5.2.2 Ground Plane Requirements
An antenna ground plane is required for the Swarm Coiled ¼ Wave Antenna, and is highly
recommended but not required for the Swarm ½ Wave Antenna. Ground planes are electrically
conductive surfaces that are connected to the ground conductor of the antenna that serve as a
reflecting surface for radio waves.
An ideal ground plane for the two Swarm antennas would be a flat, metal sheet with a radius of
at least 55cm. To date Swarm has reliably communicated with its satellites using a coiled
¼-wave antenna mounted on top of a ground plane as small as: 15cm x 30cm x 0.3cm
October 2020
Swarm Tile Manual - Rev 1.10
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