Baseband Technologies Inc.
Title: Stamp-size Ultra Low-Power GPS Receiver Module User Guide Rev 1.0
Page 4
2
Description of the Stamp Module
2.1
Overview
This section describes the various connectors and basic functions of the GPS Stamp Module. A
photograph of the Stamp Module is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Stamp Module (Left: Top-side, Right: Bottom-side)
2.2
Antenna
On the top-left side of the board, there is an U.FL type connector that is intended to connect to an
active antenna. Active antennas contain an integrated low noise amplifier (LNA) and thus require
active bias. This DC voltage to power the antenna is provided by the Stamp Module.
A recommended active antenna is made by Tallysman Wireless Inc. and can be purchased at
Digikey
https://www.digikey.com/products/en?keywords=1526-1023-nd
.
The active antenna is activated by using the @ANTENNA command (refer to section 4.1 for further
detail) and, when properly connected, the LED D1 will be illuminated but only during the period of
the data collection snapshot (e.g. 10ms). The MAX2769 RFIC provides the power to the antenna so
no bias-T or separate DC power supply is required.
2.3
Other Components and Connectors
The IC to the bottom right of the antenna connector, U1, is the MAX2769 RFIC. This is the circuitry
that down-converts the GPS signals to digital samples for signal processing.
The IC to the right of the MAX2769, U2, is the MAX32632 microcontroller unit (MCU). The MCU is
where the ultra low-power GPS receiver firmware is hosted. Refer to Section 3 for details on using
the firmware.
