Ublox LENA-R8 Series Quick setup guide

UBX-22015376 - R02
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LENA-R8 series
Multi-mode LTE Cat 1bis modules
System integration manual
Abstract
This document describes the features and integration guidelines for the LENA-R8 series modules.
With 14 LTE bands and four GSM/GPRS bands, these modules offer universal network connectivity
and global coverage. The integrated GNSS receiver based on the u-blox M10 platform make the
modules ideal for demanding global tracking and telematic applications, enabling simpler, smaller
devices with uncompromised GNSS performance. Connectivity and location services are supported
and offer customer simple and efficient solution for cloud-based services such as CaaS and LaaS.

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Document information
Title
LENA-R8 series
Subtitle
Multi-mode LTE Cat 1bis modules
Document type
System integration manual
Document number
UBX-22015376
Revision and date
R02
04-Oct-2022
Disclosure restriction
C1-Public
Product status
Corresponding content status
Functional sample
Draft
For functional testing. Revised and supplementary data will be published later.
In development /
Prototype
Objective specification
Target values. Revised and supplementary data will be published later.
Engineering sample
Advance information
Data based on early testing. Revised and supplementary data will be published later.
Initial production
Early production information
Data from product verification. Revised and supplementary data may be published later.
Mass production /
End of life
Production information
Document contains the final product specification.
This document applies to the following products:
Product name
Type number
Modem version
Application version
PCN reference
Product status
LENA-R8001
LENA-R8001-00C
02.00
A01.07
UBX-22035617
Engineering sample
LENA-R8001M10
LENA-R8001M10-00C
N/A
N/A
N/A
Functional sample
u-blox or third parties may hold intellectual property rights in the products, names, logos and designs included in this document.
Copying, reproduction, modification or disclosure to third parties of this document or any part thereof is only permitted with the
express written permission of u-blox.
The information contained herein is provided “as is” and u-blox assumes no liability for its use. No warranty, either express or
implied, is given, including but not limited to, with respect to the accuracy, correctness, reliability and fitness for a particular
purpose of the information. This document may be revised by u-blox at any time without notice. For the most recent documents,
visit www.u-blox.com.
Copyright © u-blox AG.

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Contents
Document information................................................................................................................................2
Contents ..........................................................................................................................................................3
1System description...............................................................................................................................6
1.1 Overview........................................................................................................................................................6
1.2 Product features .........................................................................................................................................6
1.3 Architecture .................................................................................................................................................8
1.4 Pin-out ...........................................................................................................................................................9
1.5 Operating modes.......................................................................................................................................13
1.5.1 Overview..........................................................................................................................................13
1.5.2 Cellular operating modes ............................................................................................................14
1.5.3 GNSS operating modes ...............................................................................................................14
1.6 Cellular power management...................................................................................................................16
1.6.1 Cellular supply input (VCC) .........................................................................................................16
1.6.2 Cellular RTC supply input / output (V_BCKP)..........................................................................20
1.6.3 Cellular generic digital interfaces supply output (V_INT).....................................................20
1.7 Cellular system function interfaces......................................................................................................20
1.7.1 Cellular system power-on............................................................................................................20
1.7.2 Cellular system power-off ...........................................................................................................21
1.7.3 Cellular system reset ...................................................................................................................23
1.8 Cellular antenna interface.......................................................................................................................23
1.8.1 Cellular antenna RF interface (ANT).........................................................................................23
1.8.2 Cellular antenna detection (ANT_DET) ....................................................................................24
1.8.3 Cellular antenna dynamic tuning interface (RFCTRL1 / RFCTRL2)...................................25
1.9 Cellular SIM interface...............................................................................................................................25
1.9.1 Cellular SIM card / chip interface...............................................................................................25
1.9.2 Cellular SIM card detection interface .......................................................................................25
1.10Cellular serial communication interfaces ............................................................................................25
1.10.1 Cellular UART interfaces .............................................................................................................26
1.10.2 Cellular USB interface ..................................................................................................................27
1.10.3 Cellular I2C interface....................................................................................................................28
1.11Cellular audio interface ............................................................................................................................29
1.12Cellular clock output.................................................................................................................................29
1.13Cellular General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO)....................................................................................29
1.14Reserved pins (RSVD) ..............................................................................................................................29
1.15GNSS power management......................................................................................................................30
1.15.1 GNSS supply input (VCC_GNSS) ...............................................................................................30
1.15.2 GNSS backup supply input (VBCKP_GNSS)............................................................................30
1.16GNSS antenna interface..........................................................................................................................30
1.16.1 GNSS antenna RF interface (ANT_GNSS)...............................................................................30
1.16.2 GNSS LNA or antenna on/off control (ANT_ON) ....................................................................30

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1.17 GNSS serial communication interface .................................................................................................31
1.17.1 GNSS UART interface ..................................................................................................................31
1.18GNSS Peripheral Input/Output...............................................................................................................31
2Design-in................................................................................................................................................ 32
2.1 Overview......................................................................................................................................................32
2.2 Cellular power management...................................................................................................................33
2.2.1 Cellular supply input (VCC) .........................................................................................................33
2.2.2 Cellular RTC supply (V_BCKP) ....................................................................................................47
2.2.3 Cellular interface supply output (V_INT)..................................................................................48
2.3 Cellular system functions interfaces....................................................................................................49
2.3.1 Cellular power-on (PWR_ON)......................................................................................................49
2.3.2 Cellular reset (RESET_N).............................................................................................................49
2.4 Antenna interfaces...................................................................................................................................50
2.4.1 General guidelines for antenna interfaces ..............................................................................50
2.4.2 Cellular antenna RF interface (ANT).........................................................................................54
2.4.3 GNSS antenna RF interface (ANT_GNSS)...............................................................................58
2.4.4 Cellular and GNSS RF coexistence ............................................................................................62
2.4.5 Cellular antenna detection interface (ANT_DET) ..................................................................64
2.4.6 Cellular antenna dynamic tuning interface (RFCTRL1 / RFCTRL2)...................................66
2.5 Cellular SIM interface...............................................................................................................................67
2.6 Cellular serial communication interfaces ............................................................................................74
2.6.1 Cellular UART interfaces .............................................................................................................74
2.6.2 Cellular USB interface ..................................................................................................................79
2.6.3 Cellular I2C interface ....................................................................................................................81
2.7 Cellular audio interface ............................................................................................................................84
2.7.1 Cellular digital audio interface....................................................................................................84
2.8 Cellular General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO)....................................................................................87
2.9 Reserved pins (RSVD) ..............................................................................................................................88
2.10GNSS power management......................................................................................................................88
2.10.1 GNSS supply input (VCC_GNSS) ...............................................................................................88
2.10.2 GNSS backup supply input (VBCKP_GNSS)............................................................................89
2.11GNSS serial communication interface .................................................................................................90
2.11.1 GNSS UART interface ..................................................................................................................90
2.12GNSS Peripheral Input/Output...............................................................................................................90
2.13Module placement ....................................................................................................................................91
2.14Module footprint and paste mask .........................................................................................................92
2.15Thermal guidelines ...................................................................................................................................93
2.16Schematic for LENA-R8 series module integration...........................................................................94
2.17Design-in checklist....................................................................................................................................96
2.17.1 Schematic checklist .....................................................................................................................96
2.17.2 Layout checklist ............................................................................................................................97
2.17.3 Antenna checklist .........................................................................................................................97

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3Handling and soldering ..................................................................................................................... 98
3.1 Packaging, shipping, storage, and moisture preconditioning .........................................................98
3.2 Handling ......................................................................................................................................................98
3.3 Soldering .....................................................................................................................................................99
3.3.1 Soldering paste .............................................................................................................................99
3.3.2 Reflow soldering............................................................................................................................99
3.3.3 Optical inspection ...................................................................................................................... 100
3.3.4 Cleaning ....................................................................................................................................... 100
3.3.5 Repeated reflow soldering ....................................................................................................... 101
3.3.6 Wave soldering ........................................................................................................................... 101
3.3.7 Hand soldering............................................................................................................................ 101
3.3.8 Rework.......................................................................................................................................... 101
3.3.9 Conformal coating ..................................................................................................................... 101
3.3.10 Casting......................................................................................................................................... 101
3.3.11 Grounding metal covers............................................................................................................ 102
3.3.12 Use of ultrasonic processes..................................................................................................... 102
4Approvals.............................................................................................................................................103
4.1 Product certification approval overview............................................................................................ 103
4.2 US Federal Communications Commission notice........................................................................... 104
4.2.1 Safety warnings review the structure ................................................................................... 104
4.2.2 Declaration of conformity ........................................................................................................ 104
4.2.3 Modifications .............................................................................................................................. 104
4.3 Innovation, Science, Economic Development Canada notice ....................................................... 105
4.3.1 Declaration of Conformity........................................................................................................ 105
4.3.2 Modifications .............................................................................................................................. 105
4.4 European Conformance CE mark ....................................................................................................... 107
4.5 UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) ....................................................................................................... 108
5Product testing .................................................................................................................................109
5.1 Validation testing and qualification ................................................................................................... 109
5.2 Production testing ................................................................................................................................. 110
5.2.1 u-blox in-series production test.............................................................................................. 110
5.2.2 Production test parameters for OEM manufacturers ....................................................... 110
Appendix .....................................................................................................................................................112
AMigration from LARA to LENA-R8 modules ............................................................................112
BGlossary ...............................................................................................................................................112
Related documentation .........................................................................................................................116
Revision history........................................................................................................................................116
Contact........................................................................................................................................................116

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1System description
1.1 Overview
LENA-R8 series modules offer simple global LTE Cat 1bis connectivity with fourteen LTE bands and
four 2G bands in the small LENA LGA form-factor (30 x 27 mm, 100-pin), which is easy to integrate in
compact designs, reducing logistics complexity for IoT devices that may be deployed in different
regions requiring different band combinations.
The module series is ideal for value-oriented IoT products, targeting the tracking and telematics
markets or other applications requiring broad global coverage. With broad band support and fallback
to 2G networks, the modules provide the best possible roaming coverage and make global tracking
with a single product SKU possible.
LENA-R8 series modules are highly integrated, providing out-of-the box support for MQTT Anywhere
and MQTT Flex services on the Thingstream platform, enabling seamless global roaming.
The modules can enable a wide range of applications with GNSS positioning requirements, ranging
from high performance stand-alone solutions to a simple out-of-box experience via LENA-R8001M10.
This product variant includes integrated GNSS receiver based on the u-blox M10 platform, supporting
concurrent reception of four GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou). The cellular modem and GNSS
subsystems are accessible via dedicated interfaces for large usage flexibility. Both subsystems can
be operated fully independently, facilitating the optimization of usage patterns to achieve the highest
performances with the most efficient power consumption.
The modules also support CellLocate, a network-based cellular location service.
LENA-R8 series modules are small in size and pin-compatible with other u-blox form factors, thereby
simplifying migration to LTE Cat 1bis from legacy 2G or 3G technologies, which are sunsetting.
1.2 Product features
Model
Region
Radio Access Technology
GNSS
u-blox
services
Interfaces
Features
Grade
LTE Category
LTE FDD bands
LTE TDD bands
UMTS/HSPA bands
GSM/GPRS bands
Internal GNSS receiver
External GNSS control via modem
IoT Security -as-a-Service
MQTT Anywhere / MQTT Flex
AssistNow software
CellLocate®
UART
USB 2.0
I2C
GPIOs
Digital audio
Root of Trust
Secure boot / update
Embedded MQTT / MQTT-SN
TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTTP/FTP
TSL/DTLS
Dual stack IPv4 / IPv6
FOAT / FOTA
LwM2M
3GPP Power Saving Mode
eDRX
Last gasp
Jamming detection
Antenna and SIM detection
Antenna dynamic tuning
Rx Diversity
VoLTE
CSFB
Standard
Professional
Automotive
LENA-R8001
Global
1bis
1,2,3,4,5,7,8
12,20,28,66
38
40,41
Quad
●
●
●
●
2
1
1
5
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
○
○
●
●
○
○
●
●
LENA-R8001M10
Global
1bis
1,2,3,4,5,7,8
12,20,28,66
38
40,41
Quad
●
●
●
●
2
1
1
5
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
○
○
●
●
○
○
●
●
●= supported by initial and future product FW versions ○= support planned for future product FW versions
Table 1: LENA-R8 series main features summary

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LENA-R8 series modules include 2 variants:
•The LENA-R8001 modules, integrating a cellular system supporting multi-band LTE Cat 1bis and
2G radio access technologies for global deployments
•The LENA-R8001M10 modules, integrating the same multi-band LTE Cat 1bis and 2G cellular
system of LENA-R8001 modules plus a GNSS system based on the ultra-low-power u-blox M10
standard precision concurrent GNSS receiver. As illustrated in Figure 2, the cellullar and the GNSS
are independent subsystems of the module, internally interconnected by dedicated I2C interface,
with separate supply inputs and separate accessible interfaces for greatflexibility of use.
The modules provide Voice over LTE (VoLTE)
1
and Circuit-Switched-Fall-Back (CSFB) audio capability.
4G LTE
2G GSM/GPRS
GNSS (LENA-R8001M10 only)
3GPP Release 13 LTE Frequency and
Time Division Duplex (FDD/TDD)
General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)
Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)
u-blox M10 standard precision receiver with
concurrent reception of up to four GNSS
LTE bands:
•FDD band 12 (700 MHz)
•FDD band 28 (700 MHz)
•FDD band 20 (800 MHz)
•FDD band 5 (850 MHz)
•FDD band 8 (900 MHz)
•FDD band 4 (1700 MHz)
•FDD band 66 (1700 MHz)
•FDD band 3 (1800 MHz)
•FDD band 2 (1900 MHz)
•FDD band 1 (2100 MHz)
•FDD band 7 (2600 MHz)
•TDD band 40 (2300 MHz)
•TDD band 41 (2600 MHz)
•TDD band 38 (2600 MHz)
GSM/GPRS bands:
•GSM 850
•E-GSM 900
•DCS 1800
•PCS 1900
GNSS signals:
•GPS / QZSS L1C/A (1575.42 MHz)
•Galileo E1-B/C (1575.42 MHz)
•GLONASS L1OF (1602 MHz +
k*562.5 kHz, k = –7,..., 5, 6)
•BeiDou B1I (1561.098 MHz),
B1C (1575.42 MHz)
LTE Power Class
•Power Class 3 (23 dBm)
GSM/GPRS (GMSK) Power Class
•Class 4 (33 dBm) for low bands
•Class 1 (30 dBm) for high bands
Protocols:
•UBX u-blox proprietary
•NMEA 2.1, 2.3, 4.0, 4.10 (default), 4.11
Data rate
•LTE category 1bis:
up to 10.3 Mbit/s DL,
up to 5.2 Mbit/s UL
Data rate
•GPRS multi-slot class 122:
up to 85.6 kbit/s DL,
up to 85.6 kbit/s UL
Assisted GNSS services:
•AssistNow Online
•AssistNow Offline
•AssistNow Autonomous
Table 2: LENA-R8 series LTE, 2G and GNSS characteristics summary
1
VoLTE support planned for future firmware versions
2
GPRS multi-slot class 12 implies a maximum of 4 slots in DL (reception), 4 slots in UL (transmission) with 5 slots in total.

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1.3 Architecture
Figure 1 summarizes the internal architecture of the LENA-R8001 modules.
UARTs
USB
VCC
V_BCKP
RF
Transceiver
Flash
Memory
Base Band
Processor
26 MHz
32 kHz
V_INT
PWR_ON
RESET_N
SIM
I2C
Digital Audio
GPIOs
Antenna Tuner
USB boot
Power
Management
ANT_DET
ANT
Power
Amplifiers
Duplexer
Filters
Switch
Power
Amplifiers
Filters
Filters
Filters
Figure 1: LENA-R8001 modules simplified block diagram
Figure 2 summarizes the internal architecture of the LENA-R8001M10 modules.
ANT_GNSS
UARTs
USB
LNA UBX-M10050
LNA_EN
RF_IN
V_BCKP 26 MHz
VCC
RTC VIO_SEL
EXTINT
TIMEPULSE
TCXO
ANT_ON
Time-Pulse
Ext-Int
Tx-Ready
I2C
UART UART_GNSS
V_BCKP
VBCKP_GNSS
VCC_GNSS
LDO_X_OUT
RF
Transceiver
32 kHz
V_CORE V_IO
V_RF
Flash
Memory
Base Band
Processor
26 MHz
32 kHz
V_INT
PWR_ON
RESET_N
SIM
I2C
Digital Audio
GPIOs
Antenna Tuner
USB boot
Power
Management
GNSS
System
Cellular
System
ANT_DET
ANT
Power
Amplifiers
Duplexer
Filters
Switch
Power
Amplifiers
Filters
Filters
Filters
SAW SAW
Figure 2: LENA-R8001M10 modules simplified block diagram
☞The “00C” product versions of the LENA-R8 series modules (meaning the LENA-R8001-00C and
the LENA-R8001M10-00C versions) do not support the antenna tuner interface on the RFCTRL1
and RFCTRL2 pins, which are intended to be left unconnected

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LENA-R8 series modules internally consist of the cellular modem system and the GNSS receiver
system (avaialble with LENA-R8001M10 modules only), as described herein with more details than
the simplified block diagrams of Figure 1 and Figure 2.
Cellular modem system
The cellular modem system is composed of the following main elements:
•RF section
oPower amplifiers (PA) amplify the Tx signal modulated by the RF transceiver
oRF switch connect the antenna port (ANT) to the suitable Tx / Rx path
oSAW RF duplexers and RF filters separate the Tx and Rx signal paths and provide RF filtering
o26 MHz crystal oscillator generates the clock reference in active mode or connected mode.
•Baseband processor IC, integrating:
oMicroprocessor and DSP for control functions and digital processing
oMemory system, which includes NOR flash and PSRAM
oDedicated peripheral blocks for control of the USB, SIM and generic digital interfaces
oRF transceiver performs modulation, up-conversion of baseband signals for transmission,
down-conversion and demodulation of the RF signals for reception
•Power management IC, integrating:
oVoltage regulators to derive all the internal supply voltages from VCC module supply input
oVoltage sources for external use: VSIM and V_INT
oHardware power on, power off, reset
oLow power modes support
GNSS receiver system (LENA-R8001M10 modules only)
The GNSS receiver system of LENA-R8001M10 modules is composed of the following main elements:
•u-blox UBX-M10050-KB concurrent GNSS chipset with SPG 5.10 FW version
•Dedicated supply main input (VCC_GNSS) and backup supply input (VBCKP_GNSS)
•SAW filter in front of an additional Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), followed by another SAW filter
•26 MHz Temperature-Controlled Crystal Oscillator (TCXO) for the GNSS reference clock
•32 kHz crystal for the GNSS RTC
1.4 Pin-out
Table 3 lists the pin-out of the LENA-R8 series modules, with pins grouped by function.
Function
Pin name
Pin no.
I/O
Description
Remarks
Cellular
Power
VCC
51,52,53
I
Cellular supply
input
VCC supply circuit affects the RF performance and
compliance of the device integrating the module with
applicable required certification schemes.
See section 1.6.1 for description and requirements.
See section 2.2.1 for external circuit design-in.
V_BCKP
2
I/O
Cellular RTC supply
input/output
Cellular RTC domain supply input/output.
See section 1.6.2 for functional description.
See section 2.2.2 for external circuit design-in.
V_INT
4
O
Cellular Generic
Digital Interfaces
supply output
V_INT = 1.8 V (typ.), generated by internal linear regulator
when the module is switched on.
Test-Point for diagnostic access is recommended.
See section 1.6.3 for functional description.
See section 2.2.3 for external circuit design-in.
GND
1,3,5,14,20,
22,30,32,
43,50,54,55,
57,58,60,61,
63-96
N/A
Ground
GND pins are internally connected to each other.
External ground connection affects the RF and thermal
performance of the device.
See section 1.6.1 for functional description.
See section 2.2.1 for external circuit design-in.

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Function
Pin name
Pin no.
I/O
Description
Remarks
GNSS
Power
VCC_GNSS
99
I
GNSS supply input
LENA-R8001M10 only.
GNSS supply input.
See section 1.15.1 for functional description.
See section 2.10.1 for external circuit design-in.
Internally not connected on LENA-R8001.
VBCKP_GNSS
100
I
GNSS backup
supply input
LENA-R8001M10 only.
GNSS backup supply input.
See section 1.15.2 for functional description.
See section 2.10.2 for external circuit design-in.
Internally not connected on LENA-R8001.
GND
1,3,5,14,20,
22,30,32,
43,50,54,55,
57,58,60,61,
63-96
N/A
Ground
GND pins are internally connected to each other.
External ground connection affects the RF and thermal
performance of the device.
See section 1.6.1 for functional description.
See section 2.2.1 for external circuit design-in.
Cellular
System
Control
PWR_ON
15
I
Cellular Power-on
input
Internal pull-up to VCC.
Test-Point for diagnostic access is recommended.
See section 1.7.1 for functional description.
See section 2.3.1 for external circuit design-in.
RESET_N
18
I
Cellular External
reset input
Internal pull-up to VCC.
Test-Point for diagnostic access is recommended.
See section 1.7.3 for functional description.
See section 2.3.2 for external circuit design-in.
Antenna
ANT
56
I/O
RF input/output for
cellular Tx/Rx
antenna
50 nominal characteristic impedance.
Antenna circuit affects the RF performance and
compliance of the device integrating the module with
applicable required certification schemes.
See section 1.8 for description and requirements.
See section 2.4 / 2.4.2 for external circuit design-in.
ANT_DET
59
I
Input for cellular
antenna detection
ADC for antenna presence detection function.
See section 1.8.2 for functional description.
See section 2.4.5 for external circuit design-in.
ANT_GNSS
31
I
RF input for GNSS
Rx antenna
LENA-R8001M10 only. RF input for GNSS Rx antenna,
50 Ωnominal impedance.
See section 1.16.1 for description and requirements.
See section 2.4 / 2.4.3 / 2.4.4 for external circuit design-in.
Internally not connected on LENA-R8001
ANT_ON
44
O
GNSS antenna
enable
LENA-R8001M10 only. GNSS peripheral output with
external GNSS active antenna control and/or external LNA
on/off control function, connected to internal LNA.
See section 1.16.2 for description and requirements.
See section 2.4.3 for external circuit design-in.
Internally not connected on LENA-R8001.
Cellular
SIM
VSIM
41
O
Cellular SIM supply
output
VSIM = 1.8 V / 3 V output as per the connected SIM type.
See section 1.9 for functional description.
See section 2.5 for external circuit design-in.
SIM_IO
39
I/O
Cellular SIM data
Internal pull-up to VSIM.
See section 1.9 for functional description.
See section 2.5 for external circuit design-in.
SIM_CLK
38
O
Cellular SIM clock
See section 1.9 for functional description.
See section 2.5 for external circuit design-in.
SIM_RST
40
O
Cellular SIM reset
See section 1.9 for functional description.
See section 2.5 for external circuit design-in.