RAK8213 mini PCIe Card Comes with GNSS, NB-IoT & eMTC Connectivity

After launching their first wireless communication mini PCIe card with RAK833 LoRaWAN gateway card last month, RAK Wireless is back with another mPCIe card that supports GNSS (GPS, GLONASS), as well as cellular IoT connectivity thanks to Quectel BG96 NB-IoT + LTE Cat M1 module.

RAK8213 mini PCIe card specifications:

Wireless Connectivity
- Module – Quectel BG96 with LTE Cat. M1 (eMTC), LTE Cat. NB1 (NB-IoT), EGPRS, and GNSS
- Global bands support
  - FDD-LTE – B1/ B2/ B3/ B4/ B5/ B8/ B12/ B13/ B18/
    B19/ B20/ B26/ B28
  - TDD-LTE – B39 (for Cat M1 only)
  - EGPRS – 850/900/1800/1900Mhz
- Max Data Rate – Cat M1: 375 kbps (UL/DL); Cat NB1: 32 kbps DK, 70 kbps (UL)
- micro SIM slot
- u.FL connectors for cellular and GNSS
mPCIe connector with USB 2.0, I2C, UART, and PCM
Misc – LEDs for network and power status
Dimensions – 51 x 30.1 mm

The card can be added to netbooks/notebooks or routers with mPCIe socket, used for remote monitoring, smart meter reading, and so on. You’ll find hardware (datasheet + schematics) and software (user manual) documentation in the relevant “document download” page. The user manual basically explains how you can send AT commands over USB or UART to the card in Windows, and how to setup the board with Hologram IoT SIM card.

RAK8213 mPCIe card is sold for $39.99 plus shipping on Aliexpress, and optional accessories are also offered namely a USB to mPCIe board for $10, and a Hologram SIM card for $7.

RAK8213 is not the first NB-IoT/eMTC mPCIe card on the market, as you’ll also find some based on SIMCom SIM7000 module for about $30 shipped. However, bear in mind that contrary to RAK8213 which works globally, SIM7000A / SIM7000C / SIM7000E work in specific regions, namely America, China and Europe. SIM7000G is the global version, but I could not find mini PCIe card based on that module.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.