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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Send text messages with your MM...
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Grogster Admin Group  Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9758 |
This is not exactly new, I posted a thread about the ElecFreaks module back in 2014. However, come March, that was four years ago, and things have got smaller and cheaper since then.  Now you can buy a complete quad-band GSM module for seven bucks! There are actually cheaper one then this, starting from about $4 or so, but I like this module, as it comes with a little external PCB antenna, on-board DC socket, SIM-card socket, earphone/mic socket, and has a switch-mode PSU embedded on the module, so you can just feed in 9v or so at a couple of amps, and away it goes. It also has provision on the PCB there, for you to add an SMA socket, allowing easy connection to any of the quad-band SMA antennas you can buy. You could also do that with a U.FL-to-SMA adaptor cable, as there is a U.FL socket on-board. All rolled into a module that is only 60mm x 40mm in size.  It supports standard AT commands for modules like this, and a quick glance at the commands PDF suggests you use pretty much exactly the same commands as for the $50 ElecFreaks module based on the SIM900. I have bought a couple to play with and see how they go. Like any GSM module, there is some on-going cost involved with a SIM card and connection to a cell-phone network, but you can get some very cheap deals now. $5 or less for the simplest SIM card connections is not uncommon. The current 4G or higher cell-phone networks are very reliable indeed now. Can you remember the last time your phone said it could not send a text message cos the network was busy?(rhetorical!) Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| robert.rozee Guru  Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 2466 |
in new zealand, the cheapest rates seem to be $10 every 3 months, covering 2 cents per text message. this is from warehouse mobile (reselling 2degrees). i remember way back when prepay balances used to last for a year, but that is now long gone. there does seem to be ongoing talk about the NZ GSM networks being shut down in the near future - though i'm not sure how that will affect GPRS (GSM data) and texting. i've also been told by one source that the talk about shuting down GSM is not real, just a marketing ploy by the service providers to push customers onto 3G phones that generate more revenue. does anyone know more about this? cheers, rob :-) |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9758 |
I play with RF quite a bit, and this is the first I have heard of that. I doubt it could be true. Can you IMAGINE the public backlash, if they suddenly stopped supporting GSM across the band?(rhetorical) I seriously doubt they would put themselves in a position where a huge percentage of the phones people have and actively use, would just not work anymore. You may still be right though. I would have to do a bit more research via some chums in the know. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| robert.rozee Guru Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 2466 |
here are a couple of links: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/77907677/vodafone-signals-the-end-is-nigh-for-its-2g-voice-service and https://www.2degreesmobile.co.nz/company/news-and-media-releases/2degrees-to-close-down-2g-access-in-march-2018/ as i say, it could just be a ploy by the network providers. cheers, rob :-) |
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lew247 Guru Joined: 23/12/2015 Location: United KingdomPosts: 1702 |
I like the look of that module,it's definitely interesting with many possibilities, one such being notifying you if someone enters your house while your on holiday, you could call the police while they are in there and you abroad. |
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Geoffg Guru Joined: 06/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3308 |
I thought that the SIM900A module (which this uses) was 2G only. In Oz 2G has almost completely gone in the transition to 3G (I have a 2G phone which is useless now). Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9758 |
@ Rob: Very interesting. Had not seen that, but it comes directly from 2degrees, so you may be right! Luckily, I only bought two of them. Might have to look for something else then. You can get these things for $82 a piece. Seems expensive at first glance, but it is fully boxed up which makes it attractive. EDIT: Would NOT use the plug-pack as supplied! Would substitute a local approved equivalent from the likes of Jaycar. Link to SIM7100E specs. Basically, it supports 2G, 2.5G, 3G and 4G so that should cover all the bases. Late last year, I and every other TV installer was run off their feet fitting LTE filters for 4G all over the town, as the local post-office had just put up a new 4G tower, so I know I should be able to talk to that then! Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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CaptainBoing Guru Joined: 07/09/2016 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2171 |
In the UK there is still a voice 2G network but there can't be many that use it (except my mother!) There is a *LOT* of data on 2G in the UK- smart meters, remote telemetry of all kinds, remote operation of industrial installations (drainage sluices etc), SMS gateways... I really couldn't imagine them being able to shut it down without years of notice. There was talk back in 2012 that it might get turned off in 2017. That didn't happen and I for one have heard nothing more. I suppose it will happen eventually but the upheaval will still be massive for anything that hasn't naturally migrated away. http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240160984/Will-the-UK-turn-off-its-2G-networks-in-2017 There is even some speculation that 3G will go first to provide motivation for voice customers to migrate, because 2G is pretty solid & better suited to more rural areas and for the freed bands to be allocated to 4 or 5G - this latter is undeniably better use. Consensus from a quick google seems to be that in the UK at least, 2G will last another 10 years (but not an authoritative answer) and anyway, nothing will be decided until 5G is in and stable. e.g. A tiger by the tail I suspect. Voice - yes, Data - not a chance(?) |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9758 |
You have a point. I might see if I can get some kind of answer from 2degrees as to the 2G data still being possible. I thought all the smart-meters for electricity used here were also on 2G GSM. That may or may not be the case, but if it is, I doubt that the power companies would be too keen on replacing thousands of them currently in service. Who knows. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| CaptainBoing Guru Joined: 07/09/2016 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2171 |
I have had this graphic that I collected somewhere for a while now. Might be useful to others:  2G is possibly as high as 14K which to be honest is perfectly fine for exchanging a few hundred bytes every now and then (2400 is most likely fine if the size and rate is low enough). |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9758 |
A very useful chart. Thanks for posting. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 816 |
I wonder where 4gx fits into it? (apparently that is coming online whee I am wanting to buy property) https://www.telstra.com.au/coverage-networks/telstra-4gx Biggest issue for me will be being still tied to telstra, telstra or... telstra :-( Their plans are still the most $ for the least data, but as they are the only game at all in town (or the bush in this case) you just have to suck it up and pay up :-( |
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| cs41 Newbie  Joined: 08/08/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 28 |
Hi all, Note Grogsters comments about the SIM900 modem. Maybe NZ is still keeping the 2G services operational, but here in Aus most 2G services are closed and 3G / 4G are the operational systems. I have used the SIM900 modules very successfully with the Micromites until last year when the 2G network we were using closed. Moved to the SIM5216J units after some code changes. There are a number of variations of these modules .e, .j etc and you need to be careful picking the correct one for the network you are using. Having a few problems with GET commands at present but will sort this out I hope. So the SIM900 should still be fine if you have a 2G network that you can use but otherwise will need to look for something else. While in Hawaii recently saw a nice data logger using UBlox 3G module but haven't checked if they will work in this part of the world. Hope that this helps ... cs |
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| Heidelberg Newbie Joined: 22/01/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 13 |
@Grogster I have a few of those GSM modems branded as 'wavecom' they do work really well. I did some experimenting with them a few years ago and wrote a small micromite program that responded to a SMS location request to create a google maps URL that was constructed using latitude and longitude taken from a GPS. It then sent the URL in a SMS back to the sender, it worked a treat.  I still have a few of these wavecom units new in boxes, since 2G got switched off here last year they are aren't much use to me now. I was considering offloading them on Ebay. If you're insterested I could send you a couple. Perhaps you'd be interested in a trade for some of those nice micromite PCB's you make? Note that the modems don't come with an antenna (these can be sourced elsewhere cheaply however) but they do come with the required plug for power.-Heidelberg |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9758 |
Much as I would like to take them off your hands, 2G does seem to be about to get switched off, which would make them just as useless to me as they are to you right now. I am trying to get an answer out of 2degrees as to if the data side of the 2G is to remain or not, but no response yet. EDIT: I just managed to talk to someone in the know, and 2G IS being TOTALLY decommissioned in mid-March 2018 - so Rob was quite correct. I asked them about data, and they said the ENTIRE 2G GSM network will be switched off, so that is voice AND data. No more text messaging via 2G modules, in other words. Apparently the thousands of smart-meters are on 3G already, and the earliest ones that were on 2G are multi-G compatible, so will hop onto 3G when the 2G gets turned off, but most of them are 3G so they were telling me. So, looks like I will have to go to the expensive 3G thing based on a SIM7100. Pain in the arse. Oh well. C'est La Vie...... Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| grunto Newbie Joined: 07/01/2015 Location: AustraliaPosts: 15 |
Sort of on topic.... Has anyone taken a look at Hologram (https://hologram.io/)? Their full bundle is more inclined to IoT applications but they are prepared to "unbundle" and sell hardware and mobile data plans that seem OK ($5 for the SIM & 1MB / month free for "developers"). I have been looking at them for a MQTT implementation and they are very responsive and helpful. They have a couple of reference implementations (RPi & Beaglebone) - they might be interested in supporting the development of a Micromite implementation if anyone is willing to take it on? |
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| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 816 |
I'm not impressed with helstra- bought a $50 longlife sim to put into an old phone for family, put it on charge and just got an sms from them, its out of credit... Whaaa????- havent even used it yet???  I didnt turn off the data- somethings updated itself and bingo $50 gone (plus most of the $10 free they give you with the new sim) check out that last one tho- on the longlife plan, 25mb is $50.26 Ouch indeed |
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| Heidelberg Newbie Joined: 22/01/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 13 |
Well that's bit of a bugger... |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9758 |
Yes, it is rather.  However, C'est La Vie...... I did ask the tech girl I was talking to about 3G, and they said they have no plans to discontinue that within the next 5 years at least. Too many things are now on 3G, so she said. She also said 3G has such a nice feature-set, that they are unlikely to drop that any time soon. Let's hope she was telling me the truth. Or at least, the truth as she knows it.  Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9758 |
UPDATE: I received my new 3G modem this weekend. It is a very nice little unit, and comes complete with an RS232 cable, Power-supply, magnetic antenna with SMA lead and plug, Power Plug adaptor thing, drivers and PDF's CD and USB lead. Link to the one I bought It was dead easy to get going - something I have come to expect with SimCom modules since the 2G ones I played with a few years ago.  This unit is based on a SIM5360 from SimCom and is a dual-band 3G compatible unit. My one is the 5360(E), which works on the 3G bands here in NZ. (UMTS 900MHz and UMTS 2100MHz) For any New Zealand members reading this, I can confirm that these units can talk to the 2-degrees 3G network, so should therefore work on any of the primary providers.(Spark/Telecom, 2-degrees, Vodafone). This unit does not support 4G/LTE networks. The unit is encased in an attractive aluminium die-cast case, measuring 86mm long, 54mm wide and 25mm deep. The single red LED on the side of the case is steady on when you first power it up, then it starts blinking at 1Hz once it has connected to the 3G network. That is very useful to have for field testing - just lets you know the unit has an active connection to the cell-phone network without you needing to connect anything up. Internal shots of the PCB:   Neat and tidy, and all perfectly acceptable there. The unit accepts a standard-size SIM card, and has a nice little card-tray that you access by pressing in an 'Eject' button. The default baud-rate 115k2, but you can change that to anything from 300 baud to 4Mb! The MM UART is easily capable of 115k2 baud, so that is what I plan to use it on. (via a MAX3232) One less thing to have to configure. The full AT command set is very well documented by SimCom at 622 pages - bloody hell!  This unit can do WAY more then just SMS messaging, which is all I want it for. The unit DOES NOT have any connections for a microphone or earpiece externally, as it is designed as a data-node device more then for voice traffic. The unit could probably be hacked without too much trouble to support those connections if you were desperate enough.About the only thing I WILL be changing, is the supplied plug-pack power-supply. I will be feeding the unit from the 12v UPS running the system. I have no idea of the quality of the supplied power pack, so won't be using that, although I am right now for the purposes of testing. It didn't explode when I switched it on, so there's that..... EDIT: Reading messages is also easy. By default, the unit uses the SIM card for message storage of up to 30 messages. Select the SIM card storage: AT+CPMS="SM" Read all messages: AT+CMGL="ALL"  +64 is the start of my cellphone number, but I have scrambled the rest of my number for privacy. But that was my test message back to the unit. Deleting messages is done with AT+CMGD, but I have not bothered to do that, as this node is an outgoing only - it just sends SMS, and will ignore any incoming SMS. I was just playing. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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