Which Antennae to use with nRF 8001

[Manish Gulia]

Can you tell me which antennaes i can connect with nRF 8001 to make it discoverable and transfer data. And i think pi network is solved depending on the antennae only. Can any body tell me the which antennae i can use and the corresponding values of the pi network respectively.

[Ole Morten]

You can use any 50 ohm antenna with the nRF8001, either a simple PCB trace of some kind or a chip antenna.

Between the nRF8001 and the antenna, you first need to have either the matching network shown in the PS or a balun, and after this, some compontents for antenna tuning. The matching network or balun converts the output impedance of the chip to a single ended 50 ohm point, while the antenna tuning compontents are used to tune the antenna used to actually have 50 ohm impedance. For a chip antenna or meander antenna, a full pi-network is recommended, while for a simple trace antenna, a single shunt capacitor is usually sufficient, since the length of the antenna can also be adjusted.

It's impossible to say which values should be used for the pi-network or the shunt capacitor without testing, but such testing is something we can help you with, as long as you've had the design reviewed first. If you need such review, please create a regular support case, and upload your complete design (schematics and Gerbers/Altium files) there.