QMI Interface with Sixfab Shields/HATs
QMI interface has been mostly asked tutorial for Raspberry Pi 3 and Raspberry Pi 4 with Quectel UC20 / Quectel EC25 attached on our Sixfab 3G-4G/LTE Base Shield v2.
This Tutorial is maintained in our documentation section.
Base Shield
Base HAT
Cellular App. IoT Shield
Cellular IoT HAT
Please submit your technical issues and feedback to the community forum.
This interface is also compatible with:
Raspberry Pi 3G/4G<E Base HAT
Raspberry Pi 3G-4G/LTE Base Shield V2
Raspberry Pi Cellular IoT Application Shield – LTE-M & NB-IoT & eGPRS
Raspberry Pi Cellular IoT HAT – LTE-M & NB-IoT & eGPRS
This has been tested with Raspberry Pi 4 too.
In this tutorial, we will be demonstrating you the process step by step. Without further ado, let’s get started.
Hardware Prerequisites
- Raspberry Pi
- Sixfab 3G-4G/LTE Base Shield v2
- Quectel EC25 mini PCIe module
- LTE antenna (2 antennas are recommended)
Hardware Setup
- Plug Quectel EC25 Mini PCIe module to the Sixfab 3G-4G/LTE Base Shield v2.
- Connect required antennas to the Quectel EC25 module. (Antenna Connecting Guide will be Available soon!).
- Attach the Shield on top of your Raspberry Pi and keep the micro-USB cable disconnected that comes with the Shield.
Make sure you are using the original Raspberry Adapter as your power source.
Software Setup
1. First run update
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
2. Install Raspberry Pi kernel headers.
sudo apt-get install raspberrypi-kernel-headers
3. Check installed kernel headers packet version ls /usr/src
In our case, it is 4.14.79
If you are using Raspberry Pi 4, skip steps 4-7.
4. Now open your browser and go to rpi-firmware github repository commits
5. Here, find out your version and click on <> button to browse the repository at that point in the history.
6. From the link copy the hash as shown in the image below.
7. Now go back your terminal and update rpi in following format. Replace the term <hash> with your hash matching the kernel headers you checked in step 3.
sudo rpi-update <hash>
8. Reboot your Raspberry Pi in order to activate the new firmware
9. After rebooting, download qmi_installer.sh script.
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sixfab/Sixfab_RPi_3G-4G-LTE_Base_Shield/master/tutorials/QMI_tutorial/qmi_install.sh
10. Change the permission of the script.
sudo chmod +x qmi_install.sh
11. Make sure the module is disconnected before running the installer script
sudo ./qmi_install.sh
12. At the end of installation enter any key to reboot your Raspberry Pi and attach the USB cable of the shield.
13. After rebooting goto directory files/quectel-CM
cd /files/quectel-CM
14. Now run the following command to connect to the Internet.
sudo ./quectel-CM -s internet
Usage
./quectel-CM [-s [apn [user password auth]]] [-p pincode] [-f logfilename]
-s [apn [user password auth]] Set apn/user/password/auth get from your network provider
-p pincode Verify sim card pin if sim card is locked
-f logfilename Save log message of this program to file
Example 1: ./quectel-CM
Example 2: ./quectel-CM -s 3gnet
Example 3: ./quectel-CM -s 3gnet carl 1234 0 -p 1234 -f gobinet_log.txt
15. Now you can check you IP using
ifconfig wwan0
16. Further more you may check by pinging
ping -I wwan0 -c 5 8.8.8.8
Auto Connect on reboot
If you want your Raspberry Pi to automatically connect to the Internet via QMI interface then there is one more step you will need to follow.
1. Get the installation script.
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sixfab/Sixfab_RPi_3G-4G-LTE_Base_Shield/master/tutorials/QMI_tutorial/install_auto_connect.sh
2. Change the permission
sudo chmod +x install_auto_connect.sh
3. Now install the script
sudo ./install_auto_connect.sh
4. It will then ask for APN. Type in your APN and then press ENTER
5. Once you press enter it will create and activate the service.
6. The name of the service is qmi_reconnect. To check if the service is active you can type
sudo systemctl status qmi_reconnect.service
7. If it is working fine then you will be able to see active(running) in green.
PPP installer for Sixfab Shield/HAT
Sixfab offers Shields/HATs for Raspberry Pi which provides cellular PPP Internet connection anywhere with the availability of mobile network coverage. These shields are:
This Tutorial is maintained in our documentation section.
Base Shield
Base HAT
Cellular App. IoT Shield
Cellular IoT HAT
Tracker HAT
Please submit your technical issues and feedback to the community forum.
Each of these shields can be connected to the Internet via PPP(Point to Point Protocol). For this tutorial, we have written a script to install and perform the required steps.
Without further ado let us jump into the installation process:
1. Get the script by the following command
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sixfab/Sixfab_PPP_Installer/master/ppp_installer/install.sh
2. Now change the permission of the downloaded script. chmod +x install.sh
3. Now install the script sudo ./install.sh It will ask several questions, just answer them accordingly to complete the installation process. The questions are:
- Please choose your Sixfab Shields/HATs
You will be offered to choose among the mentioned three shields. Then it will fetch required scripts for you.
- Do you have updated kernel
It asks if your kernel is up-to-date. If no[N] it updates the kernel else it skips the update. Then it installs ppp.
- What is your carrier APN?
Here, it asks for your carrier’s APN. For me it is hologram.
- Enter your PORT name
In this step you will enter your PORT. For 3G, 4G/LTE Base Shield && Base HAT it will be ttyUSB3.
- Do you want to activate auto-connect/reconnect service at R.Pi boot up?
This option allows you to connect to the Internet via your shield automatically when your Raspberry Pi Starts. If you want to connect to the Internet automatically type y else N. If you have selected N then you will need to run sudo pon to connect to the internet and sudo poff to stop it. Make sure your module is powered up(Not applicable for Base Shield).
Enjoy your Internet connection.
EXTRA
Route: One of the possible errors you may get is the routing error. In this case, run the following commands
sudo route del default
sudo route add default ppp0
Credential
If your carrier asks for username and password;
Remove noauth from /etc/ppp/peers/provider and add following lines
user “YOUR USERNAME”
password “YOURPASSWORD”
Selecting port
| Shield/HAT | PORT |
|---|---|
| GSM/GPRS Shield | ttyS0/ttyUSB0 |
| Base Shield / Base HAT | ttyUSB3 |
| Cellular IoT App. Shield / Cellular IoT HAT | ttyS0/ttyUSB3 |
| Tracker HAT | ttyS0 |
To understand PPP further you can check PPP documentation.
Using Sixfab Raspberry Pi Shield/HAT as a Wi-Fi Hotspot
GPS Tracker with 3G, 4G/LTE shield
In this tutorial we will learn how to get GPS data using 3G, 4G/LTE shield.
GPS(Global Positioning System) also known as NavStar indicates the position of an individual on the earth. The Satellites orbiting around the earth sends precise details of their positions at a regular interval of time. Once information are received by a GPS receiver, a GPS receiver can pinpoint the location.
There are also navigation systems which support in their in specific regions like GLONASS provided in Russia.
For this tutorial we will need
a. Raspberry Pi
b. 3G, 4G/LTE Shield
c. 3G, 4G/LTE module (for 3G UC20 and for 4G EC25 is used)
d. PCB Mobile Antenna (2x)
e. GPS Antenna
Here it goes
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