QuecPython Yttrium Evaluation Board Introduction

Supported Modules

• EG800Z-CN

Features

Overview

The QuecPython Yttrium evaluation board is a Python-ecosystem development board designed specifically for development, debugging, and solution demonstration scenarios. The main module is equipped with the EG800Z LTE wireless communication module.

The board features dual USB Type-C interfaces for convenient power supply and serial debugging. It also supports an external power terminal supply solution, allowing flexible adaptation to different development scenarios.

It integrates a rich set of interfaces including LCD display, camera capture, audio input/output, cellular network, 100 Mbps Ethernet, industrial-grade CAN/RS485 buses, and more. This makes it well-suited for IoT development, industrial communication, multimedia interaction, and various other application scenarios.

Hardware Description

The main components and interface layout of the evaluation board are shown below:

Evaluation board dimensions (top view):

Top view and bottom view of the evaluation board:

Downloads

• EG800Z-Yttrium Datasheet

Board Resources

Basic Specifications

Board Interfaces

The detailed assignment of the board interfaces is as follows:

Reserved Port Pin Assignments

J0702 8-Pin Header Pin Assignments

J0703 8-Pin Header Pin Assignments

Key Features

Onboard Buttons and Indicators

The board features 4 functional buttons and 2 status LEDs:

• PWRKEY: Power-on button. Long press to power on the module.
• RESET: Reset button. Press to trigger a module restart.
• BOOT: Forced download button. Press and hold before power-on to enter forced firmware download mode.
• WAKEUP: Wake-up button. Press to wake the module from sleep.
• PWRLED: Red power indicator. Stays lit when the module is properly powered.
• INDLED: Green operation indicator. Supports user-defined functionality for operation status indication.

Quick Start Guide

Hardware Preparation

• Step 1: Required Items

  Items required before getting started:

  1. Evaluation Board
  2. USB Cable (USB-A to USB Type-C)
  3. PC (Windows 10)
  4. SIM Card
  5. 4G Antenna

• Step 2: Antenna & SIM Installation

  Attach the provided antenna to the MAIN antenna port and insert the SIM card into the SIM card slot.

• Step 3: Connect the Board

  Connect the board to your PC using a USB Type-C cable via the Type-C/Micro USB port for power supply.

  When the PWR LED is constantly lit, the board is properly powered.

• Step 4: Power On

  Long-press PWRKEY to power on. Before pressing PWRKEY, ensure the supply voltage is stable. It is recommended to wait at least 30 ms between power-on and pressing PWRKEY.

  If auto power-on is required and the shutdown function is not needed, short the two pins labeled PWK_AUTO on the 10-Pin header.

  If PWK_ON is shorted in the previous step, the board will power on automatically without long-pressing PWRKEY. After startup, the NET LED will blink, indicating the board has powered on normally.

Driver Installation

1. Download the QuecPython USB Driver from QuecPython Official Drivers.
2. Extract and run setup.exe or setup.bat.
3. Verify installation in Device Manager (look for ports starting with "Quectel USB"). Ignore unrelated devices such as "Mobile ECM Network Adapter" or "CDC Ethernet Control Model (ECM)".

Tool Installation

• QPYcom: The dedicated QuecPython development and debugging tool for code debugging, log analysis, file transfer, firmware burning, and firmware merging. Download from QuecPython Tools. No installation required — extract and use directly.

• VSCode Plugin: Search for "QuecPython" in the Visual Studio Code extensions marketplace to install the plugin, which provides code hints, code completion, and serial debugging features.

Firmware Burning

1. Firmware Download: Get the latest QuecPython firmware from the QuecPython Firmware page.

   Select the firmware that matches your module model. The firmware file name follows the pattern QPY_OCPU_<version>_<module_model>_FW. Download the latest version unless you have specific requirements.

   The downloaded package is a ZIP file. Extract it (avoid paths containing Chinese characters, spaces, or special characters) to obtain the .bin firmware file and a .md changelog.

2. Burning Steps:
   • Open QPYcom, go to the download page, and click Create to set up a new firmware project.
   • Select the .bin firmware file for your module model.
   • Set the download mode to "Download FW".
   • Click Download FW to start burning. A progress bar will show the status, and a dialog will confirm completion.

REPL Debugging

1. Connect via QPYcom — select the Quectel USB REPL Port and open the "Interactive" tab.
2. Click "Open Serial Port" and test with print('hello world').

>>> print('hello world')
hello world

Note: When using the interactive interface, ensure you type in English characters — Chinese characters will be filtered.

First Script Development

Writing a Script

Create helloworld.py:

print("hello world")

Download the file to the module using QPYcom and run it.

File Transfer

Method 1 — Drag and Drop:

• Open the serial port and use the +/− buttons on the file page to upload and delete files,
• or drag and drop files/folders from the left (local) pane to the right (module) pane.

Method 2 — Download Script:

• Create a user project and add your script files in the "User Script" area.
• Set the download mode to "Download Script" and click to start. A progress bar will show the download status.

Running Scripts

Execute via REPL:

import example
example.exec("/usr/helloworld.py")

Or use QPYcom's file page: select the script file and click the ▶ button to execute.

Stopping Program Execution

How to stop a running program. The following methods are provided according to the type of the running script file: