Skip to content

SODAQ SARA SFF (Small Form Factor)

screenshot

Overview

The SODAQ Small Form Factor (SFF) is the SODAQ SARA in a small package.

Module Technology Shop
N211 NB-IoT SODAQ SARA SFF N211
N310 NB-IoT 2nd Gen SODAQ SARA SFF N310
R410 NB-IoT, LTE-M SODAQ SARA SFF R410
R412 NB-IoT, LTE-M, 2G SODAQ SARA SFF R412
G350 2G
U201 3G

Getting Started

Follow the getting started guide to verify you use the correct URL and update your boardfiles to the latest version.

Features
Microcontroller ATSAMD21G18, 32-Bit ARM Cortex M0+
Compatibility Arduino M0 Compatible
Size 50 x 25.4mm
Operating Voltage 3.3V
I/O Pins 14
Analog Output Pin 10-bit DAC
External Interrupts Available on all pins*
DC Current per I/O pin 7 mA
Flash Memory 256 KB
SRAM 32KB
EEPROM Up to 16KB by emulation
Clock Speed 48 MHz
Power 5V USB power and/or 3.7 LiPo battery
Charging Solar charge controller, up to 500mA charge current
LED RGB LED
NB-IoT uBlox SARA N2XX, N3XX, R4XX Series
LTE-M uBlox SARA R4XX Series
2G/GPRS uBlox SARA R412M
GPS/GNSS uBlox EVA 8M/M8M
Accelerometer/Magneto LSM303AGR
USB MicroUSB Port

Note

It's not recommended to use pin D8 for an external interrupt, pin D8 is attached to EXTERNAL_INT_NMI

Pinout

screenshot

Note

The first four pins are to update the ublox module
The ublox GND, D+, D- and 5V are only for the R4XX modules.
The N2XX series don't have these pins connected, you can update via the passthrough.
The N3XX don't have a USB pinout, they have UART pinout.
The N3XX pinout will be added later when we also update the update process for this module.

Pin definitions

Some things like the onboard LED and the RGB LED are used on multiple boards. To make it more easy you can use the definition name.

Example: pinMode(13, OUTPUT) and pinMode(LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT) will do the same.

Pin description Pin number Definition
Red LED D17 LED_RED
Green LED D19 LED_GREEN
Blue LED D14 LED_BLUE
GPS Enable D18 GPS_ENABLE
GPS Timepulse D21 GPS_TIMEPULSE
Power Pin SARA D49 SARA_ENABLE
Power Enable Pin SARA D51 SARA_TX_ENABLE
Change voltage pin SARA (3.3V – 1.8V) D15 SARA_R4XX_TOGGLE
Status Pin SARA D52 SARA_STATUS
MISO (SPI) D8 MISO
SS (SPI) D9 SS
MOSI (SPI) D10 MOSI
SCK (SPI) D11 SCK
Accelerometer Interrupt 1 D5 ACCEL_INT1
Accelerometer Interrupt 2 D4 ACCEL_INT2
Magnetometer Interrupt D50 MAG_INT

Solderjumpers

screenshot

Schematics

Firmware Upgrade

Contact your u-blox representive to obtain the latest firmware.

R4

With the command ATI9 you can check your firmware version.

The latest firmware version for the R412 is M0.12.00,A.02.19.
The latest firmware version for the R410 is L0.0.00.00.05.12,A.02.19.

Note

From these firmware versions it's required to set a MNO Profile.

Note

The firmware update tool is only available for Windows.

  1. Install EasyFlash.
  2. Move the installation file to the EasyFlash installation folder.
  3. Reboot your PC.

  4. Solder on a USB cable to the four SARA USB pins to connect a USB cable directly to the ublox module.
    SARA SFF Rev.1
    soldered usb cable
    soldered usb cable
    SARA SFF Rev.2
    soldered usb cable

    Pin Color Function
    1 Black GND
    2 Green USB +
    3 White USB -
    4 Red Vcc

    Note

    The colors inside a USB cable can be different then in the picture above.
    When you get the notification: USB not recognized, switch the USB- and USB+ cables.

  5. Use the regular USB port to load the passthrough sketch.

  6. Connect the 2nd (manually soldered) USB to your PC.
  7. Open EasyFLash as administrator.
  8. Select the correct module, select USB, leave the 3rd option blank. easyflash
  9. Hit Update, wait till completion and have fun exploring the new features!

N2

With the command ATI9 you can check your firware version. Result N2 should be: 06.57,A10.08

Note

The N2 modules need to be updated to 06.57,A07.03 before updating to 06.57,A09.06.
The N2 modules need to be updated to 06.57,A09.06 before updating to 06.57,A10.08.

  1. Load the passthrough sketch on your board.
  2. Open UEUpdater.
  3. Select the correct firmware file.
  4. Press the Update button and wait for 60 seconds.
  5. The program tells you the update is complete.
  6. Your module is updated!

N3

With the command ATI9 you can check your firware version. Result N3 should be: 18.13,A01.01

  1. Load the passthrough.

  2. Check if your modules isn't in power saving mode.
    You can do this with AT+NVSETPM?. The result should be 0.
    If the result isn't 0, you need to set it and reboot.
    Disable with AT+NVSETPM=0 then reboot AT+CFUN=16.

  3. Disconnect the USB.

  4. Connect the 2nd UART pins via a USB to Serial converter.

    Pin SFF USB to Serial board
    1 GND * GND
    2 D + * TX
    3 D - * RX
    4 5 V * 3.3V

*Pinout based on the pinout picture on the SFF support page.
Actual pinout is GND, RX, TX, VCC