By Steve Bush 24th August 2022
RangeAnt has created a family of 700MHz to 3GHz antennas, designed primarily for cellular, IoT and GNSS applications.
RangeAnt has created a family of 700MHz to 3GHz antennas, designed primarily for cellular, IoT and GNSS applications.
“They feature free-space efficiency of between 80 and 90% and a VSWR below 2:1 across the operating bands,” according to the company. “The high efficiency delivers greater range for available transmitter power, or a lower transmitter power can be used for a given link range.”
Called ‘Max’, the company is aiming the antennas at: Bluetooth, Zigbee, sub-GHz, LoRa, Sigfox, Weightless, Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE, NB-IoT and GPS/GNSS.
The family consists of two devices, with subtly different frequency characteristics: RA150-CX1 has a 150mm RG178 flying lead with a male SMA connector on the end, while RA150-IPX has a IPX connector directly on the antenna. Both are PCB-based, measuring 150 x 37 x 0.8mm plus extra height for the central connection.
Internally, the patented boards are double-sided, with different conductor patterns each side. They are omnidirectional, functioning as monopoles up to 1.6GHz and dipoles above that.
Full performance is achieved without the use of a separate ground plane, said RangeAnt, so the antenna can be integrated into a product without taking a ground plane into consideration. They are designed for a 50Ω match in free space but can require additional matching components when packaged.
“There are pads for three SMD matching components on the antenna” next to the port, company CEO Hans-Erik Backram told Electronics Weekly. “We help our customers with matching guidance individually, on a case-by-case basis. However, we will shortly write general matching guidance and publish in an updated version of the data sheet.”
Imaginatively, the company has printed VSWR, efficiency and return-loss data on the blank antenna surface.
Digi-Key Electronics is stocking the parts.
RangeAnt is a spin-off from the Swedish design centre ShortLink. It has created antenna designs for Motorola, Ericsson, Nokia and Apple, it said.
The Max antenna produc page can be found here, and the data sheet here.
Tagged with: 4G antenna GNSS GPS LoRa LTE NB-IoT Sigfox Zigbee
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Download the Elektra Awards 2022 media pack and book your sponsorship package to be part of the most prestigious awards event celebrating its 20th anniversary this year!
Get our news, blogs and comments straight to your inbox! Sign up for the Electronics Weekly newsletters: Mannerisms, Gadget Master and the Daily and Weekly roundups.
Read our special supplement celebrating 60 years of Electronics Weekly and looking ahead to the future of the industry.
Read the Electronics Weekly @ 60 supplement »
Read the first ever Electronics Weekly online: 7th September 1960. We've scanned the very first edition so you can enjoy it.
Read the very first edition »
Electronics Weekly teams up with RS Grass Roots to highlight the brightest young electronic engineers in the UK today.
Read our special supplement celebrating 60 years of Electronics Weekly and looking ahead to the future of the industry.
Read the Electronics Weekly @ 60 supplement »
Read the first ever Electronics Weekly online: 7th September 1960. We've scanned the very first edition so you can enjoy it.
Read the very first edition »
Tune into this Xilinx interview: Responding to platform-based embedded design
Tune into this podcast to hear from Chetan Khona (Director Industrial, Vision, Healthcare & Sciences at Xilinx) about how Xilinx and the semiconductor industry is responding to customer demands.
By using this website you are consenting to the use of cookies. Electronics Weekly is owned by Metropolis International Group Limited, a member of the Metropolis Group; you can view our privacy and cookies policy here.