Fona 3G does not power up

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subranna
 
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Fona 3G does not power up

Post by subranna »

Hi I received my Fona 3G from adafruit. I connected to 3.7v 1200mAH LiPo that I bought from adafruit. When I connect the battery it would not power up. I tried battery and microusb power together, orange light between the batter socket and the microusb lights up, but blue light never came up, despite me pressing the power button. Since I got the batter frim Adafruit, I do not think battery polarity is an issue. There is something else wrong. Please let me know how to make this working. Thanks.

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Fona 3G does not power up

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

Post a photo showing the FONA and anything connected to it please. 800x600 images usually work best.

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subranna
 
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Re: Fona 3G does not power up

Post by subranna »

Image attached.

(1) I do not have USB Serial cable. I am planning to connect using jumper cables directly to GPIO pins of Raspberry Pi 3 B+. To power-up do I need the serial cable in place or I can test the power-up without the serial cable. I thought the serial cable is for data transfer only.

(2) Can I survive without using USB Serial cable? How to do that?

Thanks,
Subbu
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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Fona 3G does not power up

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

The FONA should turn on when you hold the KEY button down for two seconds, regardless of whether the TX/RX pins have been connected to anything.

Check the voltage between the BAT and GND pins and see what you have there. If the LiPo's voltage is too low, the FONA won't be able to operate.

You can connect an external power source to the FONA's 5V and GND pins rather than plugging in a USB cable. That will still charge the LiPo properly.

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jmquinlan
 
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Re: Fona 3G does not power up

Post by jmquinlan »

I actually found a solution to this, its likely because you either are not driving the vio pin or if you think you are you are relying on the fona to turn on your microcontroller before the vio pin gets power.

You need to drive the vio pin for the fona to turn on.

as a test without a microcontroller connected bridge the vio and bat pin, also bridge key and gnd pin. connect the battery and it should boot.

To power a microcontroller and have that set the vio pin I powered my microcontroller directly from the battery pin which has power from the battery even if the fona is turned off. Just be careful with the microcontroller make sure it has voltage safe input power pins. that can accept voltages in the range of 3.3-5v and you should be good.

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pandread
 
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Re: Fona 3G does not power up

Post by pandread »

I have the same problem. Just received a FONA 3G (European version) and it wont power up from battery.
Battery alone voltage is fine 3.96
When battery is connected to FONA, voltage drops to a steady 0.25 (BAT) and 0.00 (VIN)

FONA does not respond to power key.

When also connected to USB green and orange lights are on.
But even then I still get the "Couldn't find fona" when using test sketch.

Everything executed as described in manual.

What is wrong? Is it dysfunctional?

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Fona 3G does not power up

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

Post a photo showing your hardware and connections and we'll take a look. 800x600 images usually work best.

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pandread
 
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Re: Fona 3G does not power up

Post by pandread »

The other chips on breadboard are just sitting there. Nothing to do with FONA.
Battery cables soldered and protected with tape.
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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Fona 3G does not power up

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

The LiPo in the photos above has the wrong connector polarity.

There are two ways to arrange the positive and negative wires in a JST-PH2 plug, and you can find both of them on the market. All of our boards are made to work with the version that puts the red/positive wire closer to the mounting hole in the corner of the PCB, and the black/negative wire closer to the USB jack.

The one shown above has the wires arranged the opposite way.

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pandread
 
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Re: Fona 3G does not power up

Post by pandread »

So will that work if I replace the plug part of the battery's wires to the right polarity?
(red close to hole, black close to usb)

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pandread
 
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Re: Fona 3G does not power up

Post by pandread »

Okay, thank you! Just reversed the wiring on the JST plug and it works.
Reminder, Blue PWR light and blinking RED light do not light up unless you connect Vio pin.

Now I just need some help recognising the fona3g from ardudino. I still get "Couldn't find fona"

Thank you again.

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Fona 3G does not power up

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

You have to connect VIO. It's the main power connection for the SIM5320 module, and has to be connected to the same voltage that will appear on the TX/RX pins.

Assuming those connections are good, post a photo showing your connections between the FONA and the Arduino.

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