NEO-D9S - Integration manual
Appendix
A Stacked patch antenna
A typical low cost L1 + L2 + L-band antenna is based on a stacked patch antenna design. This
consists of two discrete ceramic patch elements with an L1/ L-band patch above an L2 patch.
Figure 34: Ceramic stack
When used in an automotive application, the antenna placement can affect the phase center
variation owing to the size and shape of the ground plane coupled with the effects of the adjacent
structures. A phase center variation calibration is required to check the actual antenna position. A
successful calibration can be made if the phase variation of a specific antenna is repeatable between
samples.
To obtain the best antenna performance in an automotive application, mount the antenna in the
center of a conductive car roof without any inclination. The antenna requires good signal levels and
as wide a view of the sky as possible. The antenna must not be placed under a dashboard, in the rear
view mirror, or on the rear parcel shelf.
An L1 + L2 + L-band stacked patch antenna must have a good band-pass performance from the
patch elements with low attenuation from SAW band-pass filtering. An example of the measured
frequency characteristics of a low-cost L1 + L2 + L-band antenna is shown below.
UBX-19026111 - R07
Appendix
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