After the read, you will learn about the FOUR GPS antenna classifications as below:
- In terms of polarization, GPS antennas are divided into vertical polarization and circular polarization.
- In terms of placement, GPS antennas are divided into internal antennas and external antennas.
- In terms of power supply, it is divided into active and passive antennas.
- From the appearance, there are 7 GPS antenna styles.
What is GPS?
GPS is a terminal for positioning or navigation by receiving satellite signals. An antenna must be used to receive the signal.
GPS satellite signal is divided into L1 and L2, the frequency is 1575.42MHZ and 1228MHZ respectively, among them L1 is the open civilian signal, and the signal is circular polarization.
The signal strength is about -166dBW, which is a relatively weak signal. These characteristics determine the need to prepare a special antenna for GPS signal reception.
GPS is a terminal for positioning or navigation by receiving satellite signals. An antenna must be used to receive the signal.
What are the GPS antenna classifications?
1. In terms of polarization, GPS antennas are divided into vertical polarization and circular polarization.
The effect of vertical polarization is not as good as circular polarization. Therefore, except for special circumstances, GPS antennas will use circular polarization and linear polarization.
2. In terms of placement, GPS antennas are divided into internal antennas and external antennas.
The assembly location of the antenna is also very important. Early GPS handhelds mostly used flipped antennas. At this time, the antenna is basically isolated from the inside of the whole device, and EMI hardly affects it, and the satellite reception effect is very good.
The current GPS modules are gradually miniaturized and integrated, so GPS module antennas are mostly built-in installation and placement.
At this time, the antenna must be above all metal components, and the inside of the shell must be electroplated and well-grounded, away from EMI interference sources, such as CPU, SDRAM, SD card, crystal oscillator, and DC/DC.
The application of car GPS will become more and more common. The car shell, especially the car anti-explosive film, has a serious obstacle to GPS signals. An external antenna with a magnet (which can be attached to the roof of the car) is very necessary for car GPS.
3. In terms of power supply, it is divided into active and passive antennas.
Passive antenna
Generally, no power supply is required, no LNA amplifier, just the antenna itself. So it is called a passive antenna.
(1) Silver layer
The silver layer on the surface of the ceramic antenna can affect the resonance frequency of the antenna. The ideal frequency point is 1574.42MHZ. The shape of the silver surface can be adjusted to adjust the frequency point during time production.
(2) Ceramic sheet
The quality of the ceramic powder and the sintering process directly affect its performance. The larger the area of the ceramic sheet, the higher the resonance frequency.
Active antenna
Generally, it is the antenna module to be powered, which is composed of a ceramic antenna, LNA (low noise signal module), cable, connector, plus a sealed waterproof ring, that is, Car/Vehicle GPS antenna
4. From the appearance, there are the following 7 classifications
- Spring GPS antenna
- PCB GPS antenna/Flexible PCB GPS antenna
- Rubber Duck GPS antenna
- Ceramic GPS antenna
- FRP（Fiberglass） GPS antenna
- Vehicle antenna
- Base station GPS antenna
C&T RF Antennas Inc has been in the field of wireless module antennas for ten years and has a technical team with rich software and hardware development experience.
C&T RF Antennas Inc provides a series of industrial-grade high-quality GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS, GALILEO, and other GNSS navigation and positioning module antennas, WIFI module antennas, Bluetooth module antennas, and indoor and outdoor wireless antenna solutions.
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