Thingy91 GPS antenna recommendation?

RE: Thingy91 GPS antenna recommendation?

Simonr — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 13:01:19 GMT

Please refer to the HW files of the nRF9160 DK (downloadable here) as well as our whitepaper on Active GPS antenna modules here.

Best regards,

Simon

RE: Thingy91 GPS antenna recommendation?

bali — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 16:01:33 GMT

do you have any recommendation for a bias tee ?

RE: Thingy91 GPS antenna recommendation?

Allen C — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 14:58:15 GMT

Tallysman also manufactures Bias-Tees

RE: Thingy91 GPS antenna recommendation?

Simonr — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 13:43:58 GMT

Hi Bojan

I have contacted the Thingy:91 team, and we will certainly update the documentation to specify that all these components are necessary in order to get the external GPS up and running on our Thingy:91s. I have also passed on your suggestion regarding a notification. I'm sorry you've been struggling with this for so long now, and I want to assure you that we're working on improving the documentation.

We really appreciate your feedback, both positive and negative, as we strive to make our customers satisfied and deliver great products that are easy to use even though this always isn't the case.

Best regards,

Simon

RE: Thingy91 GPS antenna recommendation?

bojan — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 15:08:14 GMT

Hello, Simonr.

Thanks for clarifying the things to the benefit of the community! One more important thing should be added as well. According to the info from this thread, we will have a hard time using external active antennas with the Thingy:91 board (due to added loss by the required external components). If this is already proven from your in-house and some user experiences, please share that info with us in a clear and obvious manner (e.g. with the bold red notification on Thingy:91 home page).

Concerning the the MXHS83QE3000 adapter, I found a 100mm alternative at Mouser - MXHS83QE1000.

Regards,

Bojan.

RE: Thingy91 GPS antenna recommendation?

Simonr — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 07:58:15 GMT

Hi Bojan

I have now updated my previous reply to clarify that all three components (antenna, adapter cable, and Bias Tee) are needed for an external active antenna. As for your request on alternatives for the MXHS83QE3000, I'm afraid there aren't any alternatives.

Best regards,

Simon

RE: Thingy91 GPS antenna recommendation?

bojan — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 13:56:53 GMT

[quote userid="75734" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/52992/thingy91-gps-antenna-recommendation/213789"]Both the Siretta MIKE3A, the Maxtena MEA-GPS-S, and the Tallysman TW4020 should work as external antennas on the Thingy:91. Keep in mind that you'll need an adapter (like the MXHS83QE3000) from the connector on the board to the antenna itself.[/quote]

Simonr, you should be clear enough and specify that all the external antennas you mentioned are active antennas and all of them need a Bias Tee for proper work. So it is not only antenna and adapter but antenna + adapter cable + Bias Tee if antenna is active (all antennas you listed are active).

A lot of confusion is distributed over the forum (from thread to thread) when you share the infos that are partly correct.

Cheers!

Bojan.

RE: Thingy91 GPS antenna recommendation?

Simonr — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 07:34:04 GMT

Hi Bojan

I've asked internally if we have some recommended replacements for the MXHS83QE3000 adapter, as I don't know of any by heart. In the meantime, I was able to find two distributors (one authorized and one non-authorized) that do have this connector in stock. Please check out this link for more information.

Best regards,

Simon

RE: Thingy91 GPS antenna recommendation?

bojan — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 15:02:16 GMT

Hello, Simonr.

It is currently impossible to find the MXHS83QE3000. Can you recommend us some appropriate replacement for this adapter?

Thanks in advance!

Bojan.

RE: Thingy91 GPS antenna recommendation?

Simonr — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 10:25:43 GMT

Hi Anthony

You'll need a Bias tee if the antenna is active. You can take a look at the nRF91 DK hardware files to see how this is done there.

Best regards,

Simon

RE: Thingy91 GPS antenna recommendation?

aoliveri — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 19:37:35 GMT

Do you also need a RF Bias Tee between the adapter cable and the GPS antenna?

RE: Thingy91 GPS antenna recommendation?

Simonr — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 06:26:05 GMT

Hi Allen

Both the Siretta MIKE3A, the Maxtena MEA-GPS-S, and the Tallysman TW4020 should work as external antennas on the Thingy:91. Keep in mind that you'll need an adapter (like the MXHS83QE3000) from the connector on the board to the antenna itself.

Best regards,

Simon

EDIT: As suggested, here is a clarification on the statement above. All antennas mentioned above are active antennas and will need an adapter cable and a Bias tee to work properly.