Which Drotek M8N products have external LNA+SAW?

OTHER DROTEK PRODUCTS GPS
1

Hi, exactly which Drotek M8N & Compass modules have an external LNA+SAW? I mean not the one integrated into the NEO-M8N module already, but additional LNA & filter similar to the GSG Shop PRO modules (http://www.csgshop.com/product.php?id_product=211).

The published descriptions of the following products mention “Front-end (LNA+SAW) […]”:

Ref. GPS0820A06 drotek.com/shop/en/drotek-parts/820-ublox-neo-m8n-gps-hmc5983-compass.html
Ref. GPS0740A05 drotek.com/shop/en/drotek-parts/740-ublox-neo-m8-gps-hmc5983-compass.html

And those do NOT mention LAN+SAW:

Ref. GPS0613A05 drotek.com/shop/en/drotek-parts/613-ublox-neo-m8n-gps-hmc5983-compass-xl.html
Ref. GPS0680A05 drotek.com/shop/en/drotek-parts/680-ublox-neo-m8n-gps-hmc5983-compass-xxl.html

Please clarify.

Thanks and kind regards
Hannes.

2

Hello,

So :

Ref. GPS0820A06 drotek.com/shop/en/drotek-parts/820-ublox-neo-m8n-gps-hmc5983-compass.html
Ref. GPS0740A05 drotek.com/shop/en/drotek-parts/740-ublox-neo-m8-gps-hmc5983-compass.html

do have an additional LNA+SAW.

Ref. GPS0613A05 drotek.com/shop/en/drotek-parts/613-ublox-neo-m8n-gps-hmc5983-compass-xl.html
Ref. GPS0680A05 drotek.com/shop/en/drotek-parts/680-ublox-neo-m8n-gps-hmc5983-compass-xxl.html

only have M8 built-in LNA+SAW.

Otherwise TinyRTK is designed for active antennas, our Tallysman antennas have an additional LNA.

3

Kevin, thanks for the confirmation - I’ll go for the “mushroom” version with additional LNA & SAW then.

4

@Kevin maybe a stupid question, but why do these modules do not have an additional LNA+SAW. The difference in cost should not be dramatic - or?

Best regards,
Thorsten

5

The reason why we added an LNA+SAW front-end is because the patch + ground plane are quite small on this module, so the front-end brings better signal to the u-blox chip. In addition it helps filtering out unwanted signal and introduces very-low noise.

U-blox chips have already built-in LNA+SAW, but some users prefer to have an additional one. So basically we have two designs :

  • one with a front-end
  • one with a Faraday case to shield against EMI

The use of an active antenna must also be considered as the LNAs present in such devices are very low-noise. Again, there is no point in amplifying a lot if you are also introducing a lot of noise.