Integration Manual
Table Of Contents
- Document information
- Contents
- 1 System description
- 1.1 Overview
- 1.2 Architecture
- 1.3 Pin-out
- 1.4 Operating modes
- 1.5 Supply interfaces
- 1.5.1 Module supply input (VCC)
- 1.5.1.1 VCC supply requirements
- 1.5.1.2 VCC current consumption in LTE connected mode
- 1.5.1.3 VCC consumption in deep-sleep mode (low power mode and PSM enabled)
- 1.5.1.4 VCC current consumption in low power idle mode (low power mode enabled)
- 1.5.1.5 VCC current consumption in active mode (low power mode and PSM disabled)
- 1.5.2 Generic digital interfaces supply output (V_INT)
- 1.5.1 Module supply input (VCC)
- 1.6 System function interfaces
- 1.7 Antenna interfaces
- 1.8 SIM interface
- 1.9 Data communication interfaces
- 1.10 Audio
- 1.11 General purpose input / output (GPIO)
- 1.12 Reserved pin (RSVD)
- 2 Design-in
- 2.1 Overview
- 2.2 Supply interfaces
- 2.2.1 Module supply (VCC)
- 2.2.1.1 General guidelines for VCC supply circuit selection and design
- 2.2.1.2 Guidelines for VCC supply circuit design using a switching regulator
- 2.2.1.3 Guidelines for VCC supply circuit design using low drop-out linear regulator
- 2.2.1.4 Guidelines for VCC supply circuit design using a rechargeable battery
- 2.2.1.5 Guidelines for VCC supply circuit design using a primary battery
- 2.2.1.6 Guidelines for external battery charging circuit
- 2.2.1.7 Guidelines for external charging and power path management circuit
- 2.2.1.8 Guidelines for removing VCC supply
- 2.2.1.9 Additional guidelines for VCC supply circuit design
- 2.2.1.10 Guidelines for VCC supply layout design
- 2.2.1.11 Guidelines for grounding layout design
- 2.2.2 Generic digital interfaces supply output (V_INT)
- 2.2.1 Module supply (VCC)
- 2.3 System functions interfaces
- 2.4 Antenna interfaces
- 2.5 SIM interface
- 2.6 Data communication interfaces
- 2.6.1 UART interfaces
- 2.6.1.1 Guidelines for UART circuit design
- Providing 1 UART with the full RS-232 functionality (using the complete V.24 link)
- Providing 1 UART with the TXD, RXD, RTS, CTS, DTR and RI lines only
- Providing 1 UART with the TXD, RXD, RTS and CTS lines only
- Providing 2 UARTs with the TXD, RXD, RTS and CTS lines only
- Providing 1 UART with the TXD and RXD lines only
- Providing 2 UARTs with the TXD and RXD lines only
- Additional considerations
- 2.6.1.2 Guidelines for UART layout design
- 2.6.1.1 Guidelines for UART circuit design
- 2.6.2 USB interface
- 2.6.3 SPI interfaces
- 2.6.4 SDIO interface
- 2.6.5 DDC (I2C) interface
- 2.6.1 UART interfaces
- 2.7 Audio
- 2.8 General purpose input / output (GPIO)
- 2.9 Reserved pin (RSVD)
- 2.10 Module placement
- 2.11 Module footprint and paste mask
- 2.12 Schematic for SARA-R5 series module integration
- 2.13 Design-in checklist
- 3 Handling and soldering
- 4 Approvals
- 5 Product testing
- Appendix
- A Migration between SARA modules
- B Glossary
- Related documents
- Revision history
- Contact
SARA-R5 series - System integration manual
UBX-19041356 - R03 System description Page 6 of 123
Confidential
1 System description
1.1 Overview
The SARA-R5 series LTE Cat M1 / NB2 modules are ideal solutions for IoT, in the miniature SARA LGA
form factor (26.0 x 16.0 mm, 96-pin). They allow an easy integration into compact designs and a
seamless drop-in migration from other u-blox cellular module families.
SARA-R5 series modules are form-factor compatible with u-blox LISA, LARA and TOBY cellular
module families and are pin-to-pin compatible with u-blox SARA-N, SARA-G and SARA-U cellular
module families. This facilitates migration from u-blox NB-IoT, GSM/GPRS, CDMA, UMTS/HSPA and
other LTE modules, maximizes customer investments, simplifies logistics, and enables very short
time-to-market. See Table 1 for a summary of the main features and interfaces.
Model
Region
RAT
Positioning
Interfaces
Features
Grade
3GPP Release Baseline
3GPP LTE category
LTE FDD bands
Integrated GNSS receiver
External GNSS control via modem
AssistNow software
CellLocate®
UART
USB
SPI
SDIO
DDC
(I2C)
GPIOs
Digital audio (I2S)
Security services
Root of trust: secure element
Antenna dynamic tuning
CellTime®
Ultra
-low power consumption in PSM
Embedded TCP/UDP stack
Embedded HTTP, FTP
Embedded TLS, DTLS
FW update via serial (FOAT)
u-blox Firmware u
pdate Over the Air (uFOTA)
LwM2M with dynamically loaded objects
Embedded MQTT, MQTT
-SN
Embedded CoAP
Last gasp
Jamming detection
Antenna and SIM detection
Standard
Professional
Automotive
SARA-R500S
Multi
Region
14
M1
NB2
*
●
●
●
●
●
○
○
●
●
○
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
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●
●
●
●
●
SARA-R510S
Multi
Region
14
M1
NB2
*
●
●
●
●
●
○
○
●
●
○
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
SARA-R510M8S
Multi
Region
14
M1
NB2
*
●
●
●
●
●
○
○
●
●
○
●
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* = LTE Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28 in M1 and NB2, LTE band 25 in M1-only, and LTE bands 66, 71, 85 in NB2-only
● = supported by all FW versions ○ = supported by future FW versions
Table 1: SARA-R5 series main features summary
☞ The “00” products version of the SARA-R5 series modules do not support LTE category NB2.
With a discrete, hardware-based secure element and a lightweight pre-shared key management
system, u-blox offers state-of-the-art security that is ideal for IoT applications and includes data
encryption and decryption, zero touch provisioning, anti-cloning, and secure chip-to-chip
communication. SARA-R5 series modules are the optimal choice for LPWA applications with low to
medium data throughput rates, as well as devices that require long battery lifetimes, such as used in
smart metering, smart cities, telematics, and connected health.
The modules support handover capability and delivers the technology necessary for use in
applications such as vehicle, asset and people tracking where mobility is a pre-requisite. Other
applications where the modules are well-suited include and are not limited to: smart home, security
systems, industrial monitoring and control.