Connectivity Card LTE + NRF52840 mPCIe

Connectivity Cards

Datasheet Release 1.3

Overview

Remote monitoring of critical infrastructure with edge computing

The Combo Connectivity Cards from CTHINGS.CO® are extension cards based on the Nordic® Semiconductor nRF52840 SoC and Quectel EG25 series of LTE Cat 4 modules optimized specially for M2M and IoT applications. Adopting the 3GPP Rel-11 LTE technology, it delivers maximum data rates up to 150 Mbps downlink and 50 Mbps uplink. It’s a combination of multi-protocol chips designed to empower IoT integrators to implement LTE Cat 4, UMTS/HSPA(+), Bluetooth® 5.3 including Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth Mesh, Wirepas®, Thread®, Zigbee®, 802.15.4, ANT, and other 2.4 GHz protocol stacks.

The product comes with full CE class-B and RED certification and can be used to quickly and reliably add 2.4 GHz and Cellular LTE protocol stack support to any existing device with a mini-PCIe without worrying about certification or radio performance. A full J-Trace connector is available on a programming jig for convenient firmware development.

CTHINGS.CO also provides various pre-flashing options, and tested support for Wirepas Mesh 2.4 GHz profile.

Specifications

Hardware Features

  • Mini PCI Express connector pinout compliant

  • Single-ended U.FL antenna connectors

  • Based on Nordic® Semiconductor nRF52840

  • Based on Quectel® EG25-G

  • Ultra-low power consumption

  • RF output power up to +8 dBm

  • Arm® Cortex®-M4 32-bit processor with FPU, 64 MHz

  • USB 2.0 Full-Speed controller, up to 12 Mbps

  • Compatible with the CTHINGS.CO Programming Jig

Software Features

  • Compatible with Wirepas Mesh 2.4 GHz profile firmware, including sink functionality

  • Compatible with nRF Connect SDK

Electrical Specification

  • 3.3 V nominal supply voltage, electrically Mini PCIe compliant

  • 3.0 V to 3.5 V supply voltage range

  • ESD protected

  • Ultra-low power consumption

Cellular Modem Features

  • 3GPP LTE Release 11 Cat 4 compliant

  • RF transceiver for global coverage

  • Up to 23 dBm output power in LTE

  • RX sensitivity:

    • -100 dBm for LTE

    • -110 dBm for WCDMA

Cellular Band Support

  • LTE-FDD: B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B7, B8, B12, B13, B18, B19, B20, B25, B26, B28

  • LTE-TDD: B38, B39, B40, B41

  • WCDMA: B1, B2, B4, B5, B6, B8, B19

  • GSM: B2, B3, B5, B8

RF Transceiver for Local Coverage

  • 2360 MHz to 2500 MHz operating frequency

  • 1 MHz PLL channel spacing

  • ±170 kHz frequency deviation at 1 Mbps

  • ±320 kHz frequency deviation at 2 Mbps

  • 125 kbps to 2000 kbps over-the-air data rate

Embedded Security

  • Arm® CryptoCell 310 security subsystem

  • Secure boot ready

  • Secure erase

Certifications

The CTHINGS.CO® Combo mPCIe Connectivity Card is CE Class B, Radio Equipment Directive (RED) and EU RoHS Directive compliant. US FCC and UKCA certification is planned.

The device has been tested to meet the following electromagnetic compatibility standards:

Electromagnetic emissions:

  • Conducted emissions: EN 55022, EN 55014-1 and EN 55011

  • Radiated emissions up to 6 GHz

  • Harmonic current emissions: EN 61000-3-2

  • Voltage fluctuations and flicker: EN 61000-3-3

Immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI):

  • Electrostatic discharge immunity: EN 61000-4-2

  • Radiated electromagnetic field immunity: EN 61000-4-3

Use Cases

  • IoT gateways

  • Workstations and laptops

  • Cellular backhaul systems for non-cellular Wirepas meshes

  • Bluetooth interface for IoT sensors

Capabilities

Wirepas Mesh

Plug-and-play support for Wirepas 2.4 GHz profile mesh networks.

Mini-PCIe Pinout Compliance

Small and standardized form factor compliant with common hardware.

Bluetooth® 5.3

Plug-and-play Bluetooth® 5.3 support.

Multiprotocol

Supports LTE, WCDMA, GPS, Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth Mesh, Thread, Zigbee and Wirepas 2.4 GHz.

Certified Radio Equipment

Full CE Class B and Radio Equipment Directive (RED) certification.

In-System Firmware Upgrades

Support for in-system programming via SWD.

High-Performance CPU

32-bit Arm® Cortex®-M4 processor with a floating-point unit.

Cellular Network

Supports LTE Cat 4 and WCDMA/HSPA(+).

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