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Open Questions

Open Questions

Section titled “Open Questions”

This page collects unconfirmed assumptions and items still to verify with the Cloudtainer team. Everything here is honest “we don’t know yet” — not a definitive claim. Please clarify with Francisco / Mauricio / Lucía, and update as answers come in.

Status legend:

  • 🔴 Blocks design decisions — answer affects what to buy / how to fix
  • 🟡 Nice to know — improves documentation accuracy
  • 🟢 Won’t block, but worth confirming

🔴 Battery & BMS

Section titled “🔴 Battery & BMS”

Pack configuration (11 cells — why 11?)

Section titled “Pack configuration (11 cells — why 11?)”
  • Is it really 11 physical Li-ion cells? Francisco confirmed the number, but it’s an unusual choice.
  • What’s the topology: 3S × ? parallel? Uneven branches (e.g. 3+4+4)?
  • What’s the nominal voltage and capacity of the pack?

BMS — off-the-shelf or custom?

Section titled “BMS — off-the-shelf or custom?”
  • Is the BMS a commercial chip (e.g. TI BQ40Z80, Maxim MAX14676) or a custom PCB design?
  • Who designed/sourced it?
  • Does it do cell balancing (passive / active)?
  • Is there per-cell over-voltage / under-voltage / over-current protection?
  • What’s the temperature protection strategy?

Charging

Section titled “Charging”
  • Is the device rechargeable in the field, or single-use deployment with replaceable pack?
  • If rechargeable — what charger chip / solar input?
  • Charging protocol — CC/CV Li-ion standard?

🔴 Hardware confirmation (to verify in Gijón)

Section titled “🔴 Hardware confirmation (to verify in Gijón)”

Actual PCB rev in field

Section titled “Actual PCB rev in field”
  • Does the current revision already have our recommended bulk caps on VMODEM_P? (Client confirmed 3 caps but values/placement unknown)
  • Is there a MOSFET power-gate for servo, or is servo directly connected to VBAT via fuse?
  • RC snubber on motor terminals — present or not?
  • Ferrite bead on servo V+ line?
  • Reverse-polarity protection — any P-MOSFET or Schottky at battery input?

Enclosure

Section titled “Enclosure”
  • Confirmed material: metal, plastic, or hybrid?
  • If plastic — what exact type (PC, ABS, PC+ABS)?
  • UV stabilizer pigment — carbon black (RF-blocking) or TiO₂ (RF-transparent)?
  • Wall thickness?
  • Antenna cutouts — present?

Antennas — current configuration

Section titled “Antennas — current configuration”
  • Does client currently use external antennas via pigtails, or the Notecard’s built-in antennas?
  • If external — which exact model? Combo or separate LTE+GPS?
  • Pigtail length and cable type?

🔴 Notecard SKU — NA vs EU bands

Section titled “🔴 Notecard SKU — NA vs EU bands”

This is critical for operations in Spain.

  • Is the Notecard SKU NOTE-NBNAW (North America bands) or NOTE-WBNAW (Worldwide / EU)?
  • If NA SKU deployed in Spain — it may not attach to European LTE bands (1, 3, 7, 20, 28). Needs swap.
  • What SIM(s) are provisioned — internal Blues eSIM only, or also an external SIM?

🟡 Firmware — design decisions

Section titled “🟡 Firmware — design decisions”

Servo hold timing

Section titled “Servo hold timing”
  • SERVO_HOLD_SECONDS = 7 — why 7 seconds specifically? Mechanical constraint or safety margin?
  • Can this be reduced to save battery?

Why continuous mode for everything?

Section titled “Why continuous mode for everything?”
  • GPS, GSM, SAT all in continuous — is this intentional for debugging, or just defaults never changed?
  • Does the team agree with migrating to periodic + voltage-variable sync?

BLE unlock tokens

Section titled “BLE unlock tokens”
  • Are the current hardcoded tokens (jsnf9233, kqtm4816) placeholders or actual production values?
  • What’s the plan for per-device unique tokens / rotation?

Factory reset flag

Section titled “Factory reset flag”
  • FACTORY_RESET_NOTECARD_ON_BOOT = 0 — what’s the field-upgrade procedure if templates drift?

🟡 Operations & logistics

Section titled “🟡 Operations & logistics”

Deployment regions

Section titled “Deployment regions”
  • Currently Argentina (Claro APN). What other regions are planned?
  • Will device roam across borders (e.g. Argentina → Paraguay → Chile)?
  • Need per-region APN config or "apn": "" (auto)?

Service plan

Section titled “Service plan”
  • What’s the Notehub subscription tier?
  • What’s the average Skylo satellite cost per device/month?
  • Starnote usage — always-on or on-demand only?

Firmware update strategy

Section titled “Firmware update strategy”
  • OTA via Notecard DFU, or physical J-Link reflash?
  • Rollback plan if OTA fails?

🟢 Team & process

Section titled “🟢 Team & process”

Manufacturing

Section titled “Manufacturing”
  • BCINTEC handles PCB fab — do they also do assembly, or SMT house separate?
  • Pilot batch size planned? Production batch?

Testing

Section titled “Testing”
  • Is there a test fixture for production-line validation (e.g. GPS fix check, LTE attach, battery voltage, servo exercise)?
  • Certification status — FCC / CE RED / RoHS?

Code ownership

Section titled “Code ownership”
  • Who maintains Xiao_Cloudtainer repo? Single person (Lucía) or team?
  • What’s the git workflow — direct push, PR, code review?

How to use this page

Section titled “How to use this page”
  1. Bring these questions to the next client meeting or Gijón visit.
  2. When answers come in, move the item to the relevant doc (e.g. confirmed BMS chip → hardware/architecture) and remove from here.
  3. Add new unknowns as they come up. Keep it honest.

Last updated: 2026-04-24