NB IoT 5 Click

NOTE: Please use an antenna that supports frequency bands used by the Notion OT01-5 module to ensure the best performance.

How does it work?

NB IoT 5 Click as its foundation uses the OT01-5, a high-performance narrow-band Internet of Things universal wireless communication module with extremely low power consumption allowing battery life of about ten years from Notion. It supports a broad range of frequency bands worldwide, such as 1 / 2 / 3 / 5 / 8 / 19 / 20 of 3GPP R13 (NB1) and R14 (NB2). It also provides several interfaces, UART and SPI, and protocol stacks such as UDP/TCP, CoAP, LWM2M, and others. In addition to motor driver inside-design, these protocols allow data and SMS transfer using the NB technology and make this module a perfect choice for building IoT applications and smart gas and water meters without an external microcontroller unit.

There are two ways to turn on this Click board™, through EN pin on the mikroBUS™ socket or by pressing the PWRKEY button down for a period longer than 3 seconds. The onboard push-button labeled as PWRKEY routed to the PWM pin on the mikroBUS™ socket represents the Ignition (Power-On) button. This feature is shown by the yellow diode labeled as STAT used to indicate the device's Operational Status.

NB IoT 5 Click communicates with MCU using the UART interface as its default communication protocol with the option for the users to use another interface such as SPI, if they want to configure the module and write the library by themselves. It supports automatic baud rate detection, operates at 115200 bps by default configuration, and is used for data transmission and exchanging AT commands with the host MCU. Also, it has an additional header used for firmware upgrades, software debugging, log capturing, or even as a motor drive.

In addition to these features, the OT01-5 also uses several GPIO pins connected to the mikroBUS™ socket. The WUP pin routed on the AN pin of the mikroBUS™ represents the Wake-up function used for waking up the device, while the RST pin on the mikroBUS™ socket can perform Hardware Reset function by putting this pin in a logic low state. This Click board™ also has the micro USB connector allowing the module to be powered and configured by a personal computer.

NB IoT 5 Click possesses the SMA antenna connector with an impedance of 50Ω. This Click board™ can use it to connect the appropriate antenna, such as LTE Flat Rotation Antenna, that Mikroe has in its offer. Besides the SMA connector, it also has a Nano-SIM card slot that provides multiple connections and interface options.

This Click board™ can operate with both 3.3V and 5V MCUs set via jumper labeled as VCC SEL with a proper logic voltage level conversion performed by the appropriate voltage level translator TXS0108E. This way, it is allowed for both 3.3V and 5V capable MCUs to use communication lines properly. However, the Click board™ comes equipped with a library containing functions and an example code that can be used, as a reference, for further development.

Specifications

Pinout diagram

This table shows how the pinout on NB IoT 5 Click corresponds to the pinout on the mikroBUS™ socket (the latter shown in the two middle columns).

Notes	Pin					Pin	Notes
Wake-Up	WUP	1	AN	PWM	16	EN	Power-On Control
Reset	RST	2	RST	INT	15	NC
SPI Chip Select	CS	3	CS	RX	14	TX	UART TX
SPI Clock	SCK	4	SCK	TX	13	RX	UART RX
SPI Data OUT	SDO	5	MISO	SCL	12	NC
SPI Data IN	SDI	6	MOSI	SDA	11	NC
Power Supply	3.3V	7	3.3V	5V	10	5V	Power Supply
Ground	GND	8	GND	GND	9	GND	Ground

Onboard settings and indicators

NB IoT 5 Click electrical specifications

Software Support

NB IoT 5 Click demo application is developed using the NECTO Studio, ensuring compatibility with mikroSDK's open-source libraries and tools. Designed for plug-and-play implementation and testing, the demo is fully compatible with all development, starter, and mikromedia boards featuring a mikroBUS™ socket.

Example Description

Application example shows device capability of connecting to the network and sending SMS or TCP/UDP messages using standard "AT" commands.

Key Functions

• nbiot5_cfg_setup Config Object Initialization function.
• nbiot5_init Initialization function.
• nbiot5_set_sim_apn This function sets APN for sim card.
• nbiot5_send_sms_text This function sends text message to a phone number.
• nbiot5_send_sms_pdu This function sends text message to a phone number in PDU mode.

Application Init

Initializes the driver, tests the communication by sending "AT" command, and after that restarts the device.

Application Task

Application task is split in few stages:

• NBIOT5_CONFIGURE_FOR_NETWORK:

  Sets configuration to device to be able to connect to the network.

• NBIOT5_WAIT_FOR_CONNECTION:

  Waits for the network registration indicated via CEREG URC event and then checks the connection status.

• NBIOT5_CONFIGURE_FOR_EXAMPLE:

  Sets the device configuration for sending SMS or TCP/UDP messages depending on the selected demo example.

• NBIOT5_EXAMPLE:

  Depending on the selected demo example, it sends an SMS message (in PDU or TXT mode) or TCP/UDP message. By default, the TCP/UDP example is selected.

Application Output

This Click board can be interfaced and monitored in two ways:

• Application Output - Use the "Application Output" window in Debug mode for real-time data monitoring. Set it up properly by following this tutorial.
• UART Terminal - Monitor data via the UART Terminal using a USB to UART converter. For detailed instructions, check out this tutorial.

Additional Notes and Information

The complete application code and a ready-to-use project are available through the NECTO Studio Package Manager for direct installation in the NECTO Studio. The application code can also be found on the MIKROE GitHub account.