EVK-L2 TOBY-L2 series LTE/DC-HSPA+/EGPRS Cellular Evaluation Kits

1.6.1 EVK-L2 for TOBY-L2 series modules, product version "01"

Table 4: Interfaces of TOBY-L2 series module, product version "01", as routed on the 42-pin Dual-In-Line Board-to-Board connectors (J300, J301) available on the adapter board ADP-L2 of the EVK-L2 evaluation kit

Table 5: Pin-out of the 42-pin Dual-In-Line Board-to-Board connectors (J301, J300) available on the adapter board ADP-L2 of the EVK-L2 evaluation kit for TOBY-L2 series modules, product version "01"

The pins / interfaces that are not supported by a specific TOBY-L2 module product version should not be driven by an external device (see the TOBY-L2 series Data Sheet [3] and TOBY-L2 / MPCI-L2 series System Integration Manual [4] for the features supported by each TOBY-L2 module product version).

1.6.2 EVK-L2 for TOBY-L2 series modules, product versions "02" / "62" onwards

Table 6: Interfaces of TOBY-L2 series modules, product version "02" / "62" onward, as routed on the 42-pin Dual-In-Line Board-to-Board connectors (J200, J201) available on the adapter board ADP-L2 of the EVK-L2 evaluation kit

³ 0R jumper can be populated in order to route the signal to the 42-pin Dual-In-Line Board-to-Board connectors

The pins / interfaces that are not supported by a specific TOBY-L2 module product version should not be driven by an external device (see the TOBY-L2 series Data Sheet [3] and TOBY-L2 / MPCI-L2 series System Integration Manual [4] for the features supported by each TOBY-L2 module product version).

1.7 Software installation

The USB drivers are available with the EVK-L2. Executable files can be downloaded from www.u-blox.com/evk-downloads and saved to any location on the computer hard drive. The installation can be started by running the executable file on a computer with the Windows operating system.

1.8 Board setup

1. Insert a SIM card into the SIM card holder (J300 on the EVB).
2. Connect a cellular antenna provided with the evaluation kit box to the Primary cellular antenna SMA connector on the ADP-L2 (ANT1, RF input/output for transmission and reception of LTE/3G/2G RF signals).
3. Connect a cellular antenna provided with the evaluation kit box to the Secondary cellular antenna SMA connector on the ADP-L2 (ANT2, RF input for the reception of the LTE RF signals as per the Down-Link MIMO 2 x 2 and for the reception of the 3G RF signals as per the Down-Link Rx diversity). Place the secondary cellular antenna far enough from the primary cellular antenna (should be more than 20 cm).
4. If the Wi-Fi functionality is required, connect the Wi-Fi antenna provided with the evaluation kit box to the Wi-Fi antenna SMA connector on the ADP-L2 (ANT WL). Place the Wi-Fi antenna far enough from the cellular antennas (should be more than 20 cm). Wi-Fi functionality is available on the EVK-L2 for TOBY-L2 modules product versions "02", "62" onwards.
5. If the GNSS functionality is required, connect the GNSS antenna provided with the evaluation kit box to the GNSS antenna SMA connector on the EVB. Place the GNSS antenna in a location with good sky view. Interface to the GNSS module is not supported by TOBY-L2 modules.
6. Connect the AC / DC +12 V power adapter provided with the evaluation kit box to 9 – 18 V Power Input connector (J400 on the EVB). LED DL401 lights blue.
7. Be sure to provide a jumper socket on the Cellular VCC supply jumper (J404 on the EVB). This provides the connection from the 3.8 V output of the supply circuit on the EVB to the VCC input of the module.
8. To enable the board power supply, turn the Main power switch (SW400 on the EVB) to the ON position. LED DL400 lights green. The cellular module switches on.
9. For communication via USB, connect the USB cable to the Cellular native USB connector (J100 on ADP). LED DS100 on ADP lights blue. After the end of the module boot, the following devices are by default enabled with Windows (details as the ports numbering can be seen via the Windows Device Manager):
   • Modems → u-blox Composite USB Modem Interface (AT commands interface is available over this modem COM port)
   • Network adapters → Remote NDIS based Internet Sharing Device (Ethernet-over-USB connection is available over this network adapter)
   Run an AT terminal application (e.g. the u-blox m-center tool) selecting the u-blox Composite USB Modem Interface COM port, with these settings:
   • Data rate: 115200 b/s
   • Data bits: 8
   • Parity: N
   • Stop bits: 1
   • Flow control: HW
   See Appendix A for how to configure the u-blox m-center AT terminal for Windows.
10. For communication via the TOBY-L2 module's UART interface, the following connections are allowed and can be alternatively enabled in a mutually exclusive way (see Table 8 for switch position and LED status):
    • a. Connect a USB cable to mini USB connector (Cellular USB, J501 on EVB), LED DL501 lights blue.
    • b. Connect an RS232 cable to DB9 connector (Cellular RS232, J500 on EVB).
    When a USB cable is connected to the mini USB connector, two COM ports are enabled in Windows (the numbering of the COM ports can be seen via the Windows Device Manager). The serial port for AT commands is available over the first numbered COM port opened by the driver.
11. If the audio functionality is required, connect the headset provided with the evaluation kit box to the Headset jack connector (J303 on EVB).

1.9 Enabling error result codes

1.10 PIN code insertion (when required)

1.11 Registration on a cellular network

For further AT command examples regarding Mobile Network Operator, Radio Access Technology, and band selection and configuration, see the u-blox AT Commands Examples Application Note [2].

1.12 Enable audio codec configuration to provide voice capability

1.13 Switching off the EVK-L2

To switch off the EVK-L2, send the +CPWROFF AT command. Make sure to use this command before switching off the main power, otherwise settings and configuration parameters may not be saved on the EVK-L2.

A Setting up AT terminal applications for communication with EVK-L2

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 free-of-charge from our website (http://www.u-blox.com).

1. Follow the board setup instructions in section 1.8 to provide all the required connections and switching on the cellular module.
2. Run the m-center tool: after the m-center start-up, the Home page appears.
3. On the Home page, set up the AT COM port; for the setting values see section 1.8. Check with the Windows Device Manager to find out which COM port is being used by EVK-L2.
4. Enable the connection to u-blox cellular module by clicking on the Connect button.
5. Retrieve the module and network information by clicking on the Get Info button.
6. The module information is retrieved and displayed on Home page.
7. 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 EVK-L2.
8. The AT terminal is ready to use.

For the complete list of AT commands supported by the modules and their syntax, see the u-blox AT Commands Manual [1].

Diagram Description: The u-blox m-center software interface is shown. The "Home" page displays connection status, modem information (manufacturer, model, firmware, IMEI), SIM status, and power saving settings. The "AT Terminal" window shows a command line interface where AT commands can be entered and responses received.

B EVK-L2 setup for Internet browsing (Windows)

This section describes how to set up the EVK-L2 for browsing the internet with a Windows 7 operating system on a PC connected with the EVK-L2 over the USB physical interface of the TOBY-L2 series module. Follow the board setup instructions described in section 1.8 in order to provide communication via the USB interface of the TOBY-L2 series module. Then use the AT terminal (see appendix A) to enter the following AT command lines:

1. Perform the following procedure to activate an external PDP context with the preferred APN:

For the complete description and syntax of supported AT commands, and for further details regarding all the settings configurable by means of AT commands, see the u-blox AT Commands Manual [1], the u-blox AT Commands Examples Application Note [2], and the u-blox TOBY-L2 series Networking Modes Application Note [5].

Windows Network Configuration Steps:

1. Open "Network and Sharing Center" and click on "Local Area Connection" (associated to RNDIS interface).
2. Click on "Properties".
3. In the "Local Area Connection Properties" window, select "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" and click on "Properties".
4. Check the "Obtain an IP address automatically" and "Obtain DNS server address automatically" options (DHCP).
5. If web browsing is not possible, manually set the DNS server address (e.g., 83.224.70.94).

C EVK-L2 setup for Internet browsing (Linux)

This section describes how to set up the EVK-L2 for browsing the internet with a Linux operating system on a PC connected with the EVK-L2 over the USB interface of the TOBY-L2 series module. Follow the board setup instructions described in section 1.8 (except the Windows OS settings) to provide communication via the USB interface of the TOBY-L2 module. Use minicom or a similar program to send AT commands to the TOBY-L2 module.

1. Identify the CDC-ACM connected to the Linux OS (ls /dev/ttyACM*) and then launch minicom to use this port. In the example below the port is ttyACM0.
2. Use the AT terminal to enter the following AT command lines. Perform the following procedure to activate an external PDP context with the preferred APN:

For the complete description and syntax of supported AT commands, and for further details regarding all the settings configurable by means of AT commands, see the u-blox AT Commands Manual [1], the u-blox AT Commands Examples Application Note [2], and the u-blox TOBY-L2 series Networking Modes Application Note [5].

Linux Network Configuration Steps:

1. Use the command ifconfig to check if the RNDIS is active or not (it is not active if not listed).
2. Open a terminal and use the command dmesg | grep rndis to identify the interface associated with the RNDIS. In the example below the interface is usb0.
3. Use the command dhclient usb0 to configure the DHCP client; the RNDIS is now active.
4. Use ifconfig to check that RNDIS is now active.
5. Now it is possible to browse the Internet.

D Optimal throughput

To reach the highest throughput use one of these interfaces, which are listed with most optimal first:

• the RNDIS interface
• the CDC-ECM interface
• the CDC-ACM interface

The configuration can be set by means of the +UUSBCONF AT command (see the u-blox AT Commands Manual [1]).

On a Linux OS to reach the highest throughput through the RNDIS, it is necessary to recompile the kernel. Apply the following modification in /kernel/drivers/net/usb/usbnet.c: replace "size_t size = dev->rx_urb_size;" with "size_t size = (16*1024);"

If it is not possible to recompile the kernel, try to use the following command: AT+UDCONF=67,0. This command disables the RNDIS driver optimization and could mitigate the effects in router mode only.

E Examples of AT commands

For the complete description and syntax of the AT commands supported by each TOBY-L2 series cellular module product version, see the u-blox AT commands Manual [1].

For detailed examples of AT commands for network registration and configuration, context activation, data connection management, SIM management, module interfaces configurations and other settings, see the u-blox AT Commands Examples Application Note [2].

For detailed examples of AT commands for TOBY-L2 series cellular module networking and IP connectivity configuration, see the u-blox TOBY-L2 series Networking Modes Application Note [5].

F Current consumption measurement

Declaration of conformities

The equipment is intended for indoor usage. It is the user's duty to verify if further restrictions apply, such as in airplanes, hospitals or hazardous locations (petrol stations, refineries...).

Any changes or modification made to this equipment will void its compliance to the safety requirements.

Maintenance, inspections and/or repairs of the EVK-L2 shall be performed by u-blox AG.

Related documents

1. u-blox AT Commands Manual, Docu No UBX-13002752
2. u-blox AT Commands Examples Application Note, Docu No UBX-13001820
3. u-blox TOBY-L2 series Data Sheet, Docu No UBX-13004573
4. u-blox TOBY-L2 / MPCI-L2 series System Integration Manual, Docu No UBX-13004618
5. u-blox TOBY-L2 series Networking Modes Application Note, Docu No UBX-14000479
6. u-blox Wi-Fi / Cellular Integration Application Note, Docu No UBX-14003264

All these documents are available on our website (http://www.u-blox.com).

For regular updates to u-blox documentation and to receive product change notifications, register on our website.

Revision history

Contact

For complete contact information visit us at www.u-blox.com