SatelliteRadio modules

Test the Murata Type 1SC radio module

This guide contains the configuration and AT commands for the Murata Type 1SC radio module (LBAD0XX1SC-DM) and evaluation board. The board is designed to provide hybrid cellular Cat-M1, narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), and satellite NB-IoT over non-terrestrial networks (NTN-IoT) data connectivity. It supports global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and can house an integrated SIM (iSIM).

Set up the evaluation board

These instructions are for Windows users. If you have a different operating system, adjust the steps accordingly.

1

Insert the emnify SIM card into the SIM reader slot of the Murata board.

2

Attach the antenna to the board using the antenna connector. Use the image below as a reference. The antenna supports radio communications for cellular and NTN-IoT data services, as well as for GNSS.

3

Connect the USB cable with your PC and the UART01 port of the board. For more information, refer to the Murata Type 1SC User Guide.

Connected antenna (left) and micro USB cable (right)
4

In your Windows PC, go to the Control Panel and check your Device Manager for the assigned communications port (COM port) of the evaluation board (EVB).

5

Open PuTTY (or another SSH client), then set the connection type to Serial.

6

Enter the COM port assigned to the EVB and set the speed to a baud rate of 115200.

After establishing a connection between your SSH client and the module, refer to the Murata Type 1SC Application Guide to complete the initial configuration using AT commands.

AT commands for testing

To test the hybrid connectivity the Type 1SC module provides, use the following AT commands.

For more information about using AT commands to configure devices, see emnify’s Introduction to AT commands webinar.

Retrieve modem manufacturer and revision

ATI
Manufacturer: Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
Model: LBAD0XX1SC-DM
Revision: RK_03_02_01_00_40041_001
OK

Check version

AT%VER
NP Package: RK_03_02_01_00_40041_001
Apps: RKAPP_03_02_01_00_35171_001__52eab595703226c88852743ee5bb3ab582a5b179
Using APP processor - no SB or 3B versions
MAC Revision: REL_1250_NB_03_02_01_00_REV_323307
MAC Package Version: ALT1250_03_02_01_00_40141_NB
MAC Build Time: Jan_03_2024_17_43_13
PHY Revision: 0.0.323304
PHY Build Time: Jan_03_2024_17_39_11
PHY Build Info: Releas_0
PMP Revision: 323298
PMP Version: 40141_PMP\
PMP build time: Mar_14_2023_10_39_15
DSP Revision: 0
BB Product: 1250
BB HW Revision: 20
RFIC_6200 Revision: 00
NP Build Time: Jan  3 2024 18:38:29
NP Package Creation Time: 2024.01.03_18:39:03
C&V Ver: 9.49
Calibration date: 24.02.23
Calibrated NP package: RK_03_02_00_00_02
U-Boot Version: ALT1250_03_02_00_00_30311_UB
OK

Murata is expected to release the new Type 1SC modem firmware in the next few months.

Query ICCID and IMSI

AT%CCID
%CCID: 89883030000086507370
AT+CIMI
901430003909019

Initial configuration

Turn on multi-RAT capability

To switch from another radio access technology (RAT) to NTN-IoT, turn on the multi-RAT capability:

AT%SETACFG="radiom.config.multi_rat_enable","true"

Turn off automatic RAT switching

You need to turn off automatic RAT switching so you can decide when to use NTN.

AT%SETACFG="radiom.config.preferred_rat_list","none"
AT%SETACFG="radiom.config.auto_preference_mode","none"

Turn on auto connect mode

AT%SETACFG="modem_apps.Mode.AutoConnectMode","true"

Restart the modem

ATZ
OK

Determine the test device location

In NTN communications, the cellular modem must know its geolocation (latitude, longitude, and altitude). The modem can be introduced to this location manually or acquired automatically by the device with its internal GNSS (iGNSS) system.

Along with the cellular modem, the evaluation kit includes a GNSS chip that can acquire its location automatically. This chip can use GPS and GLONASS systems. By default, the satellite system type is configured to GPS. At least five GPS satellites are needed to locate the device, so the device must be under open skies for the iGNSS system to work well.

During initial testing, emnify observed that communication with five satellites could only be achieved under open skies with no obstructions (for example, a ceiling) over the antenna.

This guide provides configuration options for both manual static and iGNSS. emnify recommends performing the evaluation tests using the manual static location command. You can also use iGNSS if the test device isn’t stationary and its antenna is outside with nothing covering it.

Configure the test device position manually as static and permanent

You can use the Elevation Finder to find the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the device’s location by clicking on the exact location on the map. Altitude is calculated from the earth’s surface, so, if necessary, add the extra altitude of the building where the device is located.

AT%NTNCFG="POS","STAT",52.506726,13.393140,89

In the preceding example, 52.506726,13.393140 are the latitude and longitude of the emnify office in Berlin, Germany. 89 is the altitude in meters. Be sure to update your location accordingly.

OK

Configure the test device position automatically with iGNSS

AT%SETACFG="ntn.modem_pos.isValid","false"
AT%SETACFG="ntn.conf.gnss_in_use","ignss"
AT%SETACFG="locsrv.operation.locsrv_enable","true"
AT%SETACFG=locsrv.operation.chip_select,alt1250
AT%SETACFG="locsrv.internal_gnss.auto_restart","enable"
ATZ

Next, verify that iGNSS is set:

AT%GETACFG="ntn.conf.gnss_in_use"
ignss
OK

Finally, you can check how many GPS satellites are detected by the module:

AT%IGNSSINFO="SAT"

At least five GPS satellites need to be detected for iGNSS to function.

Enable NBNTN RAT

Query available RAT types

AT%RATACT=?
%RATACT: ("DEFAULT","CATM","NBIOT","NBNTN","C2D","C2DUC","N2D","N2DUC"),(0-1),(0-2)

Set the RAT to NBNTN

The current version of the Sony ALT1250 modem chipset doesn’t automatically handle switching between terrestrial networks ("CATM", "NBIOT") and NTN ("NBNTN"). You can switch between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks manually with the following commands.

After changing the RAT type, the modem is unresponsive for a few seconds, and temporary settings are reset to the default values.

Set to NTN:

AT%RATACT="NBNTN",1
OK

Set to NB-IoT (terrestrial):

AT%RATACT="NBIOT"
OK

Verify the RAT type currently active

AT%RATACT?
%RATACT: "NBNTN",1,0

Configure band

Skylo uses bands 255 and 256. Setting both frequencies is safe, but this slows down the network search and attachment time. To save time, only configure one band. Currently, 255 is used in North America and 256 in Europe. Choose the band that corresponds to your region.

AT%SETCFG="BAND","256"
OK

Configure APN

AT+CGDCONT=1,"IPV4V6","em"

Turn on all possible unsolicited notifications

These commands are commonly used for troubleshooting.

Turn off the radio

AT+CFUN=0

Turn on TA value calculation notifications

Turns on notifications about the timing advance (TA) value calculation.

AT%NTNEV="TA",1
OK

Report GNSS session status changes

Turns on status events reported upon GNSS session status changes.

AT%IGNSSEV="SESSIONSTAT",1
OK

Send GPS fix notifications

Sends a notification when the GPS fix is successfully acquired. The modem needs to know its location to calculate the timing advance (TA) value to communicate with the satellite. This notification is received in automatic location settings.

AT%IGNSSEV="FIX",1
OK

Turn on SIB31 notifications

Turns on notifications when SIB31 is received. SIB31 is the first broadcast packet the modem receives when it’s within satellite reception.

AT%NOTIFYEV="SIB31",1
OK

The notification looks like the following. If you see it, you’re within radio coverage of the satellite.

%NOTIFYEV:"SIB31",0,31866425,5766121,-1661811,-36,83,-521,7915752,148,0,14,,,550,

Report RRC state changes

Turns on notifications about radio resource control (RRC) state changes.

AT%NOTIFYEV="RRCSTATE",1
OK

Turn on network registration status notifications

AT+CEREG=2
OK

Turn on the radio

AT+CFUN=1
OK

Wait for automatic network registration to Skylo and emnify networks. You can verify that the device is connected successfully on the emnify Portal.

See registration status

AT+COPS?
+COPS: 0,2,"90198",9

90198 is Skylo’s network code (MCC+MNC).

There are three formats that you can use to query the network registration:

  • format=0: Long alphanumeric format
  • format=1: Short alphanumeric format
  • format=2: Numeric format

Currently, Skylo broadcasts its network information in numeric format only as 90198. If you don’t see any network information after the AT+COPS? command, even though CEREG proved a successful network registration, set the format to 2 (numeric format) with the following command and try again.

AT+COPS=3,2
OK

List available networks that the device can detect

AT+COPS=?
+COPS: (0,,,"90198",9),,(0-3),(0-2)

90198 is the Skylo network code. You’re ready to attach to an NTN network if you see it in your response.

CEREG state change report codes

The following table outlines the possible values for the reported CEREG state change.

ValueDescription
0Not registered and MT isn’t currently searching for an operator
1Registered to the home network
2Not registered, but MT is currently trying to attach or is searching for an operator
3Registration denied
4Unknown
5Registered and roaming

Retrieve physical connectivity and eNB parameters information

AT%PCONI
duplexing mode: FDD
Transmission mode: SISO
Bandwidth: 180kHz
EARFCN: 229364
Global Cell ID: 0x00294295
Physical Cell ID: 27
HNBN: N/A
Band: 256

Get signal quality (RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, RSSI)

AT%MEAS="8"
%MEAS: Signal Quality: RSRP = -112, RSRQ = -1, SINR = 14, RSSI = -112

While these signal levels seem like there’s no connection for terrestrial networks, they’re normal levels in NTN. Anything below -120 is considered as no signal for NTN.

Generate IP data traffic by PING over ICMP

AT%PINGCMD=0,"8.8.8.8",1,64,30
%PINGCMD:1,"8.8.8.8",12080,101
OK

Generate IP data traffic over UDP

Allocate UDP socket

Skylo doesn’t support TCP, so IP data usage is over UDP. This command creates an IPv4 UDP socket. The modem’s response establishes the socket ID so it can be used to send or receive IP data over UDP.

You should include the information about your application server in this command.

AT%SOCKETCMD="ALLOCATE",1,"UDP","OPEN","192.0.2.0",PORT

Replace 192.0.2.0 with the IP address of your application server and PORT with the UDP port.

If you don’t have an application server with UDP, you can use the free server from Datacake.

%SOCKETCMD:1
OK

Activate the predefined UDP socket

Use the socket ID from the response of the preceding socket allocation command.

AT%SOCKETCMD="ACTIVATE",1
OK

Check the UDP socket status

AT%SOCKETCMD="INFO",1
%SOCKETCMD:"ACTIVATED","UDP","10.190.201.230","192.0.2.0",49157,PORT
OK

Send UDP packet to a remote server

AT%SOCKETDATA="SEND",SOCKET_ID,DATA_LEN,DATA

Replace SOCKET_ID with the integer response from the preceding command, DATA_LEN with the length of the data you’re sending in bytes, and DATA with the data you’re sending encoded as hex digits.

The following example command sends “text message” to the remote server.

AT%SOCKETDATA="SEND",1,12,"74657374206D657373616765"
%SOCKETDATA:1,12
OK

If your application server sends back a response, you see the following notification:

%SOCKETEV:1,1

To read the received data, you can use the following command:

AT%SOCKETDATA="RECEIVE",1,100
%SOCKETDATA:1,20,5834,"3939393974657374206d65737361676530303030"
OK

Deactivate the UDP socket

AT%SOCKETCMD="DEACTIVATE",1
OK

Delete the UDP socket

AT%SOCKETCMD="DELETE",1
OK

Datacake

If you don’t have an application server to send data to, you can use an online service like Datacake. You can try Datacake’s free package with a few devices.

You can send data from your NTN-IoT device to the Datacake server (upload direction). However, it’s not possible to send data from the Datacake server to the device (download direction).

The application server address is https://app.datacake.de/

Create a free account. The NTN device must be defined as a Dragino NB-IoT type device. Refer to the Datacake documentation for further instructions.

Important highlights

IMEI is the device-ID with an f added to the beginning of a 15-digit IMEI, making the device-ID a 16-digit number.

When you use Datacake as the application server, the server address and the UDP port that you should use in the allocation command is:

  • Server: 67.207.76.90
  • Port: 4445

The final command looks like this:

AT%SOCKETCMD="ALLOCATE",1,"UDP","OPEN","67.207.76.90",4445

The first eight bytes of the payload data must match the device-ID you configured on Datacake. For the rest of the payload, the platform allows you to define some decoders of your own if needed.

Power Saving Mode (PSM)

Enable PSM

Turn on Power Saving Mode (PSM) and assign the requested values for Requested_Periodic_TAU and Requested_Active_Time. You can also use your own values.

AT+CPSMS=1,,,"01000011","01000011"
OK

Subscribe to URCs

Subscribe to unsolicited result codes (URCs) to include PSM parameters of Active Time and periodic TAU as the last two parameters of the CEREG report.

AT+CEREG=4

Verify assignment to the UE

You can also manually check whether the Active Time and the extended periodic TAU have been assigned to the LTE device (UE).

AT+CEREG?
+CEREG: 4,5,"0FBA","0027BBFA",9,,,"00110010","00111110"
OK

Extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX)

Verify eDRX parameters

Retrieve the extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX) parameters to check if any parameters have been configured already.

AT+CEDRXRDP
+CEDRXRDP: 0
OK

Configure eDRX parameters

Typically, you configure eDRX parameters of Requested_eDRX_cycle and Requested_paging_time_window in a single command. The command is formatted as follows:

AT+CEDRXS=mode,AcT-type,Requested_eDRX_value

Replace mode, AcT-type, and Requested_eDRX_value with the values you want to set. For example:

AT+CEDRXS=2,5,"0011","0101"
OK

The following table outlines the possible mode values:

ValueDescription
0Disable the use of eDRX
1Enable the use of eDRX
2Enable the use of eDRX and enable the URC
3Disable the use of eDRX and discard all parameters for eDRX. Or, if available, reset to the manufacturer-specific default values.

The following table outlines the possible AcT-type values:

ValueDescription
0Current cell not using eDRX
4Evolved Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) (WB-S1 mode)
5E-UTRAN (NB-S1 mode)

The Requested_eDRX_value is 0101 to 81.92 seconds.

In the Sony modem, this command only takes the Requested_eDRX_cycle, as shown in the following example:

AT+CEDRXS=2,5,"0011"

In this case, an example response would follow this format:

+CEDRXRDP: AcT-type,Requested_eDRX_value,NW-provided_eDRX_value,Paging_time_window
+CEDRXP: 5,"0011","0011","0001"

Retrieve eDRX parameters

AT+CEDRXRDP
+CEDRXRDP: 5,"0011","0011","0001"
OK

In the preceding example, you request a value for the eDRX cycle, and the network (NW) replies with an NW-provided eDRX value. Additionally, you also receive an NW-provided paging time window.

If you need to request a specific paging time window value, use a separate command. For example, 5 corresponds to 15.36 seconds for the Requested_paging_time_window:

AT%CEDRXS=5
OK
AT+CEDRXRDP
+CEDRXRDP: 5,"0011","0011","0001"
OK

In this example, the network provided a paging time window of 1 to 5.12 seconds.