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NWK500

Revision History

Date

2026/01/29

Draft Document Created

Product Description

The OnLogic NWK500 is a SIM carrier board paired with the Telit FN990A28 Cellular Modem to provide 5G LTE connectivity.

Specifications

Feature
Specification

Antenna RF interfaces (ANT0 - ANT3) NWK500 is based on the Telit FN990A28 module and provides 4 RF interfaces for connecting the external antennas: MAIN represents the primary RF input/output for transmission and reception of LTE RF signals.

The ANT0 - ANT3 pins of the NWK500 has a nominal characteristic impedance of 50 Ω and must be connected to the primary Tx / Rx antenna's through a 50 Ω transmission line to allow proper RF transmission and reception.

The GNSS pin represents the gpsOne Gen 9 Band L1 receiver antenna connection location. The GNSS pin of NWK500 has a nominal characteristic impedance of 50 Ω and must be connected to the secondary Rx antenna through a 50 Ω transmission line to allow proper RF reception.

When installed in an OnLogic computer, ANT0 - ANT3 RF interfaces are connected to external antenna mounts. The external mounts each use an SMA (female) connector. Our line of compatible cellular antennas all use a standard SMA (male) connector.

  • If you purchased Windows from OnLogic, drivers for the modem are pre-installed.

  • If you self install Windows, you can download drivers from the page linked below. Note that you will need to register for a free account to download.

  • Most recent Linux operating systems will include functional drivers for the FN990A28. If you experiencing any issues please see the below linked Linux drivers. Note that you will need to register for a free account to download.

  • Locate the Cellular Module booklet that came with your system.

  • If an ICCID number is listed, your system already has a SIM card installed internally and is ready to activate. If not, you will need to provide a SIM card. See:

  • Contact your wireless carrier. State that you want to activate an embedded 5G modem and provide the numbers on the front of the booklet.

  • Ensure you are in an area with good signal coverage

  • Connect both antennas and boot up the OnLogic PC

  • Allow the PC to sit for a few minutes and see if a 5G connection is established. If not, continue with the steps below for or

Firmware updates can be downloaded from the Telit website linked below.

  • Run the executable and let it complete. Then, power down and unplug the system from power for 10 seconds. When you power it back up, the new firmware will be active.

The NWK500 has its own SIM slots on the top side of the carrier card. This is the preferred location to install a SIM card. OnLogic installs any SIM cards here by default.

  • Locate the technical resources for your specific model using the OnLogic

  • Use the search box at the top of the site to locate the technical resources page for your model such as "K801", for example.

  • Disassemble the PC using the support site instructions to gain access to the modem.

  • Ensure you have downloaded and installed

  • Ensure you are in an area with good signal coverage

  • Connect both antennas and boot up the OnLogic PC

  • Allow the PC to sit for a few minutes and see if a 5G connection is established. If not, continue with the steps below.

  • Download and install the latest version of the PuTTY tool.

  • Open device manager and look for the "Telit USB Modem" under the "Modem" flyout.

  • Right click and open Properties

  • Go to the Modem tab and note the COM number.

  • Open PuTTY and configure these options in the Terminal Category

  1. Select the 'Serial' option

  2. Change the COM number to match Device Manager

  3. Type NWK500 into the Saved Sessions text window

  4. Click Save

  • Begin by typing ate1 and pressing enter. The terminal should respond with OK. This indicates the modem is ready for commands

  • Ensure you are in an area with good signal coverage

  • Connect both antennas and boot up the OnLogic PC

  • Open a terminal window (ctrl+alt+t)

  • Install minicom with sudo apt update && sudo apt install minicom

  • Run minicom setup via the command sudo minicom -s

  • Select "Save setup as dfl" from the menu, look for the "Configuration Saved" popup

  • Select "Exit from Minicom" to return to the shell

  • Open the AT port with the sudo minicom

  • Before performing any troubleshooting, ensure you have completed all steps to configure your modem and have activated your SIM card.

  • Open an AT command terminal by following the instructions linked for your operating system

    • Windows:

    • Linux:

The commands below can help diagnose various modem issues. OnLogic technical support may request screenshots of the output of each of these commands. If you have reached this point and require additional help, please email support@onlogic.com and include a copy of these screenshots as well as your system serial number.

Command
Description

WCDMA bands

B1, B2, B4, B5(B6, B19), B8

Data Rate

5G NSA up to:

3.4 Gbps DL / 0.46 Gbps UL

5G SA up to:

2.5 Gbps DL / 0.9 Gbps UL

4G up to:

1.6 Gbps DL / 211 Mbps UL

3G up to:

Interface

M.2 B-Key

SIM Card Socket Size

4FF

Signal Type

PCIe/USB

Expansion Options

2 x 4FF SIM

Operating Temperature Range

-40°C to +85°C

Dimensions

1.18x2.047x0.088 in

IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)

VoLTE (Voice over LTE), VoNR (Voice over New Radio), SMS over IMS, VoWiFi (Voice over WiFi), E911/E112

Antennas

4x4 MIMO Supported

Once inside locate the NWK500 (Pictured, Note: carrier board color may differ from shown)

  • Remove the 1x retaining screw from the top of the modem

  • The modem will pop up to a 45 degree angle. Gently remove it from the slot.

  • The SIM slots are on the top side of the NWK500 carrier board

  • Using the M.2 connector as the bottom reference point, insert, or remove the installed, Nano/4FF SIM into the right SIM slot for SIM0 and left slot for SIM1.

    • Note: a SIM card will be pre-installed only if included in your order. You can check the ICCID using the instructions provide in SIM cards and Activation without having to physically access an installed SIM card

  • Click Open

    Select the "Serial port setup" menu option

  • Press the 'a' key and modify serial device from "/dev/modem" to "/dev/ttyUSB2". Press enter twice to exit this submenu

  • Begin by typing ate1 and pressing enter. The terminal should respond with OK. This indicates the modem is ready for commands

    AT#SIMSELECT=X

    Sets the SIM slot to X (available values: 1,2)

    AT#REBOOT

    Restarts the modem. Useful when changing firmware mode/version and troubleshooting

    AT#SIMPR

    Enables/disables the SIM presence status unsolicited indication. Useful for testing SIM card slots and insertion.

    AT#ENSIM2=X

    Enable/Disable SIM slot 2 by setting X to the following values: 0: Disable 1: Enable

    AT+COPS

    Check for available networks

    AT+CSQ

    Display signal quality. Scale from 0-31, 31 being best signal. 99= no signal

    AT+ICCID

    Print SIM card number. If error, SIM is not configured correctly or not installed.

    AT+CGDCONT?

    Shows the active APN

    AT+CGSN

    Prints the IMEI of the modem

    SKU

    NWK500

    Carriers

    Regional: EMEA, US

    5G FR1 bands

    n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n13, n14, n18, n20, n25, n26, n28, n29, n30, n38, n40, n41, n48, n66, n71, n75, n76, n77, n78, n79

    LTE bands

    ATE1

    Enables Echo mode for AT commands, showing the output to the terminal

    AT#GETFW

    Display firmware information

    AT#/

    Re-runs the last AT command

    Antenna RF interfaces

    FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

    Which antenna connectors are for WiFi and which are for 5G?

    What impedance is required for antennas and cabling?

    50 Ω. Maximum antenna gain 6dBi. Antenna must be installed 20cm from system.

    Known limitations
    • The GPS functionality is not supported by OnLogic.

    • Static IP assignment depends on carrier network and may not be possible or consistent. Talk with your carrier/network provider for details.

    Drivers

    SIM cards and Activation

    Modem Setup

    Updating the Firmware

    Accessing the SIM card

    Windows Setup Guide

    Opening the AT Command Terminal

    The modem supports x2 AT port interfaces, which have the same functionality. For this reason you will see two entries for the Telit USB Modem in the Device Manager.

    Linux Setup Guide

    Opening the AT Command Terminal (Ubuntu Desktop 24.04)

    While running AT configuration commands ModemManager will need to be disabled, you can do this with the command sudo systemctl stop ModemManager.service . To start ModemManager back up, run the command sudo systemctl start ModemManager.service .

    /dev/ttyUSB2 is the default for a system with no other USB serial devices. You can identify the correct AT port using the cat /proc/tty/driver/usbserial the AT port will be the highest numbered QUALCOMM USB modem. In the below image this is '2', corresponding to /dev/ttyUSB2

    Troubleshooting

    Diagnostic AT Commands

    AT commands using '#' are Telit specific commands. Commands using '+' are base AT commands available to any modem that implements AT commands.

    Windows/Linux drivers link
    Using an External SIM Slot
    Windows
    Linux
    FN990AXX approved FW Packages
    support site
    drivers
    Download Link
    Opening the AT Command Terminal
    Opening the AT Command Terminal
    DCT114 Cellular Insert

    B1, B2(B25), B3, B4(B66), B26(B5, B18, B19), B7, B8, B12(B17), B13, B14, B20, B28, B29(DL), B30, B32(DL), B34, B38, B39, B40, B41, B42, B43, B46(LAA), B48(CBRS), B66, B71

    42 Mbps DL/ 11 Mbps UL