itbrainpower.net
LTE CAT-M1, NB IoT, LTE CAT4, LTE CAT1, UMTS and GSM IoT modem ** u-GSM

We are proud to annouce 4 new xyz-mIoT IoT node(s) w. integrated Cavli C16QS LTE CAT1.bis modem and 6 new u-GSM w. Cavli C16QS/C17QS LTE CAT1.bis modems for RPI/BBB and Arduino shields.
Read our last post: Modems and RaspberryPI 5. RaspberryPI OS [Debian 12 bookworm] notes..

u-GSM shield :: FEATURES AT A GLANCE:

Unique modem form factor that supports ALL existing GSM protocols [LTE CAT1.bis, LTE CAT M1, NB IoT, LTE CAT 4, LTE CAT 1, 3G/UMTS and 2G/GSM], depending on embedded module variant.

Commercial PCB variants - RPI ready PCB or BBB & RPI PCB (available for certaign models):

Raspberry PI embedded interface: Plug directly the u-GSM shield into Raspberry PI GPIO interface. Raspberry PI 5, 4, 3+, 3, II, B+, Zero and Zero W are supported.

BeagleBone Black embedded interface: Plug directly the u-GSM shield into BeagleBone Black P9 GPIO interface.

u-GSM shield can be powered directly from RPI / BBB 5V PINs!! - thanks to integrated LiPO / LiIoN battery charger.

GNSS [GPS + GLONASS] engine: High performances GNSS engine embedded having parallel satellites interpolation for best sensitivity and accuracy. The GNSS module it is embedded in u-GSM versions equipped with C16QS, C17QS, BG95-M3, BG95-M2, BG96 and EG95A.

Embedded USB adapter - with mini-USB type B socket and USB soldering pads. Raspberry PI and BeagleBone Black Linux [DEBIAN] and Windows drivers support.

ITBPMM* interface having 3-5V auto voltage support for UART[TX, RX] and control GPIOs [ENA, RST, STS and RI]
- u-GSM may be wired directly (without the need for any level adapter board) with any 3/5V Arduino shield or any version of RASPBERRY PI, BEAGLEBONE, other SBC or any other 3V-5V microcontroller.
- available trought 0.1"(2.54mm) BIG SIZE soldering pads.

Multiple powering configurations - the u-GSM shield can run in configurations with or without Lithium Polymer battery, depending on chosen powering schema.

SIM support: 1 x NANO SIM/USIM socket + 1 x external SIM interface.

Very compact and light weight: 27 x 45mm [main partition -wo RPI&BBB interfaces] / around 10g.

Arduino, BeagleBone and RaspberryPI code examples support files: - 4G, LTE, 3G, UMTS, GSM, SMS, DTMF, TCP/UDP, HTTPS and HTTP over 4G/3G/GPRS*, smart features like RAM DISK SYSTEM for FILE STORAGE and other.

RaspberryPI and BeagleBone PPP, TCPIP routing support (Debian distribution based) and modem control scripts.

* ITBPMMI - itbrainpower.net modular modem interface - compatible with any of our modular modems [c-uGSM dual SIM shield, h-nanoGSM shield, d-u3G shield and l-LTE shield]

u-GSM shield :: INTERFACES, SWITCHES and CONNECTORS

ITBPMM INTERFACE

In the left edge of the top PCB side, bottom to top:
1. RX[TXD] - modem TX - output
2. TX[RXD] - modem RX - input
3. RST - MODEM RESET - input, active HIGH*
4. ENA - ENABLE MODEM POWER - input, active HIGH**
5. Vusb - POWER PIN - output +5V (USB +5V)
6. Vin - POWER PIN - input +5V for LiPol charger only
7. Vcc - POWER PIN - input/output +4V**
8. GND - POWER and DIGITAL GROUND
9. RI - RING INDICATOR - output
10. STATUS - STATUS - output
* min. 250msec. pulse [HIGH level] will RESET the modem, excepting BG95-Mx, BG96 and EG915U-xx variants. RST pin have alternate functionality, as POWER ON / POWER OFF / exit PSM mode, for BG95-Mx and BG96 variants and POWER ON / POWER OFF, for EG915U-xx variants.
** HIGH level will enable modem power. All u-GSM variants, excepting BG95-Mx, BG96 and EG915U-xx, will be waked [POWERED ON].
** LOW level disconnects the modem power. All u-GSM variants will shutdown.
*&** To wake BG95-Mx, BG96 and EG915u-xx variants, keep ENA pin to HIGH level and then apply 250-500ms HIGH level pulse to RST pin.

Raspberry PI embedded interface

In the PCB top side left hand, from left to right:
RPI02 - Vin <--> RPI 5V*
RPI04 - Vin <--> RPI 5V*
RPI06 - GND <--> RPI GND
RPI08 - TX[RXD] <--> RPI SERIAL TX**
RPI10 - RX[TXD] <--> RPI SERIAL RX**
RPI12 - STS <--> RPI GPIO18
RPI16 - ENA <--> RPI GPIO23
RPI16 - RST <--> RPI GPIO24
* Read about sjp7 functionality bellow.
** Read about sjp5 and sjp6 functionality bellow.

BeagleBone Black embedded interface

In the PCB top side right hand, from right to left:
P9.01 - GND <--> BBB GND
P9.02 - GND <--> BBB GND
P9.05 - Vin <--> VDD 5V* ***
P9.06 - Vin <--> VDD 5V* ***
P9.11 - RX[TXD] <--> GPIO_30[UART4_RXD]**
P9.12 - RST <--> GPIO_60
P9.13 - TX[RXD] <--> GPIO_31[UART4_TXD]**
P9.15 - ENA <--> GPIO_50
P9.16 - STS <--> GPIO_51

* Read about sjp7 functionality bellow.
** Read about sjp5 and sjp6 functionality bellow.

LEDs, switches and additional interfaces

PCB top edge, left to right:
1. RST switch - RESET function for all versions, excepting BG95-Mx, BG96 and EG915U-xx. POWER ON / POWER OFF / exit PSM mode for BG95-Mx and BG96 variants. POWER ON / POWER OFF for EG915U-xx variants.
2. GREEN LED - network status LED
3. YELLOW LED - power status LED
4. GNSS u.FL connector [only for BG95-Mx, BG96, EG95A variants]
5. LiPO / LiION battery connector [GND, +]

Left PCB side, inside PCB, from top to bottom:
1. GND - super-capacitor soldering PAD, negative pole
2&3. Vbat - super-capacitor soldering PADs, positive pole

PCB bottom edge, from left to right:
1. USB connector type miniB
2. USB soldering PADS [GND, D-, D+, Vusb]

Right PCB edge:
1. nano SIM socket connector

Solder jumpers

sjp1* - RESERVED - default circuit closed.

sjp2 - Active GNSS antenna powering - default, the active GNDD antenna power is enabled [circuit closed]. Relevant only for BG95-Mx, BG96 and EG95A variants.

sjp3 - disable LEDs powering - default, LEDs power is enabled [circuit closed]. STS [STATUS] signal is disabled if LEDs power is disabled.

sjp4 - bypass modem power separation - default disabled [circuit open]. If enabled, ENA input will lose its role.

sjp5 and sjp6 - connect modem UART to RPI and BBB embedded interfaces - default connected [circuits closed]. If disconnect, RPI/BBB RX and TX GPIOs will be released. You may like to use this option if modem is connected to RPI/BBB via USB.

sjp7* - connect Vin to BBB/RPI 5V - default connected - u-GSM us as power supply 5V from RPI / BBB [circuit closed]. If disconnect, u-GSM may be powered independent.

BBB voltage selector* - use BBB Vdd 5V / SYS 5V as power source - default Vdd 5V is used as power source. Relevant if u-GSM is connected with BBB.
sjp5, sjp6, sjp7 and BBB voltage selector are relevant only if u-GSM is connected to BBB/RPI via embedded interfaces.
* consult u-GSM block schema.

External SIM CARD port, antenna connector

External SIM card interface
1. SIM VDD
2. SIM DATA
3. SIM RESET
4. SIM GND
5. SIM CLOCK
- if not used, leave them not connected
- if used, in order to avoid interferences, keep the wires as short as possible and take in to account the routing.

GSM side antenna connector
u-GSM shield may be ordered with u.FL connector or with SMA F connector. Check here: u-GSM part numbers.

PCB breaking lines

If required the u-GSM PCB may be trimmed across the breaking lines. We recommend to you to trim the u-GSM PCB only if you intend to fit your Raspberry PI & u-GSM shield assembly into one RPI case.
Guidelines here.

u-GSM shield :: Arduino / Raspberry PI logical interfacing [using ITBPMM interface]

u-GSM shield PIN NAME	UNO/MINI/NANO (Mega328)	MEGA2560 software serial	DUE or MEGA2560 hardware serial	Raspberry PI 4, 3+, 3, II, B+, ZERO, ZERO W
1. RX[TXD]*	D2 (RX soft)	D10 (RX soft)	D19(RX1)	PIN10 (RX)
2. TX[RXD]*	D3 (TX soft)	D3 (TX soft)	D18(TX1)	PIN08 (TX)
3. RST	D6	D6	D6	PIN18
4. ENA	D7	D7	D7	PIN16
6. Vin (5V LiPol)**	+5V	+5V	+5V	PIN02 or 04
8. GND	GND	GND	GND	PIN04 or 14
10. STS [STATUS]	D5	D5	D5	PIN 12

* Raspberry PI: do not wire 1 and 2 (serial TX and RX) if USB comunication is used!
WITH Lithium Polymer batteries configuration: wire 6 (Vin) OR do not wire it and use via USB powering placing a jumper between PIN5 (Vusb) and PIN6 (Vin). Read notes about u-GSM powering configuration on: - u-GSM v2.19 modular modem shield block schema - ITBP modular modem shields how to start - tutorial RECOMMENDED READING** - gSPS adapter board - plug and run switching power supply for the ITBP modular modems
Raspberry PI interfacing logical schema: RPI - u-GSM shield logical interfacing schema.
Raspberry PI interfacing using i-HAT adapter (without wires) how to: Raspberry PI, i-HAT adapter and itbrainpower.net modular modems how to.

Arduino Zero or xyz-mIoT modem-less shield interfacing:

1. RX(TXD) <-----> RX0
2. TX(RXD) <-----> TX1
3. RST <-----> D6
4. ENA <-----> D7
6. Vin <-----> 5V power supply
8. GND <-----> GND
10. STS <-----> D5

u-GSM shield :: Raspberry PI logical interfacing [using Raspberry PI embedded interface]

Apply the directives described in: u-GSM SHIELD RASPBERRY PI HARDWARE HOWTO.

HINTS:
- due to mechanical reasons, this variant cannot be used for u-GSM shield with SMA integration.
- we recommend to you to trim the u-GSM PCB only if you intend to fit your Raspberry PI & u-GSM shield assembly into one RPI case.

u-GSM shield :: BeagleBone Black logical interfacing

Variant a. Interfacing using BeagleBone Black P9 embedded interface

Apply directives found in: u-GSM SHIELD BEAGLEBONE BLACK HARDWARE HOWTO.
Due to mechanical reasons, variant a cannot be used by u-GSM shield with SMA.

Variant b. Interfacing via ITBPMM interface

Follow directives in: BeagleBone Black and ITBP modular modem interfacing how to.
This variant allow integration for u-GSM shields having SMA connector.

u-GSM shield :: ARDUINO, BeagleBone & RASPBERRY PI CODE EXAMPLES and UTILITIES

Resources marked with "#", requires for download the following information: your name, email address and the modem IMEI. The modem IMEI can be found printed on the Quectel GSM module, or run AT+GMGS command.

u-GSM shield code examples for Arduino, Raspberry PI and BeagleBone Black can be downloaded from our download page.

u-GSM shield :: DOCUMENTATION DOWNLOAD/ONLINE

The u-GSM shield documentation can be found here.

u-GSM shield :: ARDUINO, BEAGLEBONE & RASPBERRY PI PROJECTS

Arduino & RaspberryPI projects based on itbrainpower.net products

u-GSM shield :: ORDER ONLINE

Order online u-GSM shield

u-GSM shield :: ORDER FROM OUR DISTRIBUTORS

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document version 1.31 / 2026-04-15

itbrainpower.net LTE CAT-M1, NB IoT, LTE CAT4, LTE CAT1, UMTS and GSM IoT modem ** u-GSM