Antennas, Antenna Cables, Wireless Products: Technical Articles

Sierra Wireless Card / Module MC7455, its Development Kit & five SMA connectors

George Hardesty
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The Development Kit is for LTE product development and has a single PCI slot for the MC7455 card. The Kit is used for developing hardware applications that require LTE connectivity (IoTM2M) and simultaneously authoring the relevant software.

The functionality of the five SMA connectors:

  • SMA connector 1: LTE AUX
  • SMA connector 2: GPS (GNSS)
  • SMA connector 3: Not connected to any internal radio or modem
  • SMA connector 4LTE Main
  • SMA connector 5: Not connected to any internal radio or modem

SMA connectors 1, 2 and 4 connect to the U.FL connectors on the card. Connectors 3 and 4 appear to be unused and available for some unstated alternative purpose - but not specifically for WiFi (see point #5 below):

There is no WiFi functionality in the MC7455 nor the MC7455 paired with its development kit.

  1. The Dev Kit is a true Dev Kit or test point only for the cellular networking module (MC7455)
  2. The MC Dev Kit board has absolutely no WiFi connectivity chipset or radio module on board. The Dev Kit cannot distribute signal via WiFi.
  3. None of the five SMA connectors connect to WiFi: The Dev Kit with 5 SMA connectors was probably designed with 5 to accommodate a card that potentially carried 5 antennas but probably never released. The two extra are likely redundant but not for WiFi. The Dev Kit board is designed to use the two or three antennas of the MC-7455 module.
  4. If you want WiFi connectivity: Sierra Wireless Airlink end-user products have integrated WiFi.
  5. The Sierra Wireless Mang OH boards have a WiFi radio as well as the cellular module. But bit-rates of this product are low and there is not software written for it, yet.

There are various vendors that will customize a board for the card, and that the customized board can include WiFi - i.e., provisioning a PCI slot for a WiFi card, such as the Intel Wireless-AC 9260.

QualComm's QU340063 is a compatible board that can have a second PCI slot for a WiFi card.   

Data Alliance has a very wide selection of antennas and cables that are compatible with all Sierra Wireless cards and development kits:

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