Ring, Ring! Who's that calling'? It's your breadboard! Introducing Adafruit FONA MiniGSM, an adorable all-in-one cellular phone module that lets you add voice, text, SMS and data to your project in an adorable little package.
This module measures only 1.75"x1.25" but packs a surprising amount of technology into its little frame. At the heart is a GSM cellular module (we use the latest SIM800) the size of a postage stamp. This module can do just about everything.
Sounds delicious, right? So we plated this fine module onto a little breakout with all the extras you need to make your next project shine:
- Onboard LiPoly battery charging circuitry so you can take your project on the go. Use any 500mAh+ LiPo or LiIon battery and recharge over the MicroUSB when necessary. Two LEDs let you know when its charging and done
- Standard 4-pole TRRS headphone jack. Use any 'Android' or 'iPhone'-compatible headset with mic
- Breakouts for external 8 speaker and electret mic if you don't want to use a headphone
- Level shifting circuitry so you can run it with 2.8V to 5V logic.
- Vibrational motor (buzzer) driver so you can have noiseless notifications
- uFL connections for external antenna
- Indicator LEDs for power and network connectivity
- Standard SIM slides into the back
On its own, this module can't do anything. It requires a microcontroller to drive it! We suggest and use an Arduino but any 3-5V microcontroller with a UART can send and receive commands over the RX/TX pins.
You will also need some required accessories to make FONA work. These are not included!
- SIM Card! A 2G Mini SIM card is required to do anything on the cellular network. US AT&T no longer sells 2G SIMs and T-Mobile will shut off their 2G network over the course of 2020.
- Lipoly Battery - 500mAh or larger! This 2000mAh LiPO battery, or this 2400mAh 18650 will work great.
- MicroUSB cable for charging the battery.
- External Antenna - We recommend this type as it is cheap and reliable, which plugs right in.
There's also some recommended accessories. They are not required but chances are you'll want them!
- External Mic & Speaker - If you want to talk directly to your FONA, an electret mic which can be desoldered from this module and mini 8 ohm speaker will do quite nicely. NB. Only use the mic, don't use an amplifier board as it comes built in with the module.
- Vibrating motor - the FONA can drive this directly, just solder a mini vibrating motor disc in!
- USB to TTL cable - the microUSB connector is for charging only, but you can wire up a USB to TTL cable for direct-connection to the module if you want to send commands from a terminal (great for testing and tweaking)
Technical Details
- Dimensions w/Components: 45mm x 34mm x 8mm / 1.8" x 1.3" x 0.3"
- Dimensions of PCB: 45mm x 32mm x 2mm / 1.8" x 1.3" x .1"
- Weight: 9.0g
- Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900MHz - connect onto any global GSM network with any 2G SIM (in the USA, T-Mobile is suggested)
- Make and receive voice calls using a headset OR an external 8 speaker + electret microphone
- Send and receive SMS messages
- Send and receive GPRS data (TCP/IP, HTTP, etc.)
- Scan and receive FM radio broadcasts (yeah, we don't exactly know why this was included but it works really well)
- PWM/Buzzer vibrational motor control
- AT command interface with "auto baud" detection
