NEO-M8P - Hardware Integration Manual
UBX-15028081 - R05
Early Production Information
Product handling
Page 19 of 27
sensitive electronics is prevented. International standards are used to define typical EPA and can be obtained for
example from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) or American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
GNSS positioning modules are sensitive to ESD and require special precautions when handling. Particular care must
be exercised when handling patch antennas, due to the risk of electrostatic charges. In addition to standard ESD
safety practices, the following measures should be taken into account whenever handling the receiver.
•
Unless there is a galvanic coupling between the local GND (i.e.
the work table) and the PCB GND, then the first point of contact
when handling the PCB must always be between the local GND
and PCB GND.
•
Ground a patch antenna before mounting.
•
When handling the RF pin, do not come into contact with any
charged capacitors and be careful when contacting materials
that can develop charges (e.g. patch antenna ~10 pF, coax cable
~50 – 80 pF/m, soldering iron, …)
•
To prevent electrostatic discharge through the RF input, do not
touch any exposed antenna area. If there is any risk that such
exposed antenna area is touched in non ESD protected work
area, implement proper ESD protection measures in the design.
•
When soldering RF connectors and patch antennas to the
receiver’s RF pin, make sure to use an ESD safe soldering iron
(tip).
Failure to observe these precautions can result in severe damage to the GNSS module!
ESD protection measures
GNSS positioning modules are sensitive to Electrostatic Discharge (ESD). Special precautions are
required when handling.
For more robust designs, employ additional ESD protection measures. Using an LNA with appropriate ESD
rating can provide enhanced GNSS performance with passive antennas and increases ESD protection.
Most defects caused by ESD can be prevented by following strict ESD protection rules for production and handling.
When implementing passive antenna patches or external antenna connection points, then additional ESD measures
can also avoid failures in the field as shown in Figure 11.
Small passive antennas
(<2 dBic
and performance critical)
Passive antennas
(>2 dBic or
performance sufficient)
Active antennas
A
RF
_
IN
G
N
S
S
R
ec
ei
ver
LNA
B
L
RF
_
IN
G
N
S
S
R
ec
ei
ver
C
D
RF
_
IN
G
N
S
S
R
ec
ei
ver
LNA with appropriate ESD rating
Figure 11: ESD Precautions
