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Nowadays, many devices must use GPS. People want to track their device via GPS, and sometimes they want to confirm the location of the lost device. Now, if you want to design a GPS antenna PCB, you need to follow some rules and guidelines. You can consult the tutorials available on the Internet. We will discuss some steps and techniques for successfully designing GPS PCB.
The first step in this process is to select the correct GPS module. Before choosing a GPS module, there are several factors that need to be checked. Which module is best for you? GPS patch antenna or GNSS antenna or ceramic patch antenna?
There are two types of GPS antennas. One is an active GPS antenna, and the other is a passive GPS antenna. The passive antenna does not have any amplifier module, but the active antenna has a low noise amplifier built into the module. The active antenna is configured with a board, which can be connected to the PCB via a coaxial cable.
Some receivers are bundled with two types of antennas. Likewise, they can contain a latent coordinate with a lattice that is coordinated with the output in the direction of radiation with an impedance of 50 ohms. As we all know, active antennas have performance advantages due to their pre-designed LNA function or low-noise amplification function.
How to design the PCB of GPS antenna?
You must first properly isolate or protect all components on the circuit board. If you cannot protect or cover them properly, GPS antennas and receivers may degrade the signal quality. Sometimes, when the receiver has a built-in antenna, the receiver noise can cause a lot of trouble. The cross connection between the receiver and other components is mainly due to insufficient shielding. On the other hand, the GPS signal must be extracted from the LNA. We can do this by placing a SAW filter or a surface acoustic wave filter between the LNA and the receiver input. The special feature of the SAW filter is that it can filter high frequencies above 1 GHz, just like those in GPS applications. Without SAW filters, it is almost impossible to distinguish GPS frequencies from other noise signals.
Shielding, grounding and wiring:
Since the output signal of the GPS antenna is equal to or less than 20 dB, proper wiring, grounding and shielding are required on the PCB. Therefore, the GPS antenna cannot accept the amount of noise signal that other devices can accept. First, try to create different modules for the main PCB. Then create a separate terrain for each block, and finally, you can add these terrain points to the star topology. We must move the antenna path away from the digital path because the antenna path to the receiver will carry the digital signal. If it is possible to route the antenna through the shielding cabinet, it should be done as it can shield the antenna signal.
Impedance matching design:
Attenuation and impedance matching are an important part of high-frequency PCB design. Signals with longer traces and higher carrier frequencies may result in lower sensitivity. If higher sensitivity is required, a shorter trace should be selected between the passive antenna and the external LNA.
If you are using antenna traces that carry RF signals, it is always best to avoid vias because it may increase the impedance of the trace. One method can increase the impedance of 10 ohms to track the GPS RF frequency, and may also produce inductive discontinuities. In this way, you can design the GPS antenna PCB.
After completing the PCB design, we must send the design to the PCB manufacturer, who can manufacture it according to our design. Then, we can assemble all the necessary components so that they can be used.
What is a GSM PCB antenna?
GSM is a global system for mobile communications. Based on the circuit diagram, we will create the first BOM file or BOM file.
According to the circuit diagram and component information, we can easily build the GSM antenna PCB. First, connect the GSM module U1 to the SIM1 connector or SIM card holder. Now they are connected to U2 (voltage separation), and we can see that they are also connected to the SIM card holder and the GSM module. There are output connectors such as JP1, JP2, JP3 and JP4.
The GSM module requires a power supply voltage of 5V to 20V. Initially, when receiving SMS from a mobile phone or any other device, the SIM card owned by the SIM card holder communicates with the GSM modem through some digital commands. Then, it sends the data to the microcontroller via serial communication. The microcontroller uses the standard AT&T protocol to communicate with GSM. Send and receive text messages by sending the correct AT&T command sequence to the GSM module.
PCB layout of GSM module:
Now, before designing a PCB for GSM antenna PCB, you need to follow some rules and guidelines. You can check some tutorials on the Internet. Here, we will discuss some important points that are helpful to the design. First, draw the schematic diagram according to the circuit, and then check whether it matches our circuit. Keep the distance between all the lines so that when all the necessary components are assembled later, we can easily place them correctly without short-circuiting. EMI or electromagnetic interface is another factor that may cause instability in embedded systems. Usually, the antenna is connected with GSM to enhance the radio wave signal, so please pay attention to the influence of EMI on the system, especially during transmission and reception. Always keep the GSM antenna away from all traces, because. Do not place it on the track. Keep your design tidy and minimize traces as much as possible. You need to make sure that the voltage regulator that powers the GSM module must be able to handle sudden current spikes, and it is best to use a wide and thick PSU copper wire connection to be able to handle large currents.
After completing the design, we must send it to the manufacturer so that they can manufacture it according to our design. Then, we can assemble it so that it can be used.
in conclusion:
PCB may produce a variety of antenna PCBs for you, so we can understand that antenna PCB design is very important and its demand is increasing day by day. However, PCB designers need to better understand and follow the guiding principles in order to achieve a perfect antenna PCB layout. However, through the use of higher-quality software and artificial intelligence, the design of antenna PCBs will become easier in the future.
