NetComm NTC-223 User manual

Quick Start Guide
NTC-223
4G LTE Cat 1 Industrial IoT Router

| Industrial IoT
2
Quick start guide
This quick start guide is designed to get you up and running quickly with your
new NetComm router. More advanced set up instructions can be found in the
user guide which can be downloaded from: https://www.netcomm.com/
products/the-4g-lte-category-1-industrial-iot-router-ntc-220
Package contents
The package includes:
1 x NetComm NTC-223 router
1 x DIN rail mounting
bracket
1 x Horizontal DIN
rail mounting adapter
1 x Six-way
terminal block
2 x Cellular antennas
1 x Quick Start Guide
1 x 1.5m Yellow Ethernet cable
8P8C

| Industrial IoT
3
NTC-223 4G LTE Cat 1 Industrial IoT Router
Device overview
SIM card slot Six-way terminal
block connector
Micro USB 2.0
OTG port
RJ45 Fast
Ethernet port
Reset button
Aux antenna socket
Serial port
Main antenna socket

| Industrial IoT
4
Item Description
Aux antenna socket SMA female connector for auxiliary antenna (receive diversity).
Serial port Female DE-9 port supporting 9-wire RS-232, RS-485 or RS-422
(software selectable).
Main antenna socket SMA female connector for main antenna.
Reset button
Press and hold for less than 5 seconds to reboot to normal mode. The
LEDs are green and extinguish in sequence to indicate that the router
will reboot normally if the button is released during this period.
Press and hold for 5 to 15 seconds to reboot to recovery mode.
The LEDs are amber and extinguish in sequence to indicate that the
router will reboot to recovery mode if the button is released during
this period.
Press and hold for 15 to 20 seconds to reset the router to factory
default settings. The LEDs are red and extinguish in sequence to
indicate that the router will reset to factory default settings if the button
is released during this period.
SIM card tray slot The removeable tray houses the SIM card.
Micro USB 2.0 OTG
port
Provides connectivity for optional external storage or a USB Ethernet
dongle. Supplies up to 0.5A to connected device.
Six-way terminal
block connector
Connect power source, ignition and I/O wires here. Power, ignition
and I/O wires may be terminated on the supplied terminal block and
connected to a power source. Refer to the diagram and table under
Step 5 of the Installing your device section for correct wiring of the
terminal block. Operates in the 8-40V DC range.
RJ45 Fast Ethernet
port Connect one or several devices via a network switch here.

| Industrial IoT
5
NTC-223 4G LTE Cat 1 Industrial IoT Router
Getting started
Depending on your chosen setup, you may need certain components to congure
your device correctly, such as:
An external power supply unit for the NTC-223 router (not included).
A athead screwdriver for terminating power input wires.
A laptop or PC for advanced conguration.
Additional fasteners and screwdrivers for specic wall or rail mounting.

| Industrial IoT
6
Overview of LED
indicators
LED Icon Name Colour State Description
Power
Off Power off
Double ash Powering up
On Power on
On Power on in recovery mode
Slow ashing Hardware error
Network
On Connected via WWAN
Blinking1Trafc via WWAN
Slow ashing Connecting PDP
On Registered network
Slow ashing Registered network
Slow ashing SIM PIN locked
Fast ashing SIM PUK locked
On Can’t connect /
Device in “Conguration mode”

| Industrial IoT
7
NTC-223 4G LTE Cat 1 Industrial IoT Router
LED Icon Name Colour State Description
Customizable
LED Indicator
Fully customizable using the NetComm
Software Development Kit.
Signal
strength On LTE signal
1
The term “blinking” means that the LED may pulse, with the intervals that the LED is on
and off not being equal. The term “ashing” means that the LED turns on and off at equal
intervals.

| Industrial IoT
8
Installing your device
Step 1: Insert the SIM card
Before inserting the SIM card, examine it for signs of damage or deformation that
could prevent it being safely inserted or allowing it to become stuck in the unit.
Examine the gold contact point of the SIM for signs of wear or damage that may
prevent it from working correctly.
Press the SIM Eject button to eject the SIM card tray. Place the SIM card in the
tray and then insert the loaded tray into the SIM card slot with the gold side facing
up. The SIM tray should slide easily into the slot, do not force the loaded SIM tray
into the slot.
Step 2: Attach the antennas
The router is shipped with caps on the Main and Auxiliary antenna sockets. To
attach the supplied antennas, rst remove the antenna socket caps from the Main
and Auxiliary antenna sockets by turning them in an anti-clockwise direction, then
screw the antennas onto the sockets by turning them in a clockwise direction.
Please refer to the Device overview section for the antenna socket layout.
l0l0 l SERIAL
AUX MAIN

| Industrial IoT
9
NTC-223 4G LTE Cat 1 Industrial IoT Router
Step 3: Mount the router
Mount your router in a suitable location using the options listed below.
1. Wall mount
DIN rail mounting bracket
V Bend allows you to snap the DIN
bracket onto the middle of a DIN rail
rather than sliding it onto the end.
Use a minimum of 2 screws
(5mm diameter) through the holes
on either side of the device.
4 x mounting holes allow you to
secure the DIN bracket to a wall,
using a minimum of 2 screws
(3.5mm diameter).

| Industrial IoT
10
2. Wall mounted via DIN
rail bracket
Horizontal DIN rail mounting adapter
Used in conjunction with the DIN rail mounting bracket, this adapter lets you mount
the router in a horizontal orientation. With the DIN rail mounting bracket attached
to the router, slide the adapter on to the bracket as shown in the image below. You
can then mount the device horizontally on a DIN rail. Optionally, you may place
a screw (max. 4.5mm diameter) through the centre hole of the adapter so that it
doesn’t move along the DIN rail.
3. Ceiling mount via DIN rail
bracket

| Industrial IoT
11
NTC-223 4G LTE Cat 1 Industrial IoT Router
6. Desk mount
When selecting a location to mount the router, keep in mind that it features two
high performance antennas designed to provide optimum signal strength in a
wide range of environments. If you nd the signal strength is weak, try moving the
router to a different place, mounting it differently or changing the orientation of the
antennas.
The signal strength LEDs update within a few seconds with a rolling average signal
strength reading. When selecting a location for the router, please allow up to 20
seconds for the signal strength LEDs to update before repositioning.
Use cable ties
(max. 5mm width)
through holes
in the mounting
bracket
5. Pole mount using DIN rail bracket4. DIN rail mount

| Industrial IoT
12
Step 4: Connect the power and Ethernet cables
Connect power to your router using one of the following options.
DC power via the six-way connector
Remove the attached green terminal block from your router and connect to the
router’s power socket using a DC power supply, sold separately.
DC power via eld terminated power source
If an 8-40V DC power supply is available, you can insert the wires into the supplied
terminal block to power your router. Use a athead screwdriver to tighten the
terminal block screws and secure the power wires, making sure that you have
correctly wired the terminal block as illustrated below.
Terminal Description
+Positive wire for power.
-Ground wire.
iDedicated terminal for ignition detection.
I/O
Three terminals used for input/output detection. (Please
refer to the User Guide and SDK Guide for more
information).
The green power LED on the router lights up when a power source is connected.
Attach the supplied yellow Ethernet cable 8P8C to the LAN Ethernet port on your
router and the other end to your computer.

| Industrial IoT
13
NTC-223 4G LTE Cat 1 Industrial IoT Router
Step 5: Access the router’s web interface
In your web browser’s address bar, enter https://192.168.1.1/
Note – The HTTP protocol is disabled by default, secure HTTP (HTTPS) is the default protocol.
HTTP access is available but must be manually enabled.
The web user interface is displayed. There are two system management accounts
(Root Manager and Admin) with different management capabilities.
Initialisation
The rst time the device is booted (or booted after it is factory reset), the device
enters “Conguration mode”. In Conguration mode, the router runs a setup wizard
which must be completed before it will boot into “Live mode”. This is a security
feature which enables you to set strong passwords for web root, web user, and
Telnet/SSH access or restore a previous conguration from a le.
To complete the setup:
1. Click the Next button on the rst dialogue box.
2. Enter the factory default password which is printed on the device label then click
the Next button.
3. Select whether to congure the router as a new device or to restore a previous
conguration backup.

| Industrial IoT
14
Congure as a new device
If you want to dene a new, more secure password:
a) Select “I want to congure this as a new device” then click the OK button.
b) In the New Passwords section, enter a strong password in each eld. You
may congure the same password for all three accounts, but it must meet the
security criteria set out below:
The password must be a minimum of eight characters and no more than 128
characters in length.
The password must contain at least one upper case, one lower case character
and one number.
The password must contain at least one special character, such as: ` ~ ! @ # $
% ^ & * ( ) - _ = + [ { ] } \ | ; : ‘ “ , < > / ?
Additionally, the password must satisfy an
algorithm which analyses the characters as
you type them, searching for commonly used
patterns, passwords, names and surnames
according to US census data, popular English
words from Wikipedia and US television and
movies and other common patterns such as
dates, repeated characters (aaa), sequences
(abcd), keyboard patterns (qwertyuiop) and
substitution of numbers for letters.

| Industrial IoT
15
NTC-223 4G LTE Cat 1 Industrial IoT Router
c) When you have completed all password elds, press the Save button. If the
passwords meet the security criteria, they are saved and the router reboots to
Live mode automatically. See below for further instructions on logging in.
Skip
If you are satised with the level of security provided by the factory default
password printed on your router’s label, click the Skip button.
The router reboots into Live mode and you are presented at the login screen. You
can log in using the factory default password and begin using the router.
Restore conguration from a previous backup le
a) Select “I want to restore my conguration from a previous backup” then click the
OK button.
b) Click the Choose a le button and locate the backup le on your computer. If the
backup le is encrypted, enter the password, then click the Submit button.
c) The router restores the previous conguration and then reboots. When it has
nished rebooting, log in using the new password you previously congured.

| Industrial IoT
16
Step 6: Unlock the SIM card
If the inserted SIM card is PIN locked, a pop-up window is displayed informing you
that you must unlock the SIM before use.
Click the OK button. The SIM Security page is displayed.
In the Current PIN eld, enter the SIM PIN and then enter it again in the Conrm
current PIN eld. If you do not want to enter the PIN code each time the SIM
is inserted, select the Remember PIN option. Click the Save button. After a
moment, the router displays “Success! The SIM unlock was successful”.

| Industrial IoT
17
NTC-223 4G LTE Cat 1 Industrial IoT Router
Step 7: Connect to the Internet
If the SIM Status is OK, the router automatically attempts to connect to the Internet
by detecting the correct APN and connection details.
If automatic conguration was unsuccessful, you must manually enter the
connection details.
To manually congure the connection prole:
1. From the top menu bar, select the Networking option.
2. Next to Prole1, click the button. The Data connection prole settings
screen is displayed.
3. Ensure that the Automatic APN selection toggle key is set to the OFF
position.
4. In the APN eld, enter the APN name that your carrier requires for mobile
broadband connection. If required, enter the Username and Password in the
Username and Password elds. Click the Save button.
The connection prole is now congured.
Verifying the connection status
Click on the Status menu item from the top menu bar. The Status page is
displayed. The mobile broadband connection is established successfully if the
Status eld in the WWAN connection status section displays Connected.

| Industrial IoT
18
Safety and product care
Electrical safety
Accessories
Only use approved accessories.
Do not connect with incompatible products or accessories.
Connection to a car
Seek professional advice when connecting a device interface to the vehicle electrical system.
Distraction
Operating machinery
Full attention must be given to operating the machinery in order to reduce the risk of an accident.
Driving
Full attention must be given to driving at all times in order to reduce the risk of an accident. Using
the device in a vehicle can cause distraction and can lead to an accident. You must comply with
local laws and regulations restricting the use of mobile communication devices while driving.
Product handling
You alone are responsible for how you use your device and any consequences of its use.
You must always switch off your device wherever the use of a mobile phone is prohibited. Do not
use the device without the clip-on covers attached, and do not remove or change the covers
while using the device. Use of your device is subject to safety measures designed to protect
users and their environment.
Always treat your device and its accessories with care and keep it in a clean and dust-free place.
Do not expose your device or its accessories to open ames or lit tobacco products.
Do not expose your device or its accessories to liquid, moisture or high humidity.
Do not drop, throw or try to bend your device or its accessories.

| Industrial IoT
19
NTC-223 4G LTE Cat 1 Industrial IoT Router
Do not use harsh chemicals, cleaning solvents, or aerosols to clean the device or its accessories.
Do not paint your device or its accessories.
Do not attempt to disassemble your device or its accessories, only authorised personnel must
do so.
Do not expose your device or its accessories to extreme temperatures. Ensure that the device is
installed in an area where the temperature is within the supported operating temperature range of
-30°C to +70°C.
Do not use your device in an enclosed environment or where heat dissipation is poor. Prolonged
use in such space may cause excessive heat and raise ambient temperature, which will lead to
automatic shutdown of your device or the disconnection of the mobile network connection for
your safety. To use your device normally again after such shutdown, cool it in a well-ventilated
place before turning it on.
Please check local regulations for disposal of electronic products.
Do not operate the device where ventilation is restricted
Installation and conguration should be performed by trained personnel only.
Do not use or install this product near water to avoid re or shock hazard. Avoid exposing the
equipment to rain or damp areas.
Arrange power and Ethernet cables in a manner such that they are not likely to be stepped on or
have items placed on them.
Ensure that the voltage and rated current of the power source match the requirements of the
device. Do not connect the device to an inappropriate power source.
Small Children
Do not leave your device and its accessories within the reach of small children or allow them to
play with it.
They could hurt themselves or others, or could accidentally damage the device.
Your device contains small parts with sharp edges that may cause an injury or which could
become detached and create a choking hazard.
Demagnetisation
To avoid the risk of demagnetisation, do not allow electronic devices or magnetic media close to
your device for a long time.
Avoid other magnetic sources as these may cause the internal magnetometer or other sensors
to malfunction and provide incorrect data.

| Industrial IoT
20
Electrostatic discharge (ESD)
Do not touch the SIM card’s metal connectors.
Air Bags
Do not place the device in the area near or over an air bag or in the air bag deployment area
Mount the device safely before driving your vehicle.
Emergency & other situations requiring continuous connectivity
This device, like any wireless device, operates using radio signals, which cannot guarantee
connection in all conditions. Therefore, you must never rely solely on any wireless device for
emergency communications or otherwise use the device in situations where the interruption of data
connectivity could lead to death, personal injury, property damage, data loss, or other loss.
Device heating
Your device may become warm during normal use.
Faulty and damaged products
Do not attempt to disassemble the device or its accessory.
Only qualied personnel should service or repair the device or its accessory.
If your device or its accessory has been submerged in water or other liquid, punctured, or
subjected to a severe fall, do not use it until you have taken it to be checked at an authorised
service centre
Interference
Care must be taken when using the device in close proximity to personal medical devices, such
as pacemakers and hearing aids.
Pacemakers
Pacemaker manufacturers recommend that a minimum separation of 15cm be maintained
between a device and a pacemaker to avoid potential interference with the pacemaker.
Hearing aids
People with hearing aids or other cochlear implants may experience interfering noises when
using wireless devices or when one is nearby.