Manuallly activate and connect TRB142 to the mobile network

Hi,

My use case is to connect the TRB142 to an legacy car device, previous solution was a legacy GSM modem but this will be unsupported by the mobile network soon.
SMS should be received and transmitted transparently and immediate using PDU mode. So far this seem to be possible.

At start the car device (TE) configures the modem (GSM engine ME) with these commands.
ATE Turn on echo
AT+CPIN? Check PIN authentication status
AT+CSMS=1 Select Message Service, compatible with GSM 07.05 Phase 2+ version
AT+CNMI=2,2

To achieve this the serial port needs to be in full control mode. But in this mode the mobile communication or network is not activated automatically it looks like.

The question is how this should be done by the supported AT commands? We want to be able to receive and transmit SMS.

Thanks.

Greetings, @petbar01 ,

Thank you for your question,

To achieve this, please follow these steps:

  1. SIM and Network
  • Check SIM status: AT+CPIN? (send PIN if required)
  • Attach to network: AT+CGATT=1 and confirm with AT+CGATT?
  1. SMS Configuration
  • PDU mode: AT+CMGF=0
  • Select message service: AT+CSMS=1
  • Immediate SMS delivery: AT+CNMI=2,2
  1. Sending/Receiving SMS
  • Send: AT+CMGS=<length> followed by PDU
  • Receive: incoming messages arrive as +CMT: <length> with PDU content

Note: Full control mode disables automatic network registration, so AT+CGATT=1 is required. PDU mode ensures full transparency for the legacy TE.

Please let me know how it goes,

Best regards,
V.

Thank you very much for this quick response, I will test this ASAP.

Regards Peter

Greetings, @petbar01 ,

Thank you for your message.

I would appreciate it if you could share the outcome of your tests once they are completed.

Kind regards,
V.

Hi!

I thought that the TRB did not work since the band (2G,3G,4G) LEDs did flash all the time.
But it looks like it works anyway, I have tested to send a SMS to the TRB and it is output on the terminal.
I only need to issue these commands to make it work.

PDU mode: AT+CMGF=0   (seem to be default 0 anyway)
Select message service: AT+CSMS=1
Immediate SMS delivery: AT+CNMI=2,2

When reading status from TRB I see the below output.

+CPIN: READY
+CGATT: 1
+CEREG: 2,1,“2EF5”,“203AD33”,7
+CREG: 2,1,“2EF5”,“203AD33”,7

So it looks like it just works, I don’t know why really. Maybe you can do some configuration to make the band LEDs showing the real status of the selected band?

I our case the connected legacy device is an older car alarm system which did use an old 2G based mobile “Modem”.
At start it auto configures the mobile modem by sending:
ATE
AT+CPIN?
AT+CSMS=1
AT+CNMI=3,2
This device cannot be configured to not sending the not supported AT+CNMI=3,2 command to the TRB. In a proof of concept solution we are trying to add a serial AT command converter inbetween the TRB and the legacy device. It just converts the command AT+CNMI=3,2 to the supported command AT+CNMI=2,2. This finally works.

But now the sequence is broken in some way, I will make some tests.

It looks like the old device needs to send an acknowledge to the TRB in a short time, command manual says timeout of 300ms, the command is AT+CNMA=0. The old device is doing this but maybe our converter is a bit too slow and the 300ms timeout is passed.

Another problem may be if we converts the line breaks, line feed and carrige return, in a bad way for the PDU message part. The first commands seem to work alright.

I will keep you updated.
Thank you.

Greetings,

I hope this message finds you well,

Thank you for sharing, I look forward to more updates.

Best regards,
V.

Is it possible with some configuration to make the band LEDs showing the real status of the selected band, and also make them stop flashing?

Greetings, @petbar01,

I hope this message finds you well.

Could you please clarify what you mean by “showing the real status of the selected band” ? Any additional details would help us better understand your request.

You can also find more information about LED behavior at the following link:

Kind regards,
V.

The Mobile network type LEDs are all flashing according to this description,
All LEDs blinking at the same time every 500 ms, indicating No SIM card or incorrect PIN.
But the SIM card is in position and the command AT+CPIN? gives output +CPIN: READY.
Plus, the TRB 142 device can receive a SMS and outputs it on the serial port.
It seems that something is missing in the configuration. I just want to avoid future problems from a possible incorrect configuration when I solve my real task.

Greetings @petbar01,

I hope this message finds you well,

Could you please clarify the following:

  • Which firmware version is currently installed on the TRB142?
  • Does this LED behavior appear after booting the device or only after executing an AT command?

This information will help with further investigation.

Best regards,
V.

Hi,

Issuing command ATI gives:
Quectel
EC21
Revision: EC21EUGAR06A07M4G

The LED behavior appear after boot time, boot time starts with signal strength LEDs flashing. After this the mobile network type LEDs starts flashing instead.

Regards Peter

Hello,

I hope this message finds you well,

This shows modem version of the device, could you please log into the TRB device’s WebUI and navigate to Status->System and provide me with a firmware version of the device?

You should see a similar view as shown in the sceenshot:

I look forward to your reply.

Best regards,
V.

Hi,

this should be the FW version: TRB1_R_00.07.06.4

Regards Peter

Hello,

Thank you for your message.

The firmware version TRB1_R_00.07.06.4 was released on 2024.01.18. If possible, please try updating the device to the latest stable firmware version without enabling the Keep settings option.

You can download the firmware image here:

To perform the upgrade, navigate to System → Firmware in the device’s WebUI and upload the downloaded firmware image file.

Note: The Keep settings option should be disabled because there is a significant version gap between the current firmware and the latest release. Some configuration parameters might not transfer properly during the upgrade process. Therefore, it is recommended to create a backup of your current configuration if you have any important settings configured before proceeding with the update.

Please let me know if the issue persists after updating the firmware.

Best regards,
V.