BenQ M23
GSM
Thinking of building a wireless gadget
you can monitor and control remotely
anywhere you are on earth?
This kit could be just right for you.
Page 1 of 9 pages ©2009 e-Gizmo Mechatronix Central
MODEM
Technical Manual Rev. 1r0
e-Gizmo GSM Modem is a data oriented GSM trans-
ceiver system that uses a network provider to con-
nect and transfer data. Using a network provider
infrastructure has several advantages. Among them
is a low initial cost (you don’t need to setup an expen-
sive transceiver rig to cover a long distance), reliable,
easy to use, and has wide coverage.
You can use both data and voice services for your
control applications. Example of data application is
a remote appliance control via SMS. Data transfer
via internet is even possible with BenQ M23 GPRS
module installed.
e-Gizmo GSM modem is built using the industry
proven benQ M23 gsm module. Following is a short
list of come of its features:
• BenQ M23A GSM module for SMS+Voice
• BenQ M23 GSM/GPRS module for
SMS+Voice+Internet
• Switch selectable RS-232 or 3.3V TTL level se-
rial port.
• On board 3.3V LDO regulator
• On board SIM card holder
• EZKonnek compatible port
• 5V 1.5A switch mode power supply adapter is
supplied as standard accessory.
GSM Modem
GSM Modem Pin Description

GSM Module
I/O Connector

GSM Module
Power In SW2 PWON OPTION
5V 1.5A Remove jumper to disable
PWON pin on Jp5 and JP6

- + SW3 VDD OPTION

Remove jumper to disconnect
VDD pin 6 from Jp5

DB-9
RS-232
Connector

Jp5

6-VDD
5-TTL TXD
4-TTL RXD
3-PWON
2-THRU
1-GND
SW1 TTL-RS232 OPTION

232 RS-232 Enabled

COMM via DB-9
5-GND
4-THRU
3-PWON
2-TTL RXD
1-TTL TXD

JP6

DEFAULT
TTL RS-232 port
SIM CARD POWER ON
Holder Push Switch
232 TTL Enabled
COMM via Jp5
TTL or Jp6 TTL port
Figure 1. GMS Modem jack and port connectors.

Table 1. Connector Functions Table 2. JP5 connector

CON ID Description Pin No: ID Description
JP1 Regulated +5V, 1.5A Power Input Jack 1 GND Circuit Ground
CON1 SIM Card Holder 2 THRU Thru connection to JP6 pin 4
J1 DB-9 RS-232 Serial Communication Port 3 PWON Power ON momentary, active high
JP5 RJ25 Modular Jack TTL I/O 4 TTL RXD Receive Data, 3.3 V LVTTL
JP6 Header Connector TTL I/O 5 TTL TXD Transmit Data, 3.3V LVTTL
6 VDD +3.3V Out (if SW3 jumper installed)

Table 3. JP6 connector

Pin No: ID Description
1 TTL TXD Transmit Data, 3.3V LVTTL
2 TTL RXD Receive Data, 3.3 V LVTTL
3 PWON Power ON momentary, active high
4 THRU Thru connection to JP6 pin 4
5 GND Circuit Ground

GSM Modem ©2009 e-Gizmo Mechatronix Central Page 2 of 9 pages

Table 4. Auxiliary connector
PIN ID I/O DESCRIPTION
1 AUXOP O Aux Hands Free amplifier (+) Output
2 IO1/RI I General Purpose I/O (GPIO) 1
3 EARN O Earphone Ampflier (-) Out
4 IO6 O Re download data path and audio path switch
5 EARP O Earphone amplifier (+) Out
6 GND PWR Ground
7 GND PWR Ground
8 IO11 I Power off mode switch control signal to open or link the system-module connection
9 AUXI I Aux hands free (-) input
10 IO13 I GPIO 13
11 MICIN I Microphone amplifier (-) input
12 IO8/DTR O GPIO 8 or Data Set Terminal Ready
13 MICIP I Microphone amplifier (+) input
14 DSR I UART1 Data Set Ready
15 MICBIAS PWR Microphone bias supply
16 CTS I UART1 Clear to Send
17 VBAK PWR Battery backup input
18 RTS O UART1 Request to Send
19 GND PWR Ground
20 GND PWR Ground
21 IO12/DCD O GPIO 12
22 BU O Buzzer Output
23 TXD2 O UART2 Transmit Data (Note: For debug use ONLY)
24 RXD2 I UART2 Receive Data (Note: For debug use ONLY)
25 ROW4 I Keyboard Interrupt (Ext device wakeup)
26 IO10 O Wake up External Device
27 LEDA I LED Driver, Paging Indicator
28 NC No Connection

Page 3 of 9 pages ©2009 e-Gizmo Mechatronix Central GSM Modem

Setting Up the GSM Modem with a PC Host

e-Gizmo GSM modem has on board RS-232 converter that you can use to connect the modem directly to a PC
serial port. Using a windows accessory program HyperTerminal, you can immediately begin test driving your
GSM Modem.

1. With Power disconnected, configure SW1 so that the two jumper block are installed in the “232” position.
See Figure 1 for more details.

2. Install a valid SIM card in the SIM card holder.

3. Connect the GSM modem to an available PC COM using a serial cable.

5V 1.5A SERIAL CABLE

AC/DC ADAPTER
(as supplied)

PC HOST

GSM MODEM KIT

PC SERIAL PORT

Figure 3. The on board RS-232 interface can be used to connect the GSM Modem directly with a PC.

4. Open a HyperTerminal window (may not be available on vista OS)

5. Give the hyperterminal window a name and specify the PC comm port where your GSM Modem is con-

GSM Modem ©2009 e-Gizmo Mechatronix Central Page 4 of 9 pages

nected.
Example PC Hyperterminal Session

Throughout this section, all characters you must type

in are shown in RED color. GSM Modem response
are shown in GREEN.

Note: <CR>= Carriage Return or [Enter} key

Setup the GSM modem as follows:

Type

AT<CR>
At this point, you may not see the characters as you
6. Enter the communications parameters as follows: type them on the screen This is normal.

GSM Modem Responds with:

OK

If the characters you are typing are not showing on

the hyperterminal screen:

ATE1<CR>
OK

ATE1 tells the GSM Modem to echo each characters

as you type them in. Watch the characters now ap-
pearing each time you strike a key.

This command will tell the GSM Modem to show you

SMS messages in human readable text format:
Baud Rate: 9600 bps
Data bits: 8 AT+CMGF=1<CR>
Parity: None OK
Stop Bits: 1
Flow Control: none You would also want the GSM Modem to report any
error in a format you can read:
and then click [OK].
AT+CMEE=2<CR>
7. Momentarily press PWON push button switch to OK
switch ON your GSM Modem.
Tell the GSM Modem you want all its function avail-
8. Type AT and then press [ENTER]. able for you.
Note: You won’t see the characters as you type them
on the screen. AT+CFUN=1<CR>
OK
If you see OK response on your screen, your GSM
modem is ready for a test drive.

Page 5 of 9 pages ©2009 e-Gizmo Mechatronix Central GSM Modem

And let it choose the network operator automatically.
Note: This command will take a few seconds to com-
plete. Wait for the OK respose.
AT+COPS=0<CR>
OK
Wait for the GSM Modem to complete its setup. A 30
second wait is usually enough, but if you are a bit im-
patient, you can nag the GSM modem by repeatedly
typing the command
AT$SRN=1<CR>
This command will let you know if the GSM Modem
has finished reading the SIM card. The GSM Modem
will reply READY when setup is complete. It will reply
with an OK only if it is still busy reading the SIM.
If more than a minute has elapsed and you are still
getting an error message, check if the SIM card is
seated properly in the socket. Remove power, check
the SIM card, reapply power, and repeat the start up
procedure from the beginning.
If you get past this point, you are now ready to play
around with some functions of the GSM Modem. Here
are some interesting functions you may like to try:
Display your own number
AT+CNUM<CR>
Show operator network
AT+COPS?<CR>
Signal Quality
AT+CSQ<CR>
Display a SMS Message
AT+CMGR=1<CR>
If there is no message in storage 1, the GSM Modem
will reply with an error message. If you want to display
all SMS messages
AT+CMGL=”ALL”<CR>
Your screen will be flooded with all your stored SMS
messages.
GSM Modem ©2009 e-Gizmo Mechatronix Central
Send an SMS
AT+CMGS=”09171234567”<CR>
Hello There! <CTRL Z>
This will send “Hello There!” SMS message to tel-
phone number 09171234567. Of course, you should
change this number (and the message) with your
intended recipient’s number if you do not want your 1
peso vanish in thin air for nothing.
Note: <CTRL Z> = press [CTRL] and [Z] at the same
time
List all available commands
AT+CLAC<CR>
Turn OFF GSM Module
AT$POWEROFF<CR>
For more detailed explanations of these functions,
please refer to “AT Command” reference manual of
the M22/23 GSM Module.
Interfacing to a Microcontroller
The GSM Modem will work with just about any popu-
lar microcontroller. It is preferable though to pick a
microcontroller with a built-in UART; this will save you
from having to write bit banging codes that only for
advanced programmers to consider. If your micro-
controller works on 3.3V supply, interfacing will be a
breeze. Figure 7 illustrates a connection example to a
3.3V microcontroller.
Interfacing to a 5V microcontroller will require some
more work. The RX pin of the GSM Module is de-
signed to accept 3.3V logic level only, forcing a 5V
logic input may damage the GSM Modem. To prevent
this, a resistive divider must be added on the TX pin
of your 5V microcontroller circuit. This is illustrated in
figure 12.
Example Code
An example code using a z8 encore! XP microcon-
troller can be downloaded from product page of
the GSM Modem (www.e-gizmo.com). This code is
written in C so that you can easily modify it as may
be necessary if you want to use it with some other
microcontroller.
Page 6 of 9 pages
 5V 1.5A
AC/DC ADAPTER
(as supplied)

3.3V
MICROCONTROLLER

UART

TXD
RXD

PORT

GND
OUT
PWON
GND

RXD
GSM MODEM KIT

TXD
1K

NOTE: PULSE PWON TO LOGIC 1 >150mS TO POWER ON

THE GSM MODULE.

Figure 7. The GSM Modem TTL serial I/O is 3.3V logic compatible and directly
connects to the UART port of any 3.3V microcontroller. Note that
TXD and RXD are cross connected.

5V
GSM MICROCONTROLLER
MODEM
2K2
RXD
1 TXD

TXD
2 RXD

PWON
3 OUT
Jp6

2K2
3K3

GND
5 GND

Figure 8. The TXD out of a 5V microcontroller has to be scaled down to 3.3V

level with a pair of resistor to prevent it from damaging the GSM
Modem RXD input.

Page 7 of 9 pages ©2009 e-Gizmo Mechatronix Central GSM Modem

 Page 8 of 9 pages
1 2 3 4 5 6
VDD
U1
F1
JP1 LM1086
FUSE1 R1
D 3 2 D
1 Vin +Vout
2 680
+ C1 + C2
ADJ

HEADER 2 D1 22 uF C3 22 uF C4 D2
DIODE 0.1 0.1 LED
C5
1

19
U2 0.1
2 3
C1+ V+

VCC
C6
C8
0.1 4 0.1
C1 -
U3
1 44 5 7
VBATBB GND C7 C2+ V-
2 43
GND VBATRF C9
3 42

©2009 e-Gizmo Mechatronix Central

GND VBATRF 0.1 0.1 J1
4 41 6
GND VBATRF C2 -
5 40 1
GND GND
6 39 S1 6
LEDA IO10
7 38 13 17 2
ROW4 PWON T1 IN T1 OUT
8 37 SW-PB 7
C TXD2 RXD2 C
9 36 12 8 3
IO12/DCD BU T2 IN T2 OUT
10 35 8
GND GND
11 34 4
SIM_CLK TXD
12 33 15 16 9
SIM_IO RXD R1 OUT R1 IN
13 32 5
SIM_RST RTS
14 31 10 9
NC CTS R2 OUT R2 IN
15 30 DB9
MICBIAS DSR
16 29 SW1
MICIP IO8

GND
2
4
6
17 28 1 20
MICIN IO13 EN SHDN
18 27
AUXI IO11
19 26
GND GND
20 25 MAX3222

1
3
5
EARP I06

18
21 24
EARN I01/RI
22 23 HEADER 3X2
AUXOP VRSIM
M23 Q1
SW2
1 2
HEADER 1X2
NPN JP5
1
2
B 3 B
4
VDD SW3
5
CON1
1 2 6
HEADER 1X2 HEADER 6
R2 C10
22 R3 R4
1 2

+
CLOCK DATA
10 K 3.3 JP6
3 4 1 uF
RESET 5
4
5 6
Vcc GND 3
2
SIM
1
HEADER 5
GSM Modem
A A
Title
Figure 9. Schematic diagram of the GSM Modem.

GSM Modem
Size Number Revision
B
Date: 14-Jan-2008 Sheet of
File: D:\My Documents\My Designs\My Design.ddb
Drawn By:
1 2 3 4 5 6
 Figure 10. PCB component layout.

Figure 11. PCB top layer copper pattern. Figure 12. PCB bottom layer copper pattern.

Page 9 of 9 pages ©2009 e-Gizmo Mechatronix Central GSM Modem