Blues Notecarrier® Datasheet: Notecarrier AF
Select a SKU
Notecarrier A Series
Notecarrier F Series
Notecarrier Pi Hat Series
Notecarrier X Series
Legacy Notecarriers
warningWhile this product is still supported, it is no longer available for purchase from the Blues store. We recommend the Notecarrier F v1.3 as an updated, equivalent alternative.
Functional Description
Notecarriers are available in multiple form factors to support rapid development across a range of use cases. Depending on the variant, a Notecarrier may prioritize direct host integration, compact size, integrated cellular/WiFi and GNSS antennas, or the ability to be soldered directly into a low-volume production design.
Notecarriers are explicitly designed to bridge the gap between early prototyping and a production-ready Notecard-based solution. In a final product, the Notecard is typically socketed directly onto a custom PCB via an edge connector, alongside the customer's MCU, sensors, and supporting circuitry. While this approach provides maximum flexibility and modularity, it can significantly increase the effort required during initial development and validation.
To simplify this process, Notecarriers expose the Notecard's interfaces through convenient breakout connections and integrate essential supporting circuitry, including power regulation, protection, and signal conditioning. This allows developers to focus on firmware, connectivity, and system behavior without first designing a complete custom carrier board.
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
Due to differences in the physical size of Notecards, certain Notecarriers are only compatible with certain Notecards. The Notecarrier AF is compatible with:
Package Configuration
Notecarrier AF (Antenna + Adafruit Feather Socket)
Notecarrier AF (CARR-AF) is designed for drop-in development with any Adafruit Feather or compatible microcontroller. It includes two female pin headers (12-pin and 16-pin) for directly plugging in a Feather compatible board. It also includes Grove and Qwiic/Stemma QT I2C ports for attaching external peripherals to your project.
| Front |
|---|
 |
- Adafruit Feather compatible header socket.
- Breadboard compatible Notecarrier AF 13-pin header.
- Breadboard compatible 24-pin Adafruit Feather breakout header.
- Notecard edge connector socket and mounting screw receptacle.
- Micro-USB port to power Notecarrier and provide a USB Serial command interface to Notecard.
- Onboard cellular/WiFi and active GPS antennas.
- External Nano-SIM slot for additional carrier connectivity.
- 2 Seeed Studio Grove I2C ports for attaching external peripherals to your project.
- JST PH connector for a LiPo battery.
- JST PH connector for a solar panel.
- JST SH 3.3V I2C port (Adafruit STEMMA QT and Sparkfun QWiic compatible).
- Battery slide switch to disconnect battery when not in use.
- Momentary button connected to Feather
B0pin. - LiPo charging circuit.
- PCB Dimensions: 102mm x 76mm
- Center of Mounting Holes: 94mm x 67mm (measured from the edge of the PCB to the center of the furthest mounting hole)
| Feather | Notecarrier | Dedicated | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
RST | RST button | N | Reset |
BAT | 3V3 | Y | Feather power |
EN | Notecard EN | Y | Module enable |
SDA | Notecard SDA | N | Notecard communication |
SCL | Notecard SCL | N | Notecard communication |
B0 | B0 button | N | Momentary button |
noteBAT pin is not connected directly to VBAT pin on the Notecarrier AF pin out.
It is supplied by the onboard 3v3 voltage regulator. See
schematics
for more detailed information.
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.
-
attaching a solar cell (must be accompanied by LiPo).
The solar charging circuit is designed for use with a 4.5-7V solar panel.
-
applying 2.5-5.5VDC to the
V+pin.Commonly provided via DC power supply or non-rechargeable battery.
warningIt is NOT recommended to use the JST connector on your Feather compatible device
to supply power to the Notecarrier AF. Instead it is recommended to utilize the
JST connector, labeled BATTERY, on the Notecarrier AF.
Doing so will provide the following advantages:
- Reverse voltage protection.
- Defer to
V+andUSBpower sources.
warningTypical USB ports may only be capable of supplying 500 mA of current, which might not be enough to power Notecard during a cellular connection to a GSM network (which can spike to 2A). In this situation, you're advised to supplement power to your Notecarrier with an external source (e.g. a LiPo 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.
Active GPS Onboard Antenna
The Notecarrier A models feature built-in, active GPS antennas and are designed with a sufficient buffer to isolate the antenna and minimize interference with the other electronics. Notecarrier A models do not support external active (powered) GPS antennas.
Header Descriptions
Notecarrier AF 13-Pin Header
| Pin Name | Direction | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| AUX1 | IN/OUT | API-selectable modes of operation |
| AUX2 | IN/OUT | API-selectable modes of operation |
| AUX3 | IN/OUT | API-selectable modes of operation |
| AUX4 | IN/OUT | API-selectable modes of operation |
| AUXRX | IN | Diagnostic Interface |
| AUXTX | OUT | Diagnostic Interface |
| AUXEN | IN | Enable diagnostics |
| ATTN | OUT | Configurable interrupt signal |
| VUSB | IN/OUT | Access to VUSB pin of the USB jack |
| VBAT | IN/OUT | Access to battery voltage |
| <3V3 | OUT | Access to 3.3V supply voltage |
| <VMAIN | OUT | Access to either VUSB or VBAT, whichever is available |
| GND | IN | Ground |
Adafruit Feather 24-Pin Breakout Header
| Pin Name | Direction | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| RST | IN | Active-high reset |
| EN | IN | Module enable |
| SDA | IN/OUT | I2C bus data |
| SCL | IN/OUT | I2C bus clock |
| 5 | IN/OUT | Digital I/O pin 5 |
| 6 | IN/OUT | Digital I/O pin 6 |
| 9 | IN/OUT | Digital I/O pin 9 |
| 10 | IN/OUT | Digital I/O pin 10 |
| 11 | IN/OUT | Digital I/O pin 11 |
| 12 | IN/OUT | Digital I/O pin 12 |
| 13 | IN/OUT | Digital I/O pin 13 |
| B0 | IN | Button pin 0 |
| TX | OUT | UART serial transmit |
| RX | IN | UART serial receive |
| MISO | IN | SPI Main In Secondary Out |
| MOSI | OUT | SPI Main Out Secondary In |
| SCK | OUT | SPI clock |
| A5 | IN | Analog input pin 5 |
| A4 | IN | Analog input pin 4 |
| A3 | IN | Analog input pin 3 |
| A2 | IN | Analog input pin 2 |
| A1 | IN | Analog input pin 1 |
| A0 | IN | Analog input pin 0 |
| AREF | IN | Analog REFerence voltage (max input voltage) |
Specifications
Electrical Characteristics
DC Characteristics
| Description | Minimum | Maximum | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supply Voltage | 2.5 | 5.5 | V |
| Supply Current* | - | - | mA |
| Solar JST Charging Range** | 3.94 | 7.18 | V |
*See the individual Notecard and Feather board datasheets for more details.
**For detailed information regarding the solar charging circuit calculations and behavior, please refer to the Blues Notecarrier A Series Solar JST Input application note.
Absolute Maximum Ratings
| Description | Minimum | Maximum | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storage temperature | -35 | 70 | °C |
| Solar JST Voltage | 0 | 18.18 | V |
| Solar JST Input Current | - | 1250 | mA |
noteActual values may vary based on local conditions such as atmospheric conditions and distance to the cell tower.
Ordering Information
Design Files
Open source hardware designs for all Notecarriers are maintained in the note-hardware GitHub repository.
Board Errata
Terms and Conditions
Visit Blues Hardware Terms & Conditions.
Revision History
| Author | Date | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Ray Ozzie | 2019-2020 | Document drafted |
| John Wiedey | 2020 | Various improvements |
| Sean Taylor | 2020 | Various improvements |
| Zachary J. Fields | 01 OCT 2020 | Updated information and translated to markdown |
| Brandon Satrom | 04 JAN 2021 | Added link to design resources |
| Greg Wolff | 13 JAN 2021 | Added BAT pin information to Notecarrier AF datasheet |
| Brandon Satrom | 07 APR 2022 | Added Notecarrier A information |
| Zachary J. Fields | 20 JUL 2022 | Added Notecarrier F information |
| Zachary J. Fields | 24 OCT 2022 | Added Notecarrier B v2 information |
| Rob Lauer | 28 OCT 2022 | Added versioning for Notecarrier B v1/v2 |
| TJ VanToll | 05 JAN 2023 | Added Notecard Outboard Firmware Update information |
| Rob Lauer | 28 FEB 2023 | Re-labeling Notecarrier B as "Basic" |
| Rob Lauer | 01 MAR 2023 | Added PCB/Mounting Hole Dimensions |
| Rob Lauer | 07 SEP 2023 | Added Notecarrier F v1.3 information |
| Rob Lauer | 16 NOV 2023 | Added Notecarrier Pi v2.0 information |
| Rob Lauer | 14 MAR 2024 | Added Notecarrier B v3.1 and Notecarrier R v1.0 information |
| Rob Lauer | 05 JUN 2024 | Added Notecarrier XS v1.1 information |
| Rob Lauer | 10 JUN 2024 | Added KiCad schematics to A, B, F, and Pi Notecarriers |
| Rob Lauer | 18 JUL 2024 | Added Notecarrier XS v1.2 information |
| Rob Lauer | 22 JUL 2024 | Updated Notecarrier pin descriptions |
| TJ VanToll | 19 AUG 2024 | Added Notecarrier X v1.2, XM 1.2, and XP 3.1 information |
| Rob Lauer | 14 JAN 2026 | Added Notecarrier CX v1.3 information |
Contact Information
Blues Inc.
https://blues.com
50 Dunham Ridge Suite 1650
Beverly, MA 01915
support@blues.com