Craig, Our modem design was loosely based on some suggestions from SIMCOM. Like: https://simcom.ee/documents/SIM7100E/SIM7100_SIM5360_SIM800C%20Compatible%20... <https://simcom.ee/documents/SIM7100E/SIM7100_SIM5360_SIM800C%20Compatible%20Design_V1.01.pdf> I did get a SIM7100 module a year or two ago, and did some basic testing with it, but cost was just too high at that time. I will ask again to see where we are today. A quick check on aliexpress shows the SIM7100E at US$50 per module, and SIM5360E at US$20, in quantities of 1. My main concern is software support. On paper, the SIM7100 looks compatible, and the AT commands very close. But the same was true of the SIM7000 I tried, and that was a mess - it seems the first firmware didn’t even support the MUX mode we rely on. Given all the passive components required, it is probably easiest to just use a SIM5360 board, unsolder the modem module and replace it, then add / move that one antenna. To get my china contacts to make 3 one off boards is probably about the same price. In general, it is easy to get 1 or 1,000, but quantities in between are the issue. Regards, Mark.
On 21 Jun 2019, at 12:49 AM, Craig Leres <leres@xse.com> wrote:
On 2018-06-12 15:26, Mark Webb-Johnson wrote:
Very easy to make. Our current modem circuit board layout actually supports both the SIM5360 (3G) and SIM7100 (4G) SIMCOM modules; we can simply drop in the appropriate module during production, and build with either 3G or 4G. If there is demand, we can satisfy within weeks What is my easiest path to getting a small quantity of ovms modem cards with SIM7100A modems? I probably only need 3, should I just buy some SIM5360A ovms boards and swap the simcom modules? And I guess move or add an antenna connector? I've attached a png version of a image from the message I'm replying to. It shows the SIM5360A using ANT1 and ANT3 while the SIM7100E uses ANT1 and ANT2 (and I see now the silkscreen documents this difference).
Craig <PastedGraphic-2.png>