Hello I want to make a permanent base station in my roof and I want to use my old GNSS reciever antenna Ashtec promark 100 which I believe is a passive antenna, is it possoble to use it with the SparkFun GPS-RTK2 Board - ZED-F9P (Qwiic)?
Hi foxhound,
Unfortunately, it looks like that, or any passive antenna, will not work with the ZED-F9P. Per the [ZED-F9P Integration Manual, an active antenna is required. Here is the full quote from the Antenna section (8.3):
u-blox highlights that the use of an active antenna is a pre-requisite for using the ZED-F9P.
If an active antenna needs to be implemented in an application case, it is recommended
that an OEM active antenna module is used that meets our specification. To implement the
required RF circuitry and source the required components to meet group delay specification
is not a simple process compared to previous L1 only implementation."
The [ZED-F9P Product Page has a few antennas in the “Hookup Accessories” carousel that we have tested that work with the ZED-F9P and this [white paper from u-blox goes over using low-cost antennas to get centimeter-level accuracy with them. Lastly, I would recommend reading through our [Hookup Guide for the ZED-F9P GPS-RTK2 as that will go over getting started using the board.](GPS-RTK2 Hookup Guide - SparkFun Learn)](https://cdn.sparkfun.com/assets/learn_tutorials/8/1/4/AntennasForRTK_WhitePaper__UBX-16010559_.pdf)](SparkFun GPS-RTK2 Board - ZED-F9P (Qwiic) - GPS-15136 - SparkFun Electronics)](https://cdn.sparkfun.com/assets/learn_tutorials/8/5/6/ZED-F9P_Integration_Manual.pdf)
Thank you for the reply , SO i have to buy OEM active antenna module , is the center of this antenna precisely specified so I can centred it in a specific known point?
These three antennas will work just fine with the ZED-F9P:
We do not have datasheets for the 1 and 3m GPS/GNSS Antennas but we do have one for the u-blox antenna I have linked above. The datasheet does not mention a phase center but it does have the radiation pattern listed. With a grounding plate and an RTK lock, you should be able to get centimeter accuracy for your base. If you need higher accuracy, you may want to look for a different antenna that has the phase center listed.](GPS/GNSS Embedded Antenna - 1m (SMA) - GPS-14987 - SparkFun Electronics)](GPS/GNSS Magnetic Mount Antenna - 3m (SMA) - GPS-14986 - SparkFun Electronics)](https://cdn.sparkfun.com/assets/1/8/f/f/0/ANN-MB_DataSheet__UBX-18049862_.pdf)](GNSS L1/L2 Multi-Band Magnetic Mount Antenna - 5m (SMA) - GPS-15192 - SparkFun Electronics)
ok, thank you!