Product category:
Antennas and Feeders
News Release from: Sarantel | Subject: PowerHelix GPS-P
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 27 June 2001
Omnidirectional bonus for miniature GPS
antenna
Antenna specialist Sarantel has announced the PowerHelix GPS-P, a miniature GPS antenna which is omnidirectional and therefore tolerant of the orientation of the GPS receiver.
Antenna specialist Sarantel has announced the PowerHelix GPS-P, a miniature GPS (Global Positioning System) antenna which is omnidirectional and therefore tolerant of the orientation of the GPS receiver It also has a low near-field region meaning that less of the received radiation is absorbed by the body, making it virtually unaffected by proximity to the user
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 23 Apr 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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In the last four months four companies have designed the Sarantel ultra-small GeoHelix GPS antenna into CompactFlash GPS modules in current production.
The antenna requires no ground plane, thereby offering space saving benefits, and is ideal for handheld and mobile GPS applications.
The PowerHelix GPS-P, which operates on the GPS L1-band (1575.42MHz), uses Sarantel's patented design in which copper tracks, deposited on to a small ceramic cylinder, are individually and automatically laser trimmed for optimum frequency response.
With no ground plane, the robust antenna measures only 10mm in diameter by 18mm and will allow space saving for in-vehicle and handheld GPS applications.
Furthermore, the antennas can be mounted side by side and used in combined applications such as Bluetooth and GPS without loss performance.
The PowerHelix technology, developed by Sarantel in conjunction with Loughborough University, has a right-hand circular primary polarisation generating a cardioid-shaped reception pattern above the antenna.
The antenna also generates a left hand pattern beneath the antenna, enabling it to pick up the bounced signals typically encountered in urban areas.
The active part of the antenna is isolated from the handset case and has a very small near-field region.
This makes it far less susceptible to being in close proximity with the body or other absorbing material than with conventional designs.
The PowerHelix GPS-P also has a very broad beamwidth (3dB contour up to 175deg typical) making it highly effective at picking up GPS signals regardless of the orientation or movement of the GPS receiver or antenna.
Barrie Foley, Sarantel's CEO, remarked: "Our designs provide considerable performance improvements for all GPS applications where small or discreet antennas are required.
Vehicle or personal tracking applications demand the accuracy of the big commercial systems but are limited by cosmetic and practical factors.
The PowerHelix GPS-P overcomes these problems and offers technical benefits that were formerly unthinkable in a mid-budget device".
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