People state it is desirable to have a GPS antenna well clear of obstructions, which I believe is to stop reflections. But there is another source of reflections which I suspect could be just as problematic.
Whilst the input impedance of the antenna input terminal on a GPS receiver is probably marked 50 Ohms, I'd be somewhat surprised if it was very close to 50 Ohms. Antenna cables have an impedance, which is typically 50 +/- 2 Ohms, but this varies, not only between different makes/models of cables, but even on the same real of cable.The output of the pre-amp is most unlikely to have a 50 Ohm source impedance. In fact, the output impedance might be close to 0 Ohms, as it may be driven by a voltage source, without any 50 Ohm resistor. Anything not immediately absorbed by the GPS receiver is going to be reflected back up the coax, and could be reflected multiple times. I just looked on my HP 8720D VNA, and see I can reduce the output power to -70 dBm, which would should not do any damage. It will be interesting to see just what the input impedance of the GPS receiver is. I'm tied up with doing my accounts over the next few days, but later I will look. If reflections on the antenna/cable/receiver are a problem, then attenuators can improve the match, but of course they reduce the signal level too. A more intelligent, but more difficult solution, is to build a matching network. For that one would need a VNA to measure the impedance in the first place. Dr. David Kirkby Ph.D CEng MIET Kirkby Microwave Ltd Registered office: Stokes Hall Lodge, Burnham Rd, Althorne, Essex, CM3 6DT, UK. Registered in England and Wales, company number 08914892. http://www.kirkbymicrowave.co.uk/ Tel: 07910 441670 / +44 7910 441670 (0900 to 2100 GMT only please) _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.