Antenna for ZOE-M8Q GPS Breakout

GPS/GNSS Development Boards
1

Hello, I need help in choosing an antenna for the product “SparkFun GPS Breakout - ZOE-M8Q (Qwiic)” aka. GPS-15193 (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/15193).

What confuses me is, that the board is ready for active antennas, but the chip only supports 0dB as input power:

RF Input power on RF_IN inband (1525-1650 MHz): 0 dBm

RF Input power on RF_IN outband (777-915 MHz, 1710-2200 MHz): +15 dBm

(Taken from the ZOE-M8 datasheet Chapter 3.1 Absolute maximum rating)

Am I restricted to using antennas that have 0dB gain (passive?) or am I misunderstanding the 0dB limit?

2

Hi,

The chip supports RF Input Power (inband) of 0 dBm = zero dB milliwatts. I.e. 1 milliwatt. Standard active antennas won’t produce anything like that power. (But a GNSS signal generator could…)

A good choice for an active antenna is: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14986

Best wishes,

Paul

3

Thank you Paul for the fast answer.

Now I feel safe to connect an active antenna to the board without worrying about overloading the chip.

Have a nice day,

Matt