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antennas [2015/08/08 21:27] c created |
antennas [2015/12/31 20:11] liooo [Soldering] |
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= Antennas | = Antennas | ||
- | The board has a PCB antenna for the 2.5 GHz ISM Band, for stand alone operation on the Camp Area. For other frequencies an external antenna may be needed. | + | The board has a PCB antenna for the 2.5 GHz ISM Band, for stand alone operation on the Camp Area. **For other frequencies the use of an external antenna is highly recommended.** |
+ | |||
+ | == Internal Antenna | ||
+ | Have a look at [[antennas:internal|Internal Antenna]] for more details on the internal antenna. | ||
== How to attach an external antenna | == How to attach an external antenna | ||
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=== Soldering | === Soldering | ||
- | <note important>**When soldering an antenna or SMA connector, a resistor (R315, 0 Ohm) must be turned 90 degrees or replaced with a bridge, connecting the RF line on the left to the SMA connector pads on the right**</note> (then the 0 Ohm resistor will be sitting on the R314 pads; R314 and R315 share the upper left pad). | + | <note important>**When soldering an antenna or SMA connector, a resistor (R315, 0 Ohm) must be turned 90 degrees or replaced with a bridge, connecting the RF line on the left to the SMA connector pads on the right**</note> (then the 0 Ohm resistor will be sitting on the R314 pads; R314 and R315 share the upper left pad). Use 2 soldering irons - so you can easily move the little resistor. |
- | The SMA connector should be an edge-launch SMA connector for a PCB thickness of 1.6mm | + | The SMA connector should be an edge-launch SMA connector for a PCB thickness of 1.6mm (see [[extension:rfkit|RF Kit]]) |
- | Resistor turned 90 degrees | + | Resistor turned 90 degrees:\\ |
{{:rad1o_10.jpg?100|}} | {{:rad1o_10.jpg?100|}} | ||
- | Alternative: Add bridge, remove resistor | + | Alternative: Add bridge, remove resistor:\\ |
{{:rad1o_11.jpg?100|}} | {{:rad1o_11.jpg?100|}} | ||
- | Using a soldered copper cable as antenna: | + | Using a soldered copper cable as antenna:\\ |
{{:rad1o_9.jpg?100|}} | {{:rad1o_9.jpg?100|}} | ||
- | Adding an SMA connector so that you can connect an external antenna for your specific needs. | + | Adding an SMA connector so that you can connect an external antenna for your specific needs:\\ |
{{:rad1o_12.jpg?100|}} | {{:rad1o_12.jpg?100|}} | ||
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+ | **WARNING: When soldering, don't connect the unpopulated large pads right below the antenna pads to the pads, this may result in blue smoke!** Best to check right after soldering, we did find a few cases of barely visible connection.\\ | ||
+ | {{:antenna_connector_dont_bridge_res_blue_smoke.png?100|}} | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Building an external antenna | ||
+ | |||
+ | Build your own dipole antenna with [[extension:d1pole|d1pole]] | ||
+ | |||
+ | German compendium about HAM-Radio-Antennas, very complete, with a lot of tipps and instructions for DIY-Antennas, Edition from 1968 (7th Edition). [[http://pi4oss.ham-radio.ch/hamsoft/Rothammel.pdf|Rothammel - Das Antennenbuch]] Current Edition is 13th, from 2012 ISBN 978-3-88692-065-5 | ||
+ | == Commerical antennas | ||
+ | |||
+ | HackRF recommends the [[https://greatscottgadgets.com/ant500/|ANT500]] antenna for beginners. Cheapest way to order in germany/fr/uk seems to be from [[https://www.passion-radio.com/gb/antennas/antenne-ant500-74.html|passion radio]] for 29€ (VAT not included!), shipping being about 2€. This shop also recommends the apparantly similar antenna [[https://uk.passion-radio.com/gb/sdr-antennas/srh789-sma-259.html|Diamond SRH789]]. |