nRF9160 GPS RF Switch and Amplifier

RE: nRF9160 GPS RF Switch and Amplifier

Carles@NN — Mon, 24 Feb 2020 14:11:24 GMT

Hi Gtech, if you are interested in using the same antenna component at the Thingy91, but with two separate ports, 1 for cellular IoT, 1 for GPS, you will find an example in this application note:

https://fractusantennas.com/files/AN_FR01-S4-210_Mobile_GNSS.pdf

If you need help in matching your antenna into your actual device, you can always use this link:

https://fractusantennas.com/fast-track-project/

RE: nRF9160 GPS RF Switch and Amplifier

Gtech — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 14:47:24 GMT

Can I use a 3 pole switch Or would I need to use an 8 pole switch to change between the LTE Bands and GPS ?

RE: nRF9160 GPS RF Switch and Amplifier

Gtech — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 07:40:25 GMT

I asked Fractus and they said that Nordic is using an Active Antenna and I could be using a Passive antenna design with two feeding lines to the antenna instead of one.

RE: nRF9160 GPS RF Switch and Amplifier

ketiljo — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 07:11:20 GMT

That's because the DK have separate antennas for LTE and GPS

RE: nRF9160 GPS RF Switch and Amplifier

Gtech — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 14:37:27 GMT

Is the switch for switching between LTE and GPS mandatory ? Or can it be done without it ? Because in the nrf9160 DK there is no switch between LTE and GPS

RE: nRF9160 GPS RF Switch and Amplifier

ketiljo — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 14:24:57 GMT

Yes. See the Thingy documentation again:

RE: nRF9160 GPS RF Switch and Amplifier

Gtech — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 14:17:44 GMT

If there are two outputs from the nRF9160 for LTE and GPS. Do I still need a switch for switching between LTE and GPS ? Like Nordic did with the Thingy91. I will be using the same Fractus PCB antenna as the Thingy91

RE: nRF9160 GPS RF Switch and Amplifier

ketiljo — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 14:07:52 GMT

Depends a bit how you are going to use this. The SKY13414-485LF is a 1 to 4 switch, so you can't use this alone. I'd consider using two 1 to 2 switches instead, to select between antenna and U.FL connector. You may need an additional switch if you are going to use just one antenna, to select between LTE and GPS.

RE: nRF9160 GPS RF Switch and Amplifier

Gtech — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 17:30:31 GMT

Is this a good RF Switch alternative for the LTE and GPS ?

SKY13414-485LF

I would like to use 1 for LTE and 1 for GPS.

Or do you think I could you a Dual RF switch like this one RFSW6222 for both LTE and GPS in a single package IC.

RE: nRF9160 GPS RF Switch and Amplifier

Gtech — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 12:51:27 GMT

Which RF switch would you recommend for the LTE and GPS ? As an alternative to the QM13132.

RE: nRF9160 GPS RF Switch and Amplifier

ketiljo — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 12:19:35 GMT

Thingy91 uses the same antenna for LTE and GPS. As there are two separate RF ports on the nRF9160, you need a switch to select which port to use.

To select a U.FL connector instead of the antenna, you need another switch, or two if you need U.FL for both the GPS and LTE antennas.

You'll find a description on how this is done in the Thingy91 documentation

RE: nRF9160 GPS RF Switch and Amplifier

Gtech — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 23:02:11 GMT

What RF switch would you recommend to use? Is the switch needed for LTE and GPS or can I use 1 switch for both? I would like you use the Fractus Antenna as on the Thingy91 and have a UFL Connector. 1 for LTE and 1 for GPS. Would I need to have 2 RF switches ?

RE: nRF9160 GPS RF Switch and Amplifier

ketiljo — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 08:43:39 GMT

For the GPS LNA, an alternative is the SKY65943-11. For the RF switch, you can use just about anything that can handle 23 dBm power with the correct frequency range.