Ok awesome I get the first issue :-(. Network scanner never returning, begin never returning

[rchancey]

@fabiopi-tlt
I purchased the Charlie after getting stuck with the MKR 1500 and their firmware issues.. got this board today and very excited. I installed the telit library from here : https://github.com/telit/arduino-charlie and got the board recognized.
I am able to do the blink and fade no problem. Those work.

I am working to send an SMS. I have a valid SIM card and my APN is mobilenet. (I was able to send from the MKR 1500 but not receive.. which is what I need).
I updated my APN in the sample and pushed it.. and it gets stuck on the TLTAccess.begin(). I attach my entire sketch below.

Please help.. anything I can do to debug this? since I am the first I think whatever we do for me will help others. There are other folks in the same situation looking at this Charlie board.

I am located in Texas in the US and using SpeedTalk SMS card also tried my Hologram SIM card

I get the same 'stuck' where it never gets past TLTAccess.begin()

I really want to get this working on the Charlie board. Please help!

Here is my sketch and the Serial output:
NB IoT/LTE Cat M1 networks scanner
Connecting...

`
Sketch:
/Copyright (C) 2020 Telit Communications S.p.A. Italy - All Rights Reserved./
/* See LICENSE file in the project root for full license information. */

/**
@file
- TLTMDM.h

@brief
Scan Networks.

@details
This example sketch prints the IMEI number of the modem, then check if it is connected to an operator.\n
It then scans nearby networks and prints their signal strength.
@Version
1.0.0

@note

@author
Cristina Desogus

@Date
09/23/2021
*/
// libraries

// initialize the library instance
#include "TLTMDM.h"

ME310* myME310 = new ME310();

TLT TLTAccess(myME310); // include a 'true' parameter to enable debugging
TLTScanner scannerNetworks(myME310);

// Save data variables
String IMEI = "";

// serial monitor result messages
String errortext = "ERROR";

char APN[] = "mobilenet";

void setup() {
// initialize serial communications and wait for port to open:
Serial.begin(115200);
myME310->begin(115200);
delay(2000);
Serial.println("NB IoT/LTE Cat M1 networks scanner");
scannerNetworks.begin();

// connection state
boolean connected = false;

// Start module
// If your SIM has PIN, pass it as a parameter of begin() in quotes
Serial.println("Connecting...");
while (!connected) {
if (TLTAccess.begin(NULL, APN, true) == READY) {
connected = true;
} else {
Serial.println("Not connected");
delay(1000);
}
}

// get modem parameters
// IMEI, modem unique identifier
Serial.print("Modem IMEI: ");
IMEI = myME310->request_imei_software_version();
IMEI.replace("\n", "");
if (IMEI != NULL) {
Serial.println(IMEI);
}
}

void loop() {
// currently connected carrier
Serial.print("Current carrier: ");
Serial.println(scannerNetworks.getCurrentCarrier());

// returns strength and BER
// signal strength in 0-31 scale. 31 means power > 51dBm
// BER is the Bit Error Rate. 0-7 scale. 99=not detectable
Serial.print("Signal Strength: ");
Serial.print(scannerNetworks.getSignalStrength());
Serial.println(" [0-31]");

// scan for existing networks, displays a list of networks
Serial.println("Scanning available networks. May take some seconds.");
Serial.println(scannerNetworks.readNetworks());
// wait ten seconds before scanning again
delay(10000);
}
`

[rchancey]

@fabiopi-tlt Can someone in the product team offer a suggestion here? is there a way to debug the underlying board to ensure it is functioning correctly?

[fabiopi-tlt]

Hello,
Since the charlie modem might be trying to register in NBIoT (which may take a lot of time), how much did you wait in the TLTAccess.begin() call?

things you can do to try and debug:

Serial.println("Connecting...");
TLTAccess.setTimeout(20000); /set a 20 seconds timeout/

while (!connected) {
if (TLTAccess.begin(NULL, APN, true, false) == READY) { /disable the syncronous flag/
connected = true;
} else {
Serial.println("Not connected");
delay(1000);
}
}

also, before line https://github.com/telit/arduino-tlt-library/blob/main/src/TLT.cpp#L226
add a
Serial.println(_readyState);

to check in which state the library is.

We will add additional debug prints in the library in a future release.

In any case, if you plan to send an SMS, you should look also at the example sketches:

https://github.com/telit/arduino-tlt-library/tree/main/examples/SendSMS_example
https://github.com/telit/arduino-tlt-library/tree/main/examples/ReceiveSMS_example

[rchancey]

Ok... I am using the sketch you pasted.. all I did was add my APN. I tried what you suggested and getting not connected. Here is a screen shot:

:

Is there a way we can check to ensure the board is actually working? I added the prinln to the cpp but nothing printed.

[rchancey]

@fabiopi-tlt is there a basic sketch I can run, and others, that does a simple self test of the board? I am sure these were tested but this simple use case should work right out of box. I have a feeling perhaps a component is bad. Perhaps a set of commands?

[fabiopi-tlt]

hello, can you keep pressed the on_off button on the board for 3-4 seconds? My feeling is that the modem is not on.

[fabiopi-tlt]

@fabiopi-tlt is there a basic sketch I can run, and others, that does a simple self test of the board? I am sure these were tested but this simple use case should work right out of box. I have a feeling perhaps a component is bad. Perhaps a set of commands?

you can use the examples directly from ME310 library:

https://github.com/telit/arduino-me310-library/tree/main/examples/M2M_example

or https://github.com/telit/arduino-me310-library/blob/main/examples/ME310_AT_Test/ME310_AT_Test.ino

[rchancey]

I tried that and the led next to the power connector started blinking a little but still no connection. .. but that led was not blinking before. How can I test to ensure the modem is on? this a great thing to test.. sure feels like something simple going on here. Thank you for helping.. .. hope we can fix it.

[fabiopi-tlt]

@rchancey I replied above, maybe there was a clash in the responses timing.

In any case, the sketch does not seem to automatically turn the modem on, we will look into it in the next release.

To perform manual tests on the hardware, you can connect the USB cable on the other port, which connects directly to the ME310 modem on the board. You will need to install the proper USB drivers, then two USB modem ports will be available to send AT commands. you can find the drivers at the link https://www.telit.com/developer-zone/charlie/ (Windows 10 drivers)

then keep pressed the on_off button for 5 seconds and you should see the USB modem ports.

[rchancey]

@fabiopi-tlt Well, the sketch is still not connecting. I am on a mac and do not have a windows machine. I moved off windows many years ago I guess. I unplugged the board and reconnected thinking maybe it needed a reset but still not connecting. I change the timeout to 30 seconds but still not connecting. Still feels like something is missing. Something simple?

[rchancey]

@fabiopi-tlt Here are the results from those 2 tests I performed. Any thing look suspect?

ME310 ON

AT Command
AT

VALID answer from ME310 MODULE

Soft Reset Command : VALID

Display Config Profile :
DTE SPEED : 115200
DTE FORMAT : 8N1
GSM DATA MODE : Not Transparent
AUTOBAUD : +IPRxxx00=NO
COMMAND ECHO : E1=YES
RESULT MESSAGES : Q0=YES
VERBOSE MESSAGES : V1=YES
EXTENDED MESSAGES : X1=YES
LINE SPEED : F0=autodetect
CONSTANT DTE SPEED : YES
FLOW CONTROL OPTIONS : &K0=NO
ERROR CORRECTION MODE : RLP
CTS (C106) OPTIONS : &B2=OFF while disc.
DSR (C107) OPTIONS : &S3=PHONE ready->ON
DTR (C108) OPTIONS : &D0=ignored
DCD (C109) OPTIONS : &C1=follows carrier
RI (C125) OPTIONS : \R1=OFF dur. off-hk
C108/1 OPERATION : &D0=NO
POWER SAVING ON DTR : +CFUN:1=NO
DEFAULT PROFILE : &Y0=user profile 1

Query SIM Status : OK

Read Query SIM Status :
#QSS: 0,1
SIM is inserted
PIN not required

Print ICCID : [8944501207218288823]
Print IMSI : 234500093828882

List Capabilities :
+GCAP: +CGSM

Manufacturer Identification : Telit
Model Identification : ME310G1-WW
Revision Identification : M0C.200001
Serial Number : 0027091
Request Manufacturer Ident. : Telit
Request Model Ident. : ME310G1-WW
Request Revision Ident. : M0C.200001
Product Serial Number : 359205100307893
Product Code : MWW_21_00

Software Package Version :
37.00.212-P0C.210000
M0C.200001
P0C.210000
A0C.210000

Transparent Bridge Started

[fabiopi-tlt]

ok, the modem is OK. If you run the first sketch now, what output do you get? Please consider that if you are using a NBIoT SIM card, the registration can take a while. Have you plugged the LTE antenna?

[rchancey]

@fabiopi-tlt yes I have the LTE antenna plugged in. I tried the first test and still not connected. Do I need to increase the timeout for some reason? or does the connect happen async?

[rchancey]

@fabiopi-tlt thank you for helping me.. I know it is hard debugging remote.. but sure feels like something simple is preventing this from connecting... but still not connecting.

[fabiopi-tlt]

try to leave it without timeout (remove the line TLTAccess.setTimeout(20000); ) and wait for some time. If you added the println in the cpp file, you should see the prints of the current state in the state machine, and this could help understanding what is happening.

If it still does not connect after a while (again, in NBIoT it can take minutes), please open a ticket to ts-emea@telit.com so we can give you the proper support about the cellular part.

In any case, you should have the modem ports in /dev/ (e.g. /dev/tty.usbserial-XXXX ) if you want to try and communicate with the modem directly

lastly, will release shortly an update with some improvements that simplify the debug

[rchancey]

Ok.. I removed the timeout and letting it run for a long time.. hope it connects. I the led is blinking a bit every so often not sure that matters. I am not seeing my print outs perhaps I need to find a way to force it to recompile it?