The A7600E LTE Cat-1 HAT for Raspberry Pi is a low-speed 4G CAT-12G GSM / GPRS network HAT based on the SIMcom A7600E communication module.

It accepts a single 1.8V/3V sim card and supports a range of LTE Cat-1 and 2G network bands, including phone calls via AT commands and SMS functionality! This hat works on 4G and 2G GSM / GPRS networks, for Europe, Southeast Asia, West Asia and Africa.

Speeds of up to 5Mbps Uplink* and 10Mbps Downlink* are possible on a 4G network via the onboard SIMcom A7600E module. The HAT includes an onboard audio jack and audio decoder support for making telephone calls.

The HAT includes a USB interface for testing AT commands, obtaining GPS data, etc, whilst the onboard CP2102 UART converter allows for serial debugging or for logging into the Raspberry Pi. UART breakout pins are also included for use with other development boards. LED indicators assist with debugging, showing the operating status.

A MicroSD card slot is included on the board for storing data such as messages and files. Included in the package are the HAT, an LTE antenna, a Micro-USB cable, and mounting hardware!

* Idealised data rate – actual data rate depends on factors like network coverage, traffic congestion, base station condition etc. Your mileage may vary.

Features

• Standard Raspberry Pi 40-pin GPIO extension header
• Supports protocols including TCP/IP, HTTP(s), MQTT(s), FTP(s), and SSL
• Supports dial-up, telephone call, SMS
• Supports LBS base station positioning, it is able to get the approximate position info via mobile network
• TTS (Text To Speech) feature, texts in Chinese/English can be converted into spoken words
• Onboard USB interface, for testing AT Commands, network communication, and so on
• Onboard audio jack for sound recording, making telephone calls, listening toTTS resulting speech, etc.
• Onboard USB to UART converter, for serial debugging, or accessing the Raspberry Pi
• Breakout common used control pins of the A7600X module, make it easy to connect with hosts boards like Arduino/STM32
• SIM card slot supports 1.8V/3V SIM card
• TF card slot for storing data like files, audio data, etc.
• 2x LED indicators, easy to monitor the operating status
• Onboard voltage translator, the operating voltage can be configured to 3.3V or 5V via 0 resistor jumper
• Baudrate: 300bps ~ 4Mbps (default: 115200bps)
• Comes with development resources and manual (examples for Raspberry Pi/Jetson Nano/Arduino/STM32)
• Online development resources and manual (examples for Raspberry Pi/Jetson Nano/Arduino)

Package Contents

• 1x A7600E 4G HAT
• 1x LTE Antenna
• 1x USB type A plug to micro plug cable
• 1x RPi screws and standoff pack (2pcs)

Resources

• Product Wiki and Guide

What’s Onboard

1) A7600E communication module
2) CP2102 USB to UART converter
3) NAU8810 audio decoder
4) TXS0108EPWR voltage translator
– Translates 3.3V/5V into 1.8V
5) MP2128DT power chip
6) MP1482 power chip
7) Raspberry Pi GPIO header
8) A7600 control interface
– For connecting with host boards like Arduino/STM32
9) SIM card slot
– Supports 1.8V/3V SIM card
10) TF card slot
– Allows data storage like files, messages, etc.
11) 3.5mm earphone/mic jack
12) USB interface
– For testing AT Commands, getting GPS positioning data, etc.
13) USB to UART interface
– For serial debugging, or login to Raspberry Pi
14) Antenna connector
15) Module power switch
16) Network status indicator
17) Power indicator
18) UART selection jumper
A: access Raspberry Pi via USB to UART
B: control the A7600 by Raspberry Pi
C: control the A7600 via USB to UART
19)PWR on/off selection jumper
– PWR – 3V3: auto startup on power-up
– PWR – D6: startup/shutdown by the Raspberry Pi D6 pin
20) Flight mode selection jumper
– NC by default, no flight mode control pin
– Flight – D4: flight mode is controlled by the Raspberry Pi D4 pin
21) Operating voltage selection jumper
– Configured via 0 resistor jumper
– VCCIO – 3.3V: set operating voltage as 3.3V
– VCCIO – 5V: set operating voltage as 5V
22) USB connector solder pads
23) BOOT forced programming solder pads

Specifications

Frequency Band LTE Cat-1 LTE-FDD: B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20 LTE-TDD: B38/B40 2G GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 900/1800 MHz SMS and Audio SMS Supported types: MT, MO, CB, Text, PDU Storage: USIM card and ME (default) Audio feature Supports echo cancellation Supports noise reduction Other Power supply 5V Operating voltage 5V / 3.3V (configured via jumper) Operating temperature -30C ~ 80C Storage temperature -45C ~ 90C Dimensions 56.01mm 65.00mm

Pinout