arduinofanboy

Hi, yes, it needs to be a passive GPS antenna. In the next version I might include a solder jumper for testing active GPS antennas.

Hi, the SIM7000 does not support 3G, and it doesn't support traditional 4G LTE. It uses LTE CAT-M or NB-IoT. However, the 7000C also supports 2G fallback. You will have to check if there is LTE CAT-M or NB-IoT in Taiwan.

Hi, it's called "LTE_Demo.ino" now: https://github.com/botletics/SIM7000-LTE-Shield/tree/master/Code/examples/LTE_Demo

That is correct. If you're in Australia you should be using Telstra's LTE CAT-M or NB-IoT SIM card. The SIM7000E module only supports LTE CAT-M, NB-IoT, and has 2G/2.5G fallback if needed, so you should use GSM if you wanted but that's not the main point of the module so I suggest getting an appropriate SIM card :)

And are you using the Botletics SIM7000 shield or some other hardware? I don't see your name/email/country matching any of my orders so I just want to confirm.

You should also use a Hologram SIM card or another AT&T or Verizon LTE CAT-M1 enabled SIM card. Traditional LTE SIM cards won't work.

Sorry you're having problems with it. I'll email you so we can communicate better. Many people are using the shield without any problems. I think it's just a setup issue where you might have an old conflicting FONA library in there somewhere.

That's a great question! I'm finding out right now from SIMCom, hopefully I get a reply.

So apparently the SIM7000 uses the cell tower for assisted GPS but does not support standalone TDOA. Hope that helps!

No, the SIM7000 does not have AT commands to triangulate location from LTE.

Yes, it's certainly possible to do that.

Sorry, I'm just super busy, this stuff is all on the side and I may not ever get to it.

Someone asked the same question before. You just need to add a second instance of the BLE client extension in Thunkable.

Sorry, I've never used eclipse.

Hi, sounds like your blocks aren't arranged properly. Not being able to see your code I really can't tell.

Looks like your "Connect" button is a button and not a list picker (like it should be).

Hi there, can you use an un-edited version of the app? Also, please make sure the code is loaded into the ESP32 properly. I don't have this error message.

Hi there. SIM7000A-A is currently having issues. For some strange reason they're not connecting to the network and I'm still resolving issues and communicating with SIMCom. However, the SIM7000A-V works great and should be in stock within 1-2 weeks.

Hi, that's an interesting question. I know that to pair two HC-05 modules you need to get their addresses and configure master/slave via AT commands. However, with ESP32 I'm not exactly sure how the pairing works.

No, it runs fine. Looks like you didn't install the ESP32 package for Arduino properly. Please check again.

It might be that both devices have the same UUID's and are therefore are treated as the same device. Try using the UUID generator to create different UUID's for the second device.

If you declare "txValue" as type uint8_t (integer) then, for example, you can do something liketxValue = analogRead(readPin);pCharacteristic->setValue(&txValue, 1); // Format: setValue(data, length)pCharacteristic->notify();To send the data. Please note that this does not work if you declare it simply as "int". Also, in the app you need to use the BluetoothLE.IntegersReceived block rather than .StringsReceived because it will try to convert the numbers into ASCII character equivalent (if you send 65 the app will show "A"). You can see the built-in example of this in Arduino IDE under Examples -> ESP32 BLE Arduino -> BLE_uart. This sketch sends a uint8_t value and increments it.All that being said, I think it's easiest just to convert the num...

If you declare "txValue" as type uint8_t (integer) then, for example, you can do something liketxValue = analogRead(readPin);pCharacteristic->setValue(&txValue, 1); // Format: setValue(data, length)pCharacteristic->notify();To send the data. Please note that this does not work if you declare it simply as "int". Also, in the app you need to use the BluetoothLE.IntegersReceived block rather than .StringsReceived because it will try to convert the numbers into ASCII character equivalent (if you send 65 the app will show "A"). You can see the built-in example of this in Arduino IDE under Examples -> ESP32 BLE Arduino -> BLE_uart. This sketch sends a uint8_t value and increments it.All that being said, I think it's easiest just to convert the number to a string and send that instead and use the .StringsReceived block in the app.

Please check if you installed the ESP32 package for Arduino correctly. You should see some BLE examples like mentioned in the tutorial if the installation was done properly.

Yes, with the SIM7000 shield you can transfer files using FTP (file transfer protocol). This SIMCom document describes the FTP commands: https://github.com/botletics/SIM7000-LTE-Shield/blob/master/SIM7000%20Documentation/Technical%20Documents/SIM7000%20Series_FTP_Application%20Note_V1.00.pdfI have yet to test and implement it but it should be possible and when I do, maybe this topic would make a great tutorial!

Glad you liked it! :)

I think you need to add the BLE extension to screen2 as well to share the connection parameters.

I cannot really guarantee if the LTE CAT-M1 and NB-IoT will work in Sri Lanka since I don't know enough about the available networks there, but GSM should work there.

OK glad you got it working!

Strange, I thought I submitted a reply but I guess it didn't register. Anyway here it is:- Are you able to see the values being sent from the ESP32 appear on the app?- When did you download the .ino file? I can confirm that the one that is currently uploaded is the right version.- Are you able to connect to the ESP32 via Bluetooth?

Hi there! The easiest way to send multiple values is to send them in CSV format. For example, if you need to send "21.5" and "331.2" then you can simply send the single string "21.5,331.2" then the app can parse it easily.I haven't tried doing the setValue() twice but I'm assuming it will send two separate packets if you do it that way. The first time it sends txString1 and the second time it sends txString2.

Hi there!It's giving you that error because the max allowable size for data being sent in a BLE packet is 20 bytes. That's just a BLE standard that I can't change. I recommend that you split up your data into multiple packets and maybe include an identifier like "*" or "!" at the end of the packet as a terminating delimiter.

However, if all you want to do is mask the error so that it doesn't appear, simply use the "Screen1.ErrorOccurred" block and do nothing inside.

What's up guys! It's midnight here and I just launched my Indiegogo campaign for the SIM7000 shield. Be sure to check it out and please share on social media, thanks!https://igg.me/at/sim7000-shield/x/17251279

What's up guys! It's midnight here and I just launched my Indiegogo campaign for the SIM7000 shield. Be sure to check it out and please share on social media, thanks!https://igg.me/at/sim7000-shield/x/17251279

Hey guys, just as a quick update I've added MQTT support for publishing to an MQTT broker like cloudmqtt.com with username and password authentication. Currently still under development but I've updated the library and "IoT_Example" code on Github: https://github.com/botletics/SIM7000-LTE-Shield

Thanks for the kind remark! And yes, that's something I didn't really bother fixing because you can follow this tutorial to send AT commands directly via micro USB which is way easier and faster: https://github.com/botletics/SIM7000-LTE-Shield/wiki/SIM7000-USB-Drivers

Yep you can certainly use hardware serial on this shield. The only thing you would need to do is uncomment the hardware serial part of it and wire up the shield externally. The pins you will need are TX/RX (hardware serial pins on the MCU), 5V/GND pins, and I2C if you need the temperature sensor. Note that the IoT_Example sketch will hang if you don't have I2C disconnected so just keep that in mind, but if you're not using it you can simply comment the temp sensor lines out. For more info on the pinouts you can check out the full tutorial on my Github page: https://github.com/botletics/SIM7000-LTE-Shield/wiki/Pinouts

Hi there,I'm sorry but you're using a completely separate piece of hardware and I don't know enough about it to really give you any guidance on it. Best of luck with your project though!

Really cool tutorial! I'm currently using the Adafruit Feather and motor FeatherWing and I also am using the built-in speaker inside Billy Bass. However, I'm having tons of white noise constantly blaring through the speakers. I am suspecting it's noise from digital GND on the Feather being shared with the analog GND from the audio input and I'm thinking to use a ferrite bead between the two GND's. Any ideas?

Hi there, this Instructable doesn't focus on the WiFi aspects of the ESP32 but almost everything about the WiFi is exactly the same as the ESP8266 except that you have to change the #include <ESP8266WiFi.h> to simply #include <WiFi.h>. There are many examples but here's a good one that you can easily change to do a POST request: https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/tree/master/libraries/HTTPClient/examples/BasicHttpClient

Hey guys, I added a tutorial page on how to work with SMS messages on the SIM7000 shield to do cool stuff like activate special functions, etc. based on the contents of the text message. It also sends a reply back!https://github.com/botletics/SIM7000-LTE-Shield/wiki/SMS-Messages

Ok, have fun! Glad you can at least find it useful :)

Were you using the latest files (not just extension) I provided in this Instructable? I just tried logging in again and it loads all the blocks just fine. I also loaded some other apps using the same extension and they seem OK. The main reason it was flaky was because I was using an older version of the extension but now that I'm using the latest one it seems to be just fine.As far as the code, I didn't write that part. It was from Neil Kolban's example UART sketch: https://github.com/nkolban/ESP32_BLE_Arduino/blob/master/examples/BLE_uart/BLE_uart.ino

So the app works? I don't think there's a way to really debug because it's more of a hobbyist type of app-building rather than using Android Studio or something more standard. However, sometimes what I do is add a label on the screen and throw debug text in it. Just use your imagination and you can actually do quite a bit with Thunkable!

Hmmm it's doing the same thing, I logged back in later and it created the floating blocks. Let me see what I can do to fix it and I'll get back to you on this.

I completely re-did the app by deleting the extension, adding it back, and using the same blocks as before. However, now it can control the LED but it's not receiving data... I'm trying to ask Thunkable if it's a glitch in the extension or Thunkable because I had it working at the time I wrote this Instructable. Very strange.Oh, and I should mention that I tested it on an older version of the app and it was working, then when I switched to the new version that I re-made, it didn't work! Super weird. Anyway, I'll keep you updated but at least you shouldn't have the problem where the blocks end up floating.

I just uploaded a new .aia file in the Instructable. Could you please try that one? After re-installing the BLE extension in Thunkable it seems to be OK (and after re-adding the blocks). At least now it doesn't go away when I close Thunkable and open it back up.

Hmmmmm that is super weird! I just tried loading the app and now it's bringing up the floating blocks as well. It seems like it's deleting the "BluetoothLE" extension entirely when I load it. I'll contact Thunkable about this because it's the first time I've had an issue with it. This is quite bizarre actually!

Hi, please make sure Bluetooth is enabled on your Android device. Also, make sure your device is BLE-capable (recent phones and tablets should all work). Once you open the app it will ask you to turn on Bluetooth. Click yes to turn it on. Then click the Connect button to open the list of available BLE devices. Select the ESP 32 and it should say "Connected!" The app scans for BLE right after you open the app. When you click on the top left button it will show you the nearby devices.Let me know if you have any other issues.Regards,Tim

To answer your question about the app programming, here's what it does:- When the screen initializes it immediately starts scanning for BLE devices (assuming the user turned BT on)- Once a device is found from that scan the ".DeviceFound" event handler populates the "Connect" list. Note that "Connect" isn't really a button; it's actually a list.- Once the user opens the "Connect" list of available devices and picks one, the app will then try to connect with that device- Once connected to that device the ".Connected" event handler will make the app stop scanning and change the "Connect" button/list name to "Connected!"Hope that helps!

Hey guys, I just created a sequel to this Instructable that shows you a better way of viewing your data and real-time map on an amazing free IoT dashboard called ThingsBoard.io! Check it out here: https://www.instructables.com/id/LTE-Arduino-GPS-Tracker-IoT-Dashboard-Part-2/

I got a kind reply from one of SIMCom's engineers and I have the SIM7000 Windows drivers so now you can directly test AT commands via a terminal program like PuTTY simply by plugging in the micro USB cable! You can view the instructions I wrote here: https://github.com/botletics/NB-IoT-Shield/wiki/SIM7000-USB-Drivers

Hi everyone, I'm excited to announce that I will be launching the Indiegogo campaign for this LTE/NB-IoT shield on 1 February 2018 so mark your calendars! You can check out the pre-campaign page here and be sure to share it with your friends: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/open-source-nb-iot-shield-for-arduino/coming_soonEarly-bird orders will ship out immediately but I will have limited supplies on a first-come-first-served basis. The price for any version of the shield will be $99 (USD) in case you're interested!Looking forward to the new year and stay warm!

Hey guys, I just tested version 3 of the board and updated this Instructable to reflect the changes. The main difference is that now you don't need a LiPo battery to power the shield! Simply plug it into an Arduino and you're ready to roll!

Hey guys, I'm happy to announce that I will be launching an Indiegogo campaign for the Reflowduino and Sidekick relay module on December 1st! Stay tuned for early bird specials, cool perks, and more!

Thanks for the comments! Yes, hot plates are certainly not as uniform, but hey, if all you want is a cheap reflow solution for small PCB's, then that's still an option. So far my $20 toaster oven seems to perform quite well with a single board, although I haven't tried reflowing a batch of PCB's at the same time. I definitely agree that a convection oven would be ideal.

Update: Just a heads up, I changed the "Toasty Relay Module" to "Solid-State Sidekick" because it sounds cooler!

Update: Reflowduino is now certified by Arrow Electronics! I will be launching an Indiegogo campaign soon so stay tuned for more details!

Hey guys, quick update: I realized that instead of tweaking the toaster oven you can simply max out the temperature knob, turn the cooking mode to "Bake" so that both heating elements turn on, and max out the timer so it doesn't turn off during reflow, and you're all set! Then you can just control the toaster from the outside using the Reflowduino Pro or the Toasty Relay Module with Reflowduino Basic.I've updated Step 2 of this Instructables to reflect this!

Hi there! Yes, I agree, most out there require messing with mains voltages. I am waiting for parts to come in for the Toasty Relay Module, which is basically a "magic box" that takes care of all the mains wiring for you so all you need to do is plug in the appliance (toaster or hot plate) into the relay module and screw in the two "RLY+" and "RLY-" inputs from the Reflowduino.Rewiring the main power cord requires you to first tweak the oven itself. If you don't do the rewiring inside the oven you won't be able to control the oven from the outside because of all the knobs interfering with it. However, the principle is rather simple: just disconnect all knobs and connect the heating elements straight to the live wire and make sure to use heat shrink and you'r...

Hi there! Yes, I agree, most out there require messing with mains voltages. I am waiting for parts to come in for the Toasty Relay Module, which is basically a "magic box" that takes care of all the mains wiring for you so all you need to do is plug in the appliance (toaster or hot plate) into the relay module and screw in the two "RLY+" and "RLY-" inputs from the Reflowduino.Rewiring the main power cord requires you to first tweak the oven itself. If you don't do the rewiring inside the oven you won't be able to control the oven from the outside because of all the knobs interfering with it. However, the principle is rather simple: just disconnect all knobs and connect the heating elements straight to the live wire and make sure to use heat shrink and you're good to go!By "top and bottom heat zones" are you asking if there's a difference in the top and bottom temperatures? I haven't done any detailed thermal analysis on the oven but the temperature distribution seemed to be very even because all the parts reflowed at the same time. However, I did test the oven with only the top heating element, and again with only the bottom heating element. The bottom one will take longer to heat up the PCB than the top one, which makes sense because the top one has direct radiation heat transfer to the PCB without going through the metal drip tray.Feel free to ask again if I didn't quite answer your question!

Haha thanks!