background image

3

Cell  UART 
RX

Cell module's data receive (4800 baud).

7

Cell boot 
pin

This pin has the same control over the module 
as the BOOT button (explained below).

8

GPS UART 
TX

GPS module's data output (115200 baud).

9

GPS UART 
RX

GPS module's data receive.

Cell and GPS UARTs

Communication with the cellular and GPS module’s occurs on two separate 
serial UARTs. To leave the Arduino’s hardware UART free for debugging 
and uploading sketches, both UARTs are broken out to digital pins – 
intended for use with the SoftwareSerial library.

Because the SoftwareSerial library can’t reliably support high-ish baud 
rates, we’ve intentionally slowed down the MG2639’s cellular UART to 

4800 

bps

, rather than the module’s default bit rate of 115200. This slower rate 

ensure data reliability, and gives the Arduino some extra time to process 
large strings.

The 

GPS UART is hard-coded to 115200 baud

, which make it harder to 

use with SoftwareSerial. Instead, we recommend using the AltSoftSerial 
library with this part of the module.

Either of the two UARTS (the cell or GPS) can be switched over to the 
Arduino’s hardware UART. Check out the “Jumpers” section below for more 
information.

LED Status Indicators

There are a trio of LEDs on the MG2639 Cellular Shield which indicate 
connectivity or power status:

POWER

– This red LED is connected to the MG2639 module’s 

power supply line. If this LED is on, the module is receiving power.

RSSI

– This green LED indicates the status of your cellular network. 

It’ll blink at various rates to show what state it’s in: 

OFF – The module is powering on (assuming it has power).

1 Hz blink – Module is idle.

3 Hz blink – Searching for a network.

5 Hz blink – Module is in a traffic state (a phone call or data 
transmission).

GPS

– GPS fix indicator. This yellow LED will illuminate when the 

MG2639’s GPS module gets a solid fix.

Boot & Reset Buttons

Two buttons labeled “BOOT” and “RESET” are built into the shield. The 
“RESET” button is simply the Arduino reset, it’ll have no direct effect on the 
MG2639.

Page 4 of 22

Summary of Contents for MG2639 Cellular Shield

Page 1: ...whether it s a text message triggered MP3 player an environmental monitor logging to data sparkfun com or a new iteration of the Port O Rotary telephone Covered In This Tutorial This tutorial aims to...

Page 2: ...requires more power than an Arduino can supply when it s powered over USB We recommend this 9V wall adapter but any power supply within your Arduino s specified input voltage range should work SIM Ca...

Page 3: ...eld if you ve never installed a library before check this guide out Hardware Overview Before you get to connecting the MG2639 Cellular Shield to your Arduino you should familiarize yourself with the f...

Page 4: ...use with SoftwareSerial Instead we recommend using the AltSoftSerial library with this part of the module Either of the two UARTS the cell or GPS can be switched over to the Arduino s hardware UART Ch...

Page 5: ...B0104 level shifter It defaults to 5V but can be switched to 3 3V if your application requires Cellular UART RX and TX These jumpers allow you to switch the cellular module s RX and TX between either...

Page 6: ...rduino s unused pins You can also instead use male headers to connect it to the Arduino If you re looking to use the shield as more of a breakout board you can solder wires directly to the pins you ne...

Page 7: ...e SIM card into the shield The workings of the SIM card socket can take some getting used to To unlock the latch push the top part of the assembly towards the battery then lift it up Slide the SIM car...

Page 8: ...nding a suitable SIM card the most important part of getting the MG2639 Shield working is supplying it with enough power Power Supply Requirements Depending on which state it s in the MG2639 module ca...

Page 9: ...d to cut SJ2 and short SJ3 Jumper configuration for battery power Cut SJ2 and short SJ3 then clean it up better than we did SJ2 will prevent the 3 8V regulator from supplying a competing voltage to th...

Page 10: ...lar Shield library depends on Download and Install the Arduino Library We ve written an Arduino library specifically for the MG2639 Cellular Shield Click the button below to download it or clone it fr...

Page 11: ...s include SFE_MG2639_CellShield h To begin communication the cellular module and perform some set up call the cell begin function This initializing function will return with the status of the module a...

Page 12: ...ch for help using those functions Example 1 Text Messages The library includes a fun example sketch the demonstrates how to send and receive text messages If your cellular plan has SMS ability give th...

Page 13: ...rduino will send an SMS back to the sender with the desired information Using the Library SMS To use the SMS functionality of the library there is a second object defined as sms There are a variety of...

Page 14: ...message sending phone and timestamp the message was sent These values are only updated after an sms read Here s an example based on the sketch Get first available unread message int messageIndex sms a...

Page 15: ...ad allows you to go through the logs of your text messages and delete any or save them Example 2 GPRS TCP One of the most powerful aspects of the MG2639 is its ability to connect to a GPRS network and...

Page 16: ...ion can take a while to return successfully upwards of 30 seconds if the module is just getting warmed up so be patient If you ever need to turn GPRS off use the gprs close function This function has...

Page 17: ...connect to SparkFu n else if connectStatus 2 Serial println Received an error trying to connect Sending and Receiving As with other stream classes print write available and read functions are defined...

Page 18: ...ve voice calls If you re using a passive microphone and speaker you can simply connect them to the differential pins on the audio port Connect the microphone pins to MIC and MIC and speaker wires to S...

Page 19: ...G An outgoing call is in the process of dialing This status precedes ringing CALL_DIALED_RINGING An outgoing call has been dialed and is ringing on the other end CALL_INCOMING A call is coming in If a...

Page 20: ...t while phoneStatus CALL_ACTIVE phoneStatus CALL_ IDLE if callStatus CALL_ACTIVE Serial println Other end picked up Again you can use phone hangUp to end the call unless the other party does so first...

Page 21: ...e character at a time and don t abuse the strem Memory Limitations The MG2639 library can really test the limits of the Arduino s memory You ll notice that in most of these examples we put large const...

Page 22: ...ar Shield should serve as a solid launching point Serial Graphic LCD Hookup Learn how to use the Serial Graphic LCD Graphic LCD Hookup Guide How to add some flashy graphics to your project with a 84x4...

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