RE: Optional SMA Footprint

Øyvind Karlsen — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 12:17:57 GMT

Hi Alex,

If you're thinking about the nRF51 development kit, the antenna is always there. There's a coaxial connector with switch being used, you can place a probe/cable into it and it will switch the signal path onto the connector, bypassing the antenna.

We found this to be an easy way to debug the development kit, it is possible to do what you're suggesting as well, but it will affect RF performance. If you're making a device I would recommend soldering onto the antenna output and cutting away the connection to the antenna.

You can definitely send in your design for review by our support team engineers, we also offer help with tuning. If you prefer you can post it here and we'll do our best to help you.

Best regards,

Øyvind

RE: Optional SMA Footprint

chalecampb — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 19:44:03 GMT

Should also point out that I have read both nWP-017 and the λ/4 printed monopole antenna for 2.45GHz document (thanks for those!). Neither mentioned the use of an SMA connector for testing if it would be left off during production.