Companion development boards for easy prototyping and deployment.

Notecarriers are available in several form-factors to facilitate rapid prototyping. Depending upon the variant, a Notecarrier may be designed with direct host integration, size optimization, integrated cellular/Wi-Fi and GNSS antennas, or even to be soldered directly into a solution for low-volume production.

Functional Description

Notecarriers are designed to bridge the gap between prototype and production for the Notecard. The Notecard is designed to be socketed directly onto the circuit board using an edge connector socket, along with a customer's MCU, sensors, and controls. While such a model provides a highly modular configuration for the final product, it can make prototyping unnecessarily difficult.

Notecarriers offer breakout connections for the Notecard, as well as circuitry to provide power management, protection and signal amplification.

Features

• Simple. Provides breadboard compatible pins or solderable mask for direct connections.
• Compatible. Level shifters ensure compatibility with 3.3V or 5V equipment.
• Convenient. Powered by a USB connector (requires 2A supply).
• GPS Ready. Models are either active GPS compatible, or feature a built-in antenna to enable GNSS connectivity.

Compatible Notecards

Since the Notecarrier XS v1.2 is designed to be used with Starnote for satellite connectivity, the Notecarrier XS v1.2 is only compatible with the following Notecards:

• Notecard Cell+WiFi
• Notecard Cellular
• Notecard Cellular (Legacy)
• Notecard WiFi

Package Configuration

Notecarrier XS (Satellite) v1.2

Notecarrier XS (CARR-XS) is the companion Notecarrier for Starnote and Notecard, providing a platform for prototyping with Satellite failover.

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• Notecard and Starnote edge connector sockets and mounting screw receptacles.

  • NOTE: Blues recommends using nylon screws instead of stainless steel (SST) screws when mounting the Notecarrier XS.

• USB-C port to power Notecarrier and provide a USB Serial command interface to Notecard.

• Requires separate user-provided U.FL cellular/Wi-Fi antennas for Notecard and Starnote.

• Requires a separate user-provided U.FL passive GPS antenna for Starnote and an optional U.FL passive GPS antenna for Notecard. See this note about using an active GPS antenna with Notecarrier XS.

• JST PH connector for a LiPo battery.

• Qwiic connector for connecting I2C peripherals.

• ESLOV connector for connecting I2C peripherals. ESLOV exposes an additional GPIO pin which is connected to the Notecard's ATTN pin.

• LiPo charging circuit.

• External Nano-SIM slot for use of an optional secondary SIM.

• PCB Dimensions: 72mm x 67mm

• Center of Mounting Holes: 67.5mm x 62mm (corners) and 34mm x 62mm (middle) (measured from the edge of the PCB to the center of the furthest mounting hole)

Power Information

All Notecarriers can be powered by connecting directly to the USB port. However, most installations will not have USB power available, so several alternate power options are provided by the various Notecarrier models:

• attaching a LiPo battery.

  The LiPo battery must be a single-cell 3.7V battery with a 2-pin JST PH connector.

• applying 2.5-5.5VDC to the VBAT or VMAIN pins.

  Commonly provided via DC power supply or non-rechargeable battery.

GPS (GNSS) Antenna Requirements

All Notecarrier models are designed to support active GPS, and several Notecarrier models provide built-in antennas ready to be connected to a Cellular Notecard using the included U.FL cables.

Enabling Active GPS

If using Notecarrier XS v1.2 with an active GPS antenna, add a 0-Ohm 0603 jumper to the unpopulated spot between VGPS_OUT and VGPS_IN. This will power an active GPS LNA with a 3.8VDC bias voltage on the center conductor of its GPS U.FL connector.

Header Descriptions

Notecarrier XS v1.2 Dual 16-pin Headers

Specifications

Electrical Characteristics

DC Characteristics

Absolute Maximum Ratings

Ordering Information

• Notecarriers
• Development Kits

Design Files

Open source hardware designs for all Notecarriers are maintained in the note-hardware GitHub repository.

Terms and Conditions

Visit Blues Hardware Terms & Conditions.

Revision History

Contact Information

Blues Inc.
https://blues.com
50 Dunham Ridge Suite 1650
Beverly, MA 01915
support@blues.com