Telemetry sim card woes

[soviet]

Got my new shiny RaceCapture MK3 and trying to setup telemetry. I am already an AT&T customer so I just went to the store and asked them to add the RaceCapture as a tablet for $10/month. The tech took my IMEI and 30 minutes later I was back home with a SIM.

Of course, it doesn't work. I'm trying to figure out if its user error or AT&T messed something up.

1. The first issue is that the Cellular status does not show the phone number.
   The status also changes from "Initialized" to "Error Initialized" to "Registered"
2. The second issue is that the Signal strength never changes from 99 - no matter if the module is plugged into USB, 12V and the antenna being plugged in makes no difference.
3. Finally, the Telemetry status screen shows "Unable to join cellular network. Bad or missing SIM card"

Note that I have tried all 3 AT&T APNs and also same as my phone. Next step is to try with my cellphone's sim card (waiting on adapter).

All signs point to SIM card but what should I tell AT&T? Ask for a new SIM? Go with the prepaid ones?

[brentp]

Hi, sorry to hear of the problems.

The main AT&T APN is almost always the right one to use. Assuming data is enabled on that SIM?

It's good that it said it was registered at one point, that means it connecting.

Could you try watching the RCP log under scripting while it's connecting to see what the activity is? You can also paste the contents of the log as a reply. Usually there are some helpful messages there.

Also, you will need to ensure that you have a Podium Device ID configured under the 'telemetry' section, otherwise it won't show connected.

Link to instructions for the general good: https://wiki.autosportlabs.com/RaceCapt ... _telemetry

I'll watch this thread for updates, thanks for your patience!

[Vrushabh]

I also had the same problem but when i check the info in scripting it shows failed to read phone number. How can i rectify this problem. All the other things in setting are same as soviet. I am using custom APN. I referred to the website link and done the setting accordingly.


Thank You.

[soviet]

I resolved my SIM issue, it was with AT&T and the way they configured the account.

Got a Nano-SIM adapter and tested with my phone card - telemetry worked with phone SIM but not the new SIM.
Went back to AT&T and they changed the account configuration to not use LTE. This sorta makes sense since the telemetry module is 3.5G and not 4G.

So my advice for anyone thinking of going with this route is
1) get a Nano SIM adapter so you can test the card in your phone
2) tell AT&T that RaceCapture doesn't support 4G LTE and to configure the account accordingly
3) test the SIM card in your phone before leaving the store


A different issue was that we were at CMP where AT&T reception is non-existent so telemetry was a challenge.

[brentp]

Hi Soviet, glad you got that figured out, did not hear that before - we'll update our telemetry guide:
https://wiki.autosportlabs.com/RaceCapt ... mmended.29

Vrushabh - unfortunately, the 'cannot read phone number' - is an error message that pops up *even if* we successfully read the phone number from the SIM. This is causing confusion and we apologize for that.

You can check that RCP can read the phone number, IMEI and other cellular statistics by going to the System Status page when the app is connected to the RaceCapture device.

If you see this information (IMEI, phone number...) then you know the SIM card was read correctly.

Typically problems after that are related to reception issues, and not having the proper APN settings.

[rex-racer]

So I'm trying to get the cell part working. Went out and got the sim card, told the guy what i was doing, told him only 3.5G enabled device etc. I get the sim, come home and it will register after a bit but no Tele data. States cannot connect, possible APN settings wrong. Tried all 3 ATT APNs and get the same thing each time. Register then cannot connect.

Any ideas?

[brentp]

We just experienced a case where a certain AT&T SIM card would not work. What we learned from the experience is that you need a tablet data plan which uses the 'Broadband' APN.

This link (scroll near bottom for table) spells it out: https://www.att.com/esupport/article.ht ... /KM1218306

Other pre-paid AT&T plan variants may not work. What happens with those is that the connection gets as far as receiving an IP address, but then fails to connect to the Podium server.

If unsure, check with the store to see that your Pre-paid plan is actually a data plan for a tablet.

Hope this helps, and let us know what you find out.

[rex-racer]

Well, that's probably it then. I went into the store and asked for the correct size sim card, 3.5G etc. They just added it on as a $10/month addon to my existing plan, which is talk and text and not a tablet.

I'll go back tomorrow and tell them it needs to be a tablet. I was trying to avoid having to get a separate plan as I have 3 phones with ATT and a hotspot with T-mobile.

[rex-racer]

It works now. I have a problem with the antenna (probably user induced) but the switch on the card did the trick.

[Ericksonmicah]

Just got a new freedompop sim, upgrading from similar previous failed attempts using a T-mobile sim. It just doesnt seem to connect. The cellular status page shows "stopped trying" within a few seconds of power-up, but the debug dialog shows some lines that indicate attempts.

Sim is fully inserted, but the result is pretty much identical as with the sim completely removed.

Streaming telemetry through a connected device was successful, but using the onboard cellular module was not.

Debug log is below. Help me ASL, you're my only hope.



t: 115200
GPS: detected current update rate: 10
GPS: Configuring NMEA messages
GPS: Message was successfully received.
GPS: Successfully configured NMEA
GPS: configure message type: win
GPS: configure navigation data message interval: win
GPS: Configuring Gnss Navigation Mode: win
GPS: Disabling NMEA messages
GPS: Message was successfully received.
GPS: Successfully disabled NMEA messages
GPS: provisioned
[cell] auto-baud successful
[cell] manufacturer is SIMCOM_Ltd

[cell] Loading driver for SIM900
[lapstats] Could not find track in db, falling back to fixed config 1427687677
conn: not connected. retrying
[cell] Resetting modem...
conn: not connected. retrying
[cell] Resetting modem...
[cell] auto-baud successful
[cell] manufacturer is SIMCOM_Ltd

[cell] Loading driver for SIM900
conn: not connected. retrying
[cell] Resetting modem...
conn: not connected. retrying
[cell] Resetting modem...
[cell] auto-baud successful
[cell] manufacturer is SIMCOM_Ltd

[cell] Loading driver for SIM900
[/quote]

[brentp]

Hi,

Looks like your on MK2 with the SIM900 2G module.

FreedomPop is AT&T based, and AT&T no longer supports 2G. T-MO is your choice for USA networks.

We have upgrades available on backorder, but they are a few weeks out at least.
https://www.autosportlabs.com/product/3 ... repro-mk2/

Sorry there wasn't a better answer!

[Volker_VV]

Hi,

is it possible to log the GSM activity to the MicroSD ?

I have problems with the GSM connection. When I check the connection with the raceapp everything seems to be ok, but during race it often disconnects. Because our race track is over 15 miles long it is difficult to analyse

[brentp]

Volker, if you have a topic that is not related to "SIM card issues" then please post a new topic. It sounds like you have a general question on how to diagnose weak reception issues. Thanks, this will help keep the topics clean and meaningful. Thanks again!

[Volker_VV]

Hello Brent

I have problems with the sim cards.
A telekom card works for 3 hours, then the system tells me wrong APN settings.

Changed to an other telekom card and not a stable connection.

Changed to vodafone and it works at home now for 16 hours.

Have to check this on the track. But my questions was, how can I diagnose that?

Which topic would you recommend for this issues?

[brentp]

If you need help selecting the Cellular carrier with the strongest and most reliable connection for your country, you can post a new topic under this same sub forum "Telemetry" with the appropriate title.

Thanks!