino Shield mounted on top of an Arduino, or you can interact directly with the SARA-R4 module via USB or the UART connector. We discuss this in more detail in the [Hardware Overview section of the Hookup Guide. Also, make sure to turn on the SARA-R4 by pressing and holding the POWER button for ~3 seconds.
If you wish to use the [USB connection, you will need to close the “VUSB_DET” jumper on the back of the shield. Windows should automatically install the necessary driver but if not, ublox has it hosted on their [Documentation tab on the product page for the SARA-R4 module. That page will also have a lot more information about the SARA-R4 if you would like to learn more. Ublox’s [m-center software is a neat configuration tool to interact directly with the SARA-R4.
Let us know if you continue to have issues or have any other questions about the LTE Shield and we would be happy to help as much as we can.](m-center)](SARA-R4 series)](LTE Cat M1/NB-IoT Shield Hookup Guide - SparkFun Learn)](https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/lte-cat-m1nb-iot-shield-hookup-guide#hardware-overview)
Mark,
Thanks for the quick reply. So far you guys have been 100% on same day replies. It’s not expected, but it’s really appreciated. I will try and answer in order and hopefully provide some insight so others might be able to use this as a future resource.
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I am running Arduino 1.8.9. I am not trying to upload to a board (I figured this was part of the issue), but am trying to go direct through USB. You had mentioned that direct USB was ok. I messed up by missing the step of…
-
…I did not close the “VUSB_DET” jumper on the back like I should have. I missed that. Sorry.
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I have been attempting this on a Mac OS. I was able to do everything just fine on this same Mac OS for the SAMD 21 Pro RF along with a SAM-M8Q module connection for GPS. By the way, that is going really well and I’d be happy to try and help anyone who needs help with some of the fineries of that module. You mentioned Windows and m-center, which I believe is U-Blox, in your reply. Is it possible that working on my Mac is an issue?
I will close the jumper. After that, I will see what changes or doesn’t on the Mac OS as far as “recognition” of the shield. If that still yields nothing, I will go to my Windows machine.
If I’m still nowhere further on after those steps, I will probably reach out again.
Thanks again for the quick and thorough reply. If there are people who need help with a SAMD 21 to SAM-M8Q combo and also including LoRa Gateways, The Things Network and TTN Mapper…I’d be happy to provide some guidance. I know this is not the topic, but I’m new to this stuff in so many ways, I don’t know where to even post a small discussion for help with that stuff. I’d like to give a bit back when I can, especially when I’m right now learning and mostly on the charity end.
Hi again YoungJah,
Okay, for the first question, that is definitely the issue here. The LTE Shield is not able to upload code from Arduino directly. You need to mount it on an Arduino like [this photo from our Hookup Guide shows.
Next, closing that jumper should let you connect the LTE Shield directly to your computer BUT I do not believe that ublox has a Mac OS X driver available for the SARA-R4 right now. Similarly, the m-center software from ublox is a Windows-only program. You will need to use the board on a Windows computer to use the USB interface. Alternatively, if you would like to use the board via the UART interface, you could connect something like the [SparkFun Serial Basic Breakout to the FTDI header and send AT commands directly with a terminal program like CoolTerm.
It might be best to familiarize yourself with the LTE Shield on your Windows machine before you move to sending AT commands on your Mac.
Finally, that is great you would like to help other customers with products you are very familiar with! We love to hear from our customers that they would like to help with other users questions and issues! Creating an interactive community including both SparkFun employees and our great customers is one of the goals we hoped to accomplish with the move to the forums. In terms of where to start that conversation, I am not 100% sure where that would fit but if you have a project you want to share, the [Projects Forum is a great place to post finished projects or questions about them. Otherwise, you could keep an eye on the forums in the [Wireless and IoT Category. There are some other tools like “Subscribe to Forum” that you can enable at the top of any specific forum page. The icon looks like a little eye.
Let us know if you have any further questions or issues with the LTE Shield and we would be happy to help!](Wireless & IoT - SparkFun Electronics Forum)](Projects - SparkFun Electronics Forum)](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14050)](LTE Cat M1/NB-IoT Shield Hookup Guide - SparkFun Learn)