4011 NEO Core CAT1-ETH EN

Keywords

FriendlyElec NanoPi, NEO Core, Allwinner H3, Cortex-A7, CAT1 4G LTE, Ubuntu, Debian, IoT, USB2.0, 100Mbps Ethernet

I. Introduction

NEO Core CAT1-ETH is a 4G LTE product we designed based on the FriendlyELEC NanoPi NEO Core board (H3 CPU). The 4G module is a USB device that utilizes the USB IO pins on the NEO Core board for communication and power supply, thereby providing the NEO Core board with 4G network connectivity. The NEO Core CAT1-ETH features both a USB 2.0-A port and a 100M Ethernet port, expanding the peripheral connectivity of the NEO Core board.

4G Cat1 is a high-cost-performance module aimed at medium-speed IoT applications with speeds around 10Mbps. The rates of 10Mbps downlink and 5Mbps uplink can meet the majority of connectivity and transmission requirements.

The 4G module is driver-free, on FriendlyElec's Ubuntu OS and Debian OS, the device is automatically recognized, requiring no additional driver installation.

II. Hardware Spec

1) 1*4G CAT1 LTE module with USB 2.0 port, used for 4G power supply and communication, adopts a female header connection for interfacing with the NEO Core board.

2) 1*Nano SIM slot.

3) 1*IPEX 1 antenna port, optionally configurable with an onboard 4G antenna.

4) 1*USB2.0-A port.

5) 1*100Mbps Ethernet.

6) 3*LEDs: STS, MODE, and NET respectively.

7) Size: 60.2*40mm, 3*M2.5 mounting holes.

8) PCB board: 2-layer, the material is UL and RoHS certified, with a fire rating of 94V-0.

9) The optional aluminum alloy casing can be integrated with the NEO Core.

4G parameters
model	CAT1	CAT1-EU
Band	FDD：B1/B3/B5/B8	FDD：B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20/28
Band	TDD：B34/B38/B39/B40/B41	TDD：B38/B40/B41
DATA	FDD： Max 10Mbps（DL）/Max 5Mbps（UL） TDD：Max 8Mbps（DL）/Max 2Mbps（UL） Max 6Mbps（DL）/Max 4Mbps（UL）

III. Work with Debian OS

Flash the Debian OS (command-line version, without a GUI) to the TF card.

The version of the Debian OS we tested: h3-sd-debian-bookworm-core-4.14-armhf-20240818.img.gz

▶ Connect the core board:

Connection method:

1) Connect the USB port of the USB-to-TTL serial module to the PC, as shown in the figure below:

Then download and install the terminal software MobaXterm on your PC. The download link for MobaXterm is:

https://mobaxterm.mobatek.net/download-home-edition.html

Open MobaXterm and configure the TTL serial port as shown in the figure below:

Note: Use a baud rate of 115200

2) Use SSH to connect to the board over Ethernet:

Connect the expansion board's Ethernet to the upper-level router, then connect the PC to the same router. Start the OS, check the NEO Core board's IP address via the router's admin page, and use MobaXterm to SSH into the OS.

Login to the Debian OS (username: root, password: fa):

▶ Network connection test:

Excecute ifconfig -a to view the following network parameters:

Execute the route command to view the routing table. eth1 is listed first, it indicates that the OS is currently prioritizing internet access through the 4G module:

Both pinging the IP address and pinging the domain name are successful, indicating that the 4G module is functioning properly:

If you want to prioritize using the 100Mbps Ethernet for internet access, you can execute the command:

ip route del default && route add -net default netmask 0.0.0.0 gw 192.168.8.1

Explanation of these two commands (separated by '&&'):

ip route del default: Remove the default route from the routing table.

route add -net default netmask 0.0.0.0 gw 192.168.8.1: Add the gateway of the 100Mbps Ethernet as a new default route (ensure to use the actual gateway address).

After completing the execution, execute the route command to view the routing table. The current default route is the gateway of the 100Mbps Ethernet:

This way, the network will default to using the 100Mbps Ethernet. If you need to switch back to defaulting to the 4G network, please execute the following command:

ip route del default && route add -net default netmask 0.0.0.0 gw 192.168.10.1

Or, you can restart the OS.

Note that 192.168.10.1 is the default gateway for the 4G module; please refer to the actual configuration.

Note: After a reboot, the routing table resets. To ensure the network continues to use the 100Mbps Ethernet as the default route post-restart, you'll need to execute sudo ip route del default && sudo route add -net default netmask 0.0.0.0 gw 192.168.8.1 again.

Both pinging the IP address and pinging the domain name are successful, indicating that the 100Mbps Ethernet is functioning properly:

▶ USB port test:

Insert a USB flash drive into the USB 2.0 port, execute lsusb, and the display is as follows:

The red box indicates the USB flash drive, showing that this USB peripheral (Bus 004 Device 002) has been correctly recognized.

Please execute lsusb -t, and the output is as follows:

The red box indicates the USB flash drive, operating in 480Mbps mode, indicating normal working mode.

Execute lsblk, the highlighted area is the USB drive, which has been correctly identified by the OS as sda4:

IV. Work with Ubuntu OS

Flash the Ubuntu OS (command-line version, without a GUI) to the TF card.

The version of the Ubuntu OS we tested: h3-eflasher-ubuntu-noble-core-20240823.img.gz.

▶ Connect the core board:

The hardware connection methods are all the same, using TTL or Ethernet SSH for connection. After setting up the connection, power on and login to the Ubuntu OS (username: root, password: fa).

▶ Network connection test:

Excecute ifconfig -a to view the following network parameters:

Execute the route command to view the routing table. eth1 is listed first, it indicates that the OS is currently prioritizing internet access through the 4G module:

Both pinging the IP address and pinging the domain name are successful, indicating that the 4G module is functioning properly:

The method to modify the priority network to 100MEthernet is the same as in the Debian OS. Please refer to the relevant content in the previous chapter.

When prioritizing the use of 100Mbps Ethernet for internet access, both pinging the IP address and pinging the domain name are successful, indicating that the 100Mbps Ethernet is functioning properly:

▶ USB port test:

Insert a USB flash drive into the USB 2.0 port. Since the Ubuntu OS does not have usbutils installed and cannot execute the lsusb command, it is necessary to first install usbutils:

apt install usbutils

The installation is complete. After executing lsusb, the following is displayed:

The red box indicates the USB flash drive, showing that this USB peripheral (Bus 004 Device 002) has been correctly recognized.

Please execute lsusb -t, and the output is as follows:

The red box indicates the USB flash drive, operating in 480Mbps mode, indicating normal working mode.

Execute lsblk, the highlighted area is the USB drive, which has been correctly identified by the OS as sda4:

V. 4G Operations

This chapter applies to Debian and Ubuntu OSs.

5.1 AT command operation

Use the lsusb command to list all connected USB devices, the entry marked in the red box indicates the 4G module:

Then install the serial port software minicom:

apt install minicom

Execute:

ls /dev/ttyACM*

You should now see three devices, ttyACM0 to ttyACM2:

Open the AT command serial port using minicom:

minicom -D /dev/ttyACM0

(Note: The choice of which serial port to use should be based on the ability to input and execute AT commands after entering this port, ensuring that the display is not garbled and the results do not jump erratically.)

The first time you enter an AT command, there may be no echo. If you then input the command at and press Enter, and it returns "OK," it indicates that everything is working properly. If you need to check the echo, please type the command: ate1, then press Enter. After that, you can continue to type other commands and see the inputs.

▶ Common AT commands:

Common AT commands:

1. Check if the SIM card is detected:

at+cpin?

Return ready to indicate the card has been recognized, if return error, you need to check the hardware.

2. Check antenna signal quality:

at+csq

Return values between 26 and 31 indicate a good signal, with 31 representing a full signal strength; return values between 20 and 25 indicate a barely acceptable signal; return values below 20 indicate a poor signal or that the antenna might not be connected.

3. Check network registration status:

at+cops?

Normally, it should return the network supporter's code: 7, where 7 represents 4G.

Note: The above command at+csq should not include a question mark, while the other two commands require a question mark.

4. View the SIM card's IMEI code:

at+cgsn

5. Reset 4G module (Sometimes, if you reinsert the SIM card, hot swapping may not work; in such cases, you can use this reset command to reset the module.):

at+reset

6. Disable radio frequency:

at+cfun=0

Enable radio frequency:

at+cfun=1

The two commands mentioned above can be used in pairs to allow the module to re-register with the network without restarting the 4G module.

5.2 Modify the IP address of the 4G module

Execute the AT command:

AT+ROUTEIP=<newip>

Note: Only addresses in the format of 192.168.x.2 are supported. After completing the settings, you need to power off and restart the OS.

Check the current IP: AT+ROUTEIP?

Verify whether the IP address is active: AT+ROUTEIP=?

VI. Summary

We only introduce the usage and operations based on NEO Core CAT1-ETH, without covering the operations and software system specific to the NanoPi NEO Core board itself. For information about the NanoPi NEO Core board, please visit the FriendlyElec's website:

https://wiki.friendlyelec.com/wiki/index.php/NanoPi_NEO_Core/zh

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