When selecting a GPS antenna, it is necessary to comprehensively consider factors such as the environmental characteristics, signal requirements, and installation conditions of specific scenarios. The following details the key points for selecting GPS antennas from the perspective of common scenarios:
1. Vehicle Scenarios
In vehicle environments, GPS antennas need to cope with issues such as vehicle movement, obstructions (such as high-rise buildings, tunnels), and vibrations. When selecting, attention should be paid to:
Signal stability: Priority should be given to high-gain antennas (gain 3-5dBi) to enhance the ability to capture weak signals, especially in urban canyon (areas with dense high-rise buildings) scenarios.
Installation convenience: Patch or magnetic antennas are recommended, which can be adsorbed on the roof to avoid damaging the vehicle body; if hidden installation is required, built-in ones (such as embedded in the instrument panel) can be selected, but it is necessary to ensure that there is no metal obstruction above.
Anti-interference ability: Vehicle electronic devices (such as engines, radios) may cause interference, so antennas with filtering functions should be selected to reduce the impact of electromagnetic interference (EMI).
Waterproof and dustproof: For outdoor use, it needs to meet the protection level of IP65 or above to cope with rain and snow weather.
2. UAV/Aviation Scenarios
UAVs and aircraft have extremely high requirements on the weight, volume, and vibration resistance of antennas, and at the same time need to adapt to the high-altitude signal environment:
Lightweight and miniaturization: Select micro ceramic antennas (size 10-20mm), with weight controlled within 5g, to avoid affecting the equipment's battery life and balance.
Omnidirectionality: UAVs have variable flight attitudes (rolling, pitching), so omnidirectional antennas (360° horizontal coverage) are needed to ensure signal reception at any angle.
Vibration resistance and temperature resistance: The antenna needs to pass vibration tests (such as MIL-STD-883) and adapt to extreme temperatures of -40℃~85℃ to avoid failure due to high-altitude low temperatures.
Multi-system compatibility: To improve positioning accuracy, multi-mode antennas supporting GPS + Beidou + GLONASS can be selected to enhance signal redundancy.
3. Surveying and Mapping/Geological Exploration Scenarios
This type of scenario has extremely high requirements on positioning accuracy (centimeter level) and needs to be combined with RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) technology. The key points for antenna selection are:
High precision and low noise: Select Choke Ring antennas, which reduce positioning errors by suppressing multipath effects (interference after signals are reflected by the ground), suitable for complex terrain areas (such as mountainous areas, mining areas).
High gain: A gain of 8-15dBi ensures the reception of differential signals from distant reference stations and expands the operating range.
Durability: The shell is made of high-strength materials (such as aluminum alloy) with a waterproof rating of IP67 or above, adapting to outdoor wind, rain, and dust environments.
Phase center stability: The phase center offset should be ≤1mm to avoid affecting surveying and mapping accuracy due to the antenna's own errors (professional-grade antennas will provide a phase center parameter table).
4. Indoor Scenarios (such as smart homes, robots)
Indoor environments have severe signal occlusion (walls and ceilings cause significant attenuation of GPS signals). When selecting, targeted optimization is required:
Signal penetration ability: If GPS must be used, select right-hand circularly polarized antennas (GPS signals are right-hand circularly polarized) to reduce polarization mismatch loss caused by wall reflection; if indoor signals are too weak, a GPS signal amplifier can be used together.
Alternative solutions: If GPS signals are insufficient, priority should be given to indoor positioning technologies (such as UWB, Bluetooth), or GNSS + INS (Inertial Navigation) combined antennas can be selected, which use inertial sensors to compensate for the continuity of positioning when GPS signals are lost (such as when robots move indoors).
Miniaturization: To adapt to the volume limitations of equipment, built-in ceramic antennas (size 5-10mm) can be selected, embedded in the equipment (such as smart watches, floor-sweeping robots).
5. Marine/Maritime Scenarios
Ships at sea are susceptible to bumpy sea waves and salt spray corrosion, and need to cope with strong signals in open waters and sudden occlusion (such as bridge areas):
Salt spray corrosion resistance: The shell is made of 316 stainless steel, and the surface is treated with anti-corrosion to avoid short circuits caused by seawater erosion.
Omnidirectional and high gain: With a gain of 5-8dBi, omnidirectional coverage ensures that signals are not interrupted when the ship is swaying, and at the same time adapts to the strong signal environment in open sea areas.
Waterproof rating: IP68 (continuous waterproofing above 2 meters underwater) to cope with heavy rain and deck water accumulation.
Multi-band support: In addition to GPS, it is recommended to support Beidou (stronger signals in Chinese waters) and Galileo to avoid signal interruption of a single system.
6. Internet of Things (IoT) Device Scenarios (such as smart meters, asset tracking)
IoT devices are usually low-power, miniaturized, and deployed in diverse environments (such as underground pipe networks, containers):
Low-power design: The antenna needs to match the low-power module of the device to avoid additional energy consumption (such as selecting passive antennas that do not require an external power supply).
Miniaturization and concealment: Select flexible FPC antennas or thin-film antennas, which can be attached to the surface of the device (such as the side of a container) without affecting the device's appearance and installation.
Signal penetration optimization: If the device needs to be buried underground or placed in a metal box, select high-penetration antennas (such as optimized for low-frequency bands) to reduce the impact of metal shielding.
Cost control: For mass deployment, priority should be given to cost-effective ceramic antennas (lower cost than choke ring or multi-mode antennas).
Summary: Core Dimensions for Selecting GPS Antennas
Signal environment: For areas with much occlusion (such as indoors, cities), select high-gain + anti-multipath antennas; for open areas (such as sea, high altitude), select omnidirectional + multi-mode antennas.
Device limitations: For devices sensitive to weight/volume (such as UAVs), select micro antennas; for devices sensitive to power consumption (such as IoT), select passive antennas.
Environmental adaptability: For harsh environments (such as wild, sea), select antennas with high protection + durable materials; for environments with strong electromagnetic interference (such as vehicles), select filtering antennas.
Accuracy requirements: For ordinary navigation (meter level), select conventional antennas; for surveying and mapping/RTK (centimeter level), select choke ring + phase center stable antennas.
Shenzhen Keesun Technology Co.,Ltd was founded in Aug of 2012, a high-tech enterprise specializing in various types of antenna and network cable manufacturing.
