So for the record, there needs to be better documentation on just using this board by itself. No Adruino... Just the USB port it comes with.
Here's a few tips that would have saved me some time.
1. Start with the power switch off.
2. Plug in the USB cable and make sure windows recognizes it as a com port.
3. Plug in a separate power source to the barrel jack that can handle the 2 amps that might be drawn.
4. Using a terminal program connect to the new COM port using a BAUD rate of 115200... 8 data bits -- no parity -- 1 stop bit.
5. Turn the power switch on.
At this point I get 5 groups of garbage and then it starts speaking intelligently with SIND messages updating me on it's progress in connecting to the network.
SIND 11 is the one to watch for that typically says it's connected and ready to go.
-Patrick

I see different things written in different places. Should it be connected at a BAUD rate of 115200 or 9600?

Hello, I bought 2 of these for the prototype I am working on. I am trying to connect the ev board to Arduino. Could you please clarify what do you mean by "clearing the RX, ... jumpers ". Do I need to desolder them from the board? Thank you!

Hi, Does anyone know if this evaluation board and the part itself will be enough to connect it to Arduino. Or do I also need a shield? Thanks

I have this board, and I cann connect to GSM but not to GPRS. The attach command AT+CGATT=1 always sens error CME ERROR:0 phone failure. IT SEEMS I NEED to UPDATE the firmware for the spreadstrum modem. I called spreadstrum and they asked me to contact sparkfun.

This board definitely needs a mounting option (i.e. 4 mounting holes - one at each corner). How are people mounting this board in their projects?

To all sparkfun users, we would like to offer our experience. We were using a AT&T "go-phone" (pay as you go) sim card purchased in Arizona, USA. We too had a lot of trouble learning how to interface with the device. This is what worked for us:

Use minicom terminal in Linux, Putty in Windows
    setup your desired serial port for 9600 baud, 8N1 (eight data bits, no parity, one stop bit)
    be sure to turn off software flow control
    If in linux be sure that you are a member of the dialout group and have access rights to the device ie "dev/ttyXXX"
As a previous sparkfun user suggested, plugin the device while powered off and open serial port, and then flip power on
You will see 5 bytes of garbage
Next you will see +SIND messages
+SIND messages indicate the status of your connection
If you are using AT&T in the US the issue the command "AT+SBAND=7", this sets the operating frequency of your chip to the proper settings for AT&T service
You will need to first insert your sim in a normal cellphone and make a call in order for the sim to become fully registered on the network. You can check your carrier settings with AT+CGREG?
    the second return value indicates status of the network, 1 means connected, 3 means rejected. Before making a call with a normal phone we were getting 3.
        If anyone knows the proper AT command sequence to register the device on the network, please feel free to share.
    https://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/CellularShield/SM5100B%20AT%20Command%20Set.pdf let this be your guide in debugging.

If anyone is interested in getting in interfacing this module with the Beaglebone Black, follow this link: beaglephoneblk.wordpress.com

I am having no luck getting this on the network here at all. I have the previous version of the cell breakout board that Sparkfun sold based on the ADH8066 module and that works great with the same SIM and the same antenna and the same power supply. But when those 3 things are moved to the new board I never get joined on the network. The signal strength is always 0,99 and I never get the +SIND:11 message that would indicate that I’ve joined. SBAND is set to 8 as indicated, but I’ve also set it to 7 since someone in the comments above suggested that and when that didn’t work I worked my way through them all from 0 to 10. Rebooting the board each time and never getting an SIND:11 message. The rest of the communication to the host works fine, all the SIM commands work fine, but I cannot actually join the network. Lastly I’ve now twice desoldered, cleaned and restripped the antenna cable and re-soldered it but that hasn’t made any difference either. Lastly I just sacrificed another spare pigtail and soldered it in place on the board but I still can’t get a SIND:11 or do anything on the network.

Any suggestions for a next step? Are there init commands other than the SBAND that I’m somehow overlooking in the docs? I can’t set the COPS or anything until I actually join the network as far as I can tell.

The schematic is wrong ! missed regulator and ftdi chip connections...

Has anyone else experienced a freaze/lock-up behavior in PPP mode? For me after AT+CGDATA="PPP",1 the module seems to be unresponsive. +++ doesn't work to get back to command mode and data doesn't appear to be going back and forth to my connection.

-Zach

The second page of the schematic is missing.

FYI in case someone was wondering, sending CTRL+Z implies sending a byte with hex value 0x1A or decimal 26. The AT command manual say either CTRL+Z or ESC (hex 0x1B I think) should work, I have only been able to get CTRL+Z to work.

From sweden here. When i start i get this:

~~~~~ +SIND: 1

+SIND: 10,"SM",1,"FD",1,"LD",1,"MC",1,"RC",1,"ME",1

+SIND: 3

+SIND: 4

+SIND: 8

I try to send AT but i dont get any response?!

Can anyone tell me the power consumption while using GPRS? I’ve searched all the documents I could find, but with no luck.

Can anyone tell me the power consumption while using GPRS? I’ve searched all the documents I could find, but with no luck.

This board is using SPX29302 so the input voltage can be up to 16V, but the print on the PCB says 5V. Where is the truth? Can I use 12V input safely?

Hi! I have the evaluation board and the module, but I'm having trouble connecting it to a net.

As Carnagio said, I used a 115200 baud rate in the Terminal program for connecting the board to the computer. In the tutorials I have read, I saw that I must be replied with 5 lines when powering the module.

In my case, I receive 5 characters of garbage (Just as Carnagio), then two correct lines, which are

+SIN: 1 +SIND: 10, "SM",1,"FD",1,"LD",1,"MC",1,"RC",1,"ME",1

but then the comunication stops, and I receive nothing else, and if I send any AT command, I don't get response.

After those 2 lines, I'm suppose to receive these adittional 3 lines +SIND: 11 +SIND: 3 +SIND: 4

these lines are sent to confirm the connection to my local network, so I think that's the problem. I have the antena connected, so that shouldn't be the problem. I'm in M�xico, working with a TELCEL SIM card.

If anyones can give me a clue of what's wrong, I'll be glad to here it. Thanks in advance

Anyone ever gotten "+CME ERROR: 65536014" ?? I've spent over a year trying to get this thing to work. Sparkfun should just send us all new modules of a different brand. I am unable to express the amount of hatred the mere site of this thing invokes in me.

Hello, I have the SM5100B Arduino shell, but I am having some troubles with the at+agcat command.
I am in Mexico and I make the connection through Telcel, some times the APN configuration works fine. But lately the at+agcat command takes a long time and returns "GPRS operation failure".
Does anyone have any idea about this problem?, I'm using the APN internet.itelcel.com. Thanks for your help.

Has anyone made the SM5100B actually work in North America?? I'm beginning to have doubts, it seems everyone is having trouble with it.

I have the 5100B eval board but it won't even wake up. Windows sees it as a USB port when I plug it in. I'm using TeraTerm and the most I ever get out of the unit is a series of 3 garbage characters.
First of all: what baud rate does the terminal emulator (TeraTerm) need to be set for? And where in the Sparkfun or FTDI documentation is this described? I've tried every baud rate with no results. I just get a few garbage characters when I hit the reset button on the eval board. Is the board faulty??
Where is there some overall description of how the eval board behaves?
Mike

I have the SM5100B Evaluation Board.
I inserted a simcard, plus nearly all commands return ERROR.
Example:
AT+SLOG=?
ERROR
Why?
Tks!

What SIM cards work with this unit?
I tried to buy a prepaid AT&T microSIM card for this but they said they could not do that. They said their microSIM cards are only for the subscription based Iphones.
I want to send SMS and email. Only AT&T and Tmobile seem to have email gateways. I have not tried to get a Tmobile SIM card yet.
So has anyone actually used this to send SMS? To send eMail? How did you do it??
Thanks!
Mike

I have the SM5100B Evaluation Board<br />
I tried to use the H/W serial port in the ardinu but it didn't work, it only work witht he software serial port. I read that their are jumpers tp configure which port to use but couldn't find any jumper in the evaluation board.<br />
<br />
please help me ASAP<br />
<br />
regards,<br />
<br />
<br />

Any chance of getting the PCB overlay as a PDF?

Would be nice to have mounting holes on the board and maybe usb power supply.