UK mobile phone sim cards and GSM modems/routers

[large_ghostman]

Hi,
For a while I was doing some projects with various professional GSM modems/routers. I cant remember the exact model now but that dosnt matter for this, I recently started a project to send data from a wind turbine project over the Modem/router. I dont know how many work but this type you can see the signal on wifi and log in or you can dial in via the phone network, the Modem/Router takes a sim card and has all the numbers on a sticker that phone companies ask for when registering a sim card (mimei or whatever it is).
The problem I cam up against was I ordered 4 different PAYG sims over the net from the phone companies, when I put the sim in a phone and called each of them to get them registered to the modem I was turned down!! Each company saying that they dont allow phone sims any longer to be used like that! (utter rubbish), apparently I have to buy a much more expensive and incompatible dongle. These devices I use or more like a sim card router than a normal GSM modem, they cost a fortune and were designed for industrial equipment, has anyone recently used this kind of thing and managed to get a card registered ok with a provider, if so which provider did you use?
Cheers
LG

 

[Diver300]

I have used the mobile phone system to send data, and I've never told the phone company what device the SIM cards are used in.

When you are using data on a GSM network, you usually need the APN, username and password, which depends on the network being used.

There are thousands of applications for data on the mobile networks, and they are now called IoT or Internet of Things, so there is no way that the mobile companies are going to stop all of that happening, even if they could. What GSM modem are you using?

 

[large_ghostman]

I have used the mobile phone system to send data, and I've never told the phone company what device the SIM cards are used in.

When you are using data on a GSM network, you usually need the APN, username and password, which depends on the network being used.

There are thousands of applications for data on the mobile networks, and they are now called IoT or Internet of Things, so there is no way that the mobile companies are going to stop all of that happening, even if they could. What GSM modem are you using?

I dont have it to hand as its sat inside a wind turbine, Its not exactly a GSM modem, its more like a router that takes a sim card, the problem I had is when I normally register a card for first use I give them all the info like what device its used on (thats where the imim or mimi or whatever number is it is for). Up until really recently I have had no problem doing this, but lately they have started to refuse to register the card and asked me to get a dongle. Unlike a normal GSM modem this is a bit more like tethering, I understand IOT and done a fair bit with silicon labs boards and that kind of thing.
I used to just register the card with a phone then stick it in the Router but lately if I try that it wont register on the network, the worst offender seems to be the 3 network which happens to be the one with the biggest data allowance in a cheap bundle

 

[Diver300]

I was under the impression that 3 wouldn't support devices that didn't have 3G capability, so you might be coming across that issue.

How much data are you needing. Unless there are photos or videos, I wouldn't have thought that you would be worried about data costs.

Couldn't you just get a data SIM for a dongle?

Are you in the UK. If so, giffgaff seem to be quite good for data.

 

[large_ghostman]

The data is sent from a mini pc via the wireless router (3G compliant) to a server where others can log in and see real time data from the turbine, currently it is using around 2GB a month. But it depends how many log in and what commands they send etc, I dont have control on the use I only have a part time job looking after three turbines. The idea is you can reset them when they go over speed etc by logging into the system via the wireless system, I am not sure if I could get away with altering the system. To be honest I would rather walk away from these as they have been a night mare!

Yes I am in the UK so I might try Gif Gaf. Its only recently I have had any issue, I am using the same company for the routers but the devices have been upgraded (not by me), after school tomorrow I will try and go over to see them and get the details and model number.
I have the data sheets etc but they are on the laptop thats in the cabin there, these things are on a farm and I kind of stumbled into getting a job doing a website etc for them, then I got caught up with the maintenance and monitoring as the company that supplied then went bust.
SEEMED like easy money at the time :s

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

I moved a SIM from phone to phone in the US. The phones were originally part of my cellular network or unlocked. In he US, the cell company has to unlock your phone (to accept any SIM) if you ask, but you need service.

And they "took away" my unlimited data plan when I hooked the SIM to a smart phone. They took away tethering too. I figured a way around that. I pretended I was a phone or use PDANET which they can't stop. It's over http.

 

[large_ghostman]

Yeah I am looking at other solutions but its a pita when you cant drop a sim into a device designed to take sim cards that the phone company originally supplied for use in the units!! GRRRrrrrr.
The HTTP is actually on a chip and really messy to get too, its probably alot easier to grab a cheap phone and just twiddle with that! 3 no longer do unlimited tethering with their plans, dads phone is still on the one plan but his contract is out of date so on borrowed time! You can get unlimited data but it has to be phone browsing, which is just stupid as you can get apps to act as middle man and tether from that. I am on mobile tethering now as BT broad band here is around 1meg and I get 3 G off mobile tethering!
They advertised 3 as the network built for the internet, yeah right......... The moment he gets his 60 days notice I will see that as a challenge to fill my 6TB backup drive with as many downloads as i can find

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

You can get unlimited data but it has to be phone browsing, which is just stupid as you can get apps to act as middle man and tether from that.

Nope: Just set the APN of the computer application to the phone's APN. "They" generally set the phone APN and the DATA APN separate.
There is a caveot though, there are restrictions of what the phone APN can do, such as # of connections. I used the phone companies tethering app and changed the APN. Now data is data no matter where it comes from and it's not unlimited. "Phone data" you can spoof.

 

[large_ghostman]

The problem with the router type GSM things is you cant get near the software on the FPGA, everything is kind of fixed. Its interesting that they know what kind of device the sim card is sitting in, I can use a 'normal' GSM modem and just send receive TXT data no problem. But put the sim in something more useful that can send and receive more than normal GSM codes and it shuts down.
The other problem is the router sits inside a large metal cabinet and the small antenna must really push some power out, the advice on the box says keep at least 2.5m away from the antenna. It wont be tomorrow I get to them as I forgot I have to work up my next yeast batch. Thats a whole different problem and I need to make up a PH meter for the PH probe, I could also do with a bubble counter and some kind of detector to measure opacity (probably keep that simple and go IR and ADC) This new reactor is sealed up and cell counts are a pain, but if I shut the string off for an hour I might be able to get a good estimate of live cell count.
The dead and cell fragments seem to sink much quicker (sometimes).

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

You missed it LG. Once you have an active SIM card, you set the APN of that network with "AT" commads to the modem.

The SIM just needs to be live. ie. billable

By the IMEI number, they will eventually figure out what it's connected too.

 

[large_ghostman]

You missed it LG. Once you have an active SIM card, you set the APN of that network with "AT" commads to the modem.

The SIM just needs to be live. ie. billable

By the IMEI number, they will eventually figure out what it's connected too.

Thats the bit I didnt put across well, unlike a normal GS modem these dont really have AT commands, they are alot more like a router so pass TCP/IP over a serial link into the router and god knows what it does from there, its really like a home router you plug into the phone socket except no phone socket it has a sim card instead. Thats the number I was trying to think of. IMEI, it seems they pick it up straight away and cut it off now.
The worst bit is the guy upgraded them and I know they cost around £700 each, if was going to a normal PC I could mess with it, but the PC controller in the Turbine is kinda like a custom made PI2 without any of the ability to get at the code! The turbines cost a fortune but the company went bust. No One would touch them and I kind of know the family well so offered to see if I could have a go at not breaking them more than they were .
They take alot of my time up and that is a PITA

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

My first two phones were really cool. The USB port was a GSM Fax modem. In order for FAX and/or PPP to work (the cell company actually had "dial-up) you had to have an option enabled called CSD. Without that option, if you call a FAX machine, it hangs up immediately.

So, in the "early days" you had to set up a PPP connection and dial a number that the cell company reserved for PPP.
No username or password if I remember or it could have been your login name on the account page. I modified an OS9 Macintosh modem script at the time to work with my phone.

The 3G method requires knowing the APN (various), the username (which was all the same) and my cell network has no password.

Look up the 3G AT commands.

 

[large_ghostman]

How do I get around the IMEI? I am sure the router connects to the network and sends it IMEI information as the error code is something like wrong device for sim card, it shouldnt be like this as until 6 months ago they allowed you to use normal sim cards.
I will have a look at 3G AT commands and see if I can get around it like that. 2:13am and I am sitting up waiting for a distillation to finish! My main hotplate with mag stirer has packed up so I guess thats got to come apart over the next few days

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

Dunno.

 

[neophyl]

You cant really get around IMEI, its needed to access the network. Banning IMEI numbers is how a network blocks stolen phones.

If you are just sending text type messages then any SIM will do but it sounds like your equipment is establishing a proper TCP data type connection. The phone networks have now started requiring the use of data enabled SIMS for this (Circuit Switched Data). We have a data gateway module at work and the SIM has to have it to work. It just a permissions thing, they match the IMEI of the device/SIM combo and if its valid they allow that device to make a data connection. Didn't use to me an issue but it is now.

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

To check for CSD data, call a FAX machine or any modem. If it hangs up, no CSD. I don't think that No CSD means no Data though, but CSD is necessary to make a PPP connection which was essentially dial-up. It just so happened that my SIM was enabled with CSD. AT one point, they said you may not be able to get it anymore.

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

Some light, Maybe....https://www.cnet.com/news/using-a-tablet-sim-to-turn-a-smartphone-into-a-data-only-device/

I had a cool back-up plan that went belly-up **broken link removed**. It used to be you could connect the 0 money left hot spot to the network and only be able to access the clear site. You then paid via credit card and got various forms of UNLIMITED DATA service form a few hours. days, weeks or months. I thought that was really cool. It's been bought by Sprint and Sprint's website looks like a BIG iPhone. I'll tell you what you have to do. i.e. "Put your email here in this box" and not just "email".

It's like parents teaching their kids.

 

[large_ghostman]

Yes its TCP data feed with txt used just send an alarm to a phone or take a subset of commands. The article seems to apply to the uk as well, they stopped streaming the data all the time as the cost was huge, now it only streams when a connection is made via web or text

 

[large_ghostman]

I still havnt been able to get over to the turbines, the weather has been such that shutting down the turbine and opening the panel hasnt been allowed.
I am thinking of just running CAT5 cable from the TCP feed straight through to the building and connecting to a normal router, the problem with that is distance.
Not sure how far but over 500m, so if I tried that I would need to boost the signal and then decode or drop the level just before the router.
I will let you know what happens , I might even use a sil labs radio transceiver chip and see if I can then decode at the building end and pass to a normal router.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Have you considered using WiFi?, you can get external WiFi systems that easily do 500m - in fact my entire Internet access works off one

I'm 4.7 miles from the WiFi mast, and when they installed it they were also able to receive one of their other masts which is ten miles away in the same direction.

You could have something like this at both ends, they connect direct to a computer or router via CAT5, with POE.

https://www.ubnt.com/airmax/airgridm/