Vega NB-15 User manual

www.vega-absolute.ru
NB-IoT MODEM
VEGA NB-15
User manual

Vega NB-15 / User Manual
2 Revision 02 – 28 April 2021
Document Information
Title NB-IoT modem Vega NB-15
Document type Manual – Translation from Russian
Document number V02-NB15-01
Revision and date 02 - 28 April 2021
This document applies to the following products:
Product name
Type number
Vega NB Vega NB-15
Revision History
Revision Date Name Comments
01 22.01.2020 KEV The first release
02 28.04.2021 KEV JSON message content has been changed, new
communication periods: 2, 3 and 4 hours

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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................................................................... 4
1 DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION .........................................................................................................................................5
Device description ................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Functional ................................................................................................................................................................................ 5
Marking..................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
2 SPECIFICATION .......................................................................................................................................................................6
3 OPERATION..............................................................................................................................................................................7
Contacts ...................................................................................................................................................................................7
Buttons .....................................................................................................................................................................................9
Indication ...............................................................................................................................................................................10
Initial Startup ......................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Connecting via USB .............................................................................................................................................................11
4 VEGA NB-IoT CONFIGURATOR .........................................................................................................................................13
Interface of the application ................................................................................................................................................13
Connection to the device ................................................................................................................................................... 14
“System” tab .......................................................................................................................................................................... 15
“Settings” tab .........................................................................................................................................................................16
“Vega NB-15” tab ..................................................................................................................................................................18
5 COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL ........................................................................................................................................20
Data collection mode ..........................................................................................................................................................20
6 STORAGE AND TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................................... 22
7 CONTENT OF THE PACKAGE ............................................................................................................................................. 23
8 WARRANTY............................................................................................................................................................................. 24

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INTRODUCTION
This manual is designated for Vega NB-15 modem (hereinafter – the modem)
manufactured by Vega-Absolute OOO and provides information on powering and activation
procedure, control commands and functions of the counter.
This manual is targeted at specialists familiar with installation work fundamentals of
electronic and electrical equipment.
The counter shall be installed and adjusted by qualified specialists in order to
ensure proper operation of the device
Vega-Absolute OOO reserves the right to make changes to the manual related to the
improvement of equipment and software, as well as to eliminate typos and inaccuracies,
without prior notice.

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1 DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION
DEVICE DESCRIPTION
Vega NB-15 modem is designed for the data collection from the external connected
devices and transmitting it to the server by the NB-IoT technology.
In addition, Vega NB-15 can be used as a security device – two additional inputs
operate in security mode, there is also a Hall sensor.
The modem can be used for any utilities’ meters and industrial equipment with RS-485
interface, with analog or digital outputs or for the periodic collection of temperature values
from the 1-Wire sensors.
Vega NB-15 has an external NB-IoT antenna and ingress protection rating IP65.
The modem is powered by one or two batteries with 6400 mA capacity or by an
external supply with power 5…55 V.
FUNCTIONAL
Vega NB-15 modem has the following features:
oRS-485 interface through ModBus protocol
o1-Wire interface for connection of temperature sensors (up to 10)
oTwo digital inputs which can also operating in the «security» mode for connecting the
external leakage and safety sensors, etc.
oTwo analog inputs
oQueue for sending packages when delivery is not possible
oTime referencing of readings by internal clock
oCommunication in case of security inputs or Hall sensor actuation
oTemperature measurement
oExternal voltage measuring
MARKING
Device marked with sticker that contain the next information:
oDevice model;
oIMEI;
oMonth and year of manufacture;
oQR-code containing IMEI for automatized count.
Sticker located in three places – on device case, in factory certificate and on the packing
box.

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2 SPECIFICATION
Main
Interfaces
RS-485 (ModBus) / 1-Wire
Analog inputs
2
Digital inputs 2
USB-port
micro-USB, type B
Operating temperatures
-40…+85 °С
Built-in temperature sensor yes
Quantity of black box records 200
Cellular communications
Supported Cellular Standards LTE Cat NB1
Data transfer protocol MQTT
LTE NB-IoT antenna type external
Power
Battery 6400 / 12800 mAh
External power
5…55 V
Case
Housing dimensions 95 х 95 х 50 mm
Ingress protection rating IP65

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3 OPERATION
CONTACTS
Contacts description is in the table below.
Contact
Name on the board
Description
1
COUNT1
Digital input 1
2
COUNT2
Digital input 2
3
GND
Ground
4
GND
Ground
5
ADC1
Analog input 1 (0…21 В)
6
ADC2 Analog input 2 (0…21 В)
7
RS485_A RS-485 Interface A
8
RS485_B RS-485 Interface B
9
ONE_WIRE 1-Wire Interface
10
GND
Ground
11
+V_EXT
External power +
12
GND
External power -
Digital inputs COUNT1 and COUNT2 may operate in pulse or security mode. If the input
has not connected there is a logic ‘1’.

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In the pulse mode the modem counts the number of pulses at the input. Fixation is by
the impulse slump. In the security mode the modem monitors the input state change and send
an alarm message into the network by the one of events: security circuit close, unclose or both
of it. You can choose the event for security input triggering via the “Vega NB-IoT Configurator”
application.
Analog inputs ADC1 and ADC2 may be used for measuring an external voltage from 0 to
21 V.
RS-485 (modbus) and 10Wire interfaces cannot connecting at the same time. Switching
between two interfaces carried out with jumpers on the XP4 and XP5 connectors on the board.
1-Wire interface allows to connect is up to 10 external thermistors (see part 4).
Jumpers
disposition for
RS-485 interface
operating
Jumpers
disposition for
1-Wire interface
operating

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BUTTONS
There is a button on the board which described in the table below.
Action Result
INIT
Pressing for 1 second Registration at the network
Pressing for 2 seconds Data transmitting
Pressing for 3 seconds LTE-modem switching off
Pressing for 3 seconds Packet generation
Short pressing Device reset
When you hold down the button, the red LED starts flashing once a second, which will
help you to find out the duration of pressing. Pressing for 1 second corresponds to one flash
of the LED, pressing for 2 seconds corresponds to two and so on.
INIT button

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INDICATION
There is a red LED on the board. LED shows the device state.
LED signal
Meaning
Short flash every three
seconds Device searches the network
Short flash every
second
Device successfully connected to the
network
Two short flashes every
second Device transmits data to the network
Short flash every five
seconds Device in the “Operation” mode
No light Device in the “Sleep” mode or switched
off
LED location on the
board

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INITIAL STARTUP
Firstly, it is necessary to install SIM into slot on the board and set up the data transmitting
with “Vega NB-IoT Configurator” (See part 4).
Vega NB-15 modem can be powered from either an external power source or built-in
battery. To operate from the built-in battery, you must connect the battery connector to the
one of power connectors on the board which XP7 or XP6 marked. In case of operation with
two batteries you should use both connectors.
After power supplying the device loading and sleeps until the communication session
according with the schedule.
If you need to test the data transmitting, then press and hold the INIT button for the 2
seconds.
CONNECTING VIA USB
The modem can be adjusted with the "Vega NB-IoT Configurator" application through
the USB connection (See part 4).
Before connecting the device to the computer for the first time, you must install the
driver for the COM port stsw-stm32102, which can be downloaded from iotvega.com. After
running the executable file VCP_V1.4.0_Setup.exe, the installer window will appear:
Connectors for
batteries
Location of the SIM
slot on the board

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In this window, you need to click Next, then Install, and then the installation will begin.
When the installation is completed successfully, the following screen appears:
After pressing Finish the driver is ready for operation, - it is possible to connect the
modem via USB.

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4 VEGA NB-IOT CONFIGURATOR
The "Vega NB-IoT Configurator" application (hereinafter referred to as the configurator)
is intended for setting up the device via USB.
INTERFACE OF THE APPLICATION
The "Vega NB-IoT Configurator" application does not require the special installation.
When the executable file is launched, the window for working with the application appears.
The menu on the left allows you to select the device model, connect to the device or
disconnect from it, and update firmware.
The application window contains three tabs – System, Settings and device manage.

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CONNECTION TO THE DEVICE
For the connection to the device, perform the following steps:
1. Connect the USB cable to the device.
2. Start the "Vega NB-IoT Configurator" application.
3. Click the "Connect" button in the menu on the left.
The application automatically recognizes the type of device, and the device selection
menu becomes inactive.
To read the settings from the device, you need to click the "Get settings" button, until
this point the application will display the default settings or from the last connected device.
After making the necessary changes to the settings, you should click the "Apply settings"
button and only then disconnect from the device with the "Disconnect" button. Also, the
application allows to save settings into a file after what you can load it from that file on other
similar devices for speed up the debugging process.

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“SYSTEM” TAB
The "System" tab displays information about the device, about modem, and SIM.
Device info - the configurator reads information about the device model, its firmware
and automatically corrects the device's time when connected to it. In that block you can find
out the number of records in the black box and the number of packets sent by the device.
Modem info – in that block information about LTE-modem is displayed.
SIM – identifiers of the SIM card (SIM chip).

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“SETTINGS” TAB
The "Settings" tab allows to configure various parameters of the network connection and
device operation.
Connection settings – a group of parameters set up the data collection and transmitting.
Used frequency bands for NB-IoT devices connection can be different for different
cellular operators. You can ask the operator about used band or select all the bands.
Network registration timeout – the period after which the modem will fall asleep when
registration waiting. For battery economy it’s better to set minimal period for which the device
can registered in the network in the specific covering conditions.
Cellular operator can give you APN or set it by default if the field is empty.
Time zone set up for the data collection period which is equal to the device time (UTC)
plus time zone. Transmission period is always use UTC time regardless of the time zone setting.
Readings collected at 00:00 if the collection period is 24 hours; at 00:00 and at 12:00 if
the period is 12 hours etc. All readings stored in the device memory until the next
communication session.

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Transmission period can be equal to 5, 15, 30 minutes, 1, 6, 12 and 24 hours. When
beginning of communication session, the device starts sending packets with readings from the
earliest packet. The time of data transmitting cannot be specified, it’s defined in random way
for every device in chosen period of transmission from the moment of connection to the
network. For example, transmission period is 30 minutes, and device was started at 16:40 by
the internal device clock. In random way the device calculate data transmitting time and set it
at 16:41 in the half-hour period from 16:40 to 17:10. Thus, packets from this device will transmit
at 16:41, at 17:11, at 17:41, at 18:11 and so on every 30 minutes by the internal device clock.
Guard settings – allows to set up mode of security inputs triggering – when security
circuit is short, open or in a both cases.
Server settings – settings of connection with MQTT broker.
Interface settings – allows setting up the type of every input – it may be pulse or security
mode and choose the input mode 1-Wire/ModBus. If you choose the 1-Wire then ModBus
settings does not available, if you choose the ModBus then 1-Wire and temperature sensors
settings does not available.
In additional you can receive network statistics. By default, for traffic economy there are
no information about connection quality, base station number and other in the packet.

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“VEGA NB-15” TAB
The “Vega NB-15” tab contains detail information about the connected device, its
sensors and inputs.
Network – displays the current parameters of the connection and allows to control it.
Buttons in this block have logic like INIT button on the board.
SQ parameter – Signal Quality – may be from 0 to 31 while connection is on, and 99
value means the connection absent. Table of values is shown below.
Value in program Signal Quality, dBm
0 -113 and lower
1 -111
2…30 -109…-53
31
-51 and more
99
No connection
100
-116 and lower
101
-115
102…190
-114…-26
191
-25 and more
199 No connection
1-Wire – settings of connection external temperature sensors and it’s readings. For
adding a sensor in system, you need to switch ON the auto add mode. Sensors get numbers in
order which them were connected. After switching the auto add mode ON the device starts
search the new sensors on the bus. When new sensor is found, the device adds it in memory
and the auto add mode OFF automatically. To add the next sensor, you need to switch the auto
add mode ON again. All sensors may be removed from the memory with button “Delete all
sensors”.

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Inputs/outputs – displays current parameters of the device and allows to form a packet,
i. e. to collect data from all the inputs and put the packet to the black box until the next
communication session.
Device output – displays device’s events in real time.

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5 COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL
DATA COLLECTION MODE
Data transmits via MQTT protocol. You should to specify in the device settings the address
and port of the server where the data will be sent. Those settings specified in application “Vega
NB-IoT Configurator”. It must be MQTT broker as a server (received side). You should to specify
in the device settings the address and port of the broker. Also, you should to specify a topic
name where the data published and a client name – the name which the device use for
publishing. All those settings specified in “Vega NB-IoT Configurator” in part “MQTT settings”.
For watching the data sending by the device you should to deploy MQTT broker on a PC and
subscribe some application on MQTT broker.
Vega NB-15 sends the message on the server as a text of JSON format. See example
below.
{
"Message": {
"dev": "NB-15 v0.8",
"IMEI": "867723030685126",
"IMSI": "250990283645008",
"ICCID": "8970199171166671608",
"num": 5,
"UTC": 1618557030
},
"CellStatus": {
"SQ": 27,
"EARFCN": 1266,
"PCID": 475,
"RSRP": -653,
"RSRQ": -108,
"RSSI": -593,
"SNR": 199
},
"Telemetry": {
"reason": "cnfg",
"UTC": 1618557000,
"bat": 99,
"pulse1": 0,
"pulse2": 0,
"ADC1": 8,
"ADC2": 8,
"temp": 26,
"s_alarm1": 1,
"s_alarm2": 1,
"onewire": [
26.7