Pre-Filtered GPS Low-Noise Amplifier

GPS Receiver Protection

Modern receivers are sensitive to saturation or damage by out-of-band interferers. The GPS LNA protects the receiver by removing out-of-band signals enabling operation within its linear range. The -200 variant protects against high-power signals from jammers, radars and comms that transmit near the GPS band, using a post-filter limiter that activates in the presence of high-power signals.

Inline Booster

In some cases, the GPS receiver is separated from the GPS antenna by a long cable which will increase the system noise figure. The pre-filtered GPS module can be used as an inline booster. By co-locating the module near the GPS antenna, it will provide the necessary gain to compensate for the cable loss and minimize the system noise figure. Multiple pre-filtered GPS modules can be cascaded if high gain is required.

Inline Booster with Active Antennas

Some applications make use of an active antenna which will require DC power via a coaxial bias or bias-T. In these applications, the pre-filtered GPS module has configuration options that allow DC power to be delivered to the antenna (200 mA maximum) without rewiring or reconfiguring the system. Voltage bias options 2 and 3 provide a pass-through for the DC voltage to the RF input of pre-filtered GPS module which can source power to active antennas or other upstream hardware. This allows the module to be used as inline boosters with active GPS antennas.

Coaxial Bias

Voltage bias options 1, 3 and 6 provide coaxial bias voltage options for applications requiring DC bias voltage via the center contact of the RF cable; and assists meeting EMI emission requirements

Dual-Output Option

A low-noise dual-output option filters, amplifies and divides the signal from the GPS antenna into two outputs; supporting single antenna operations where multiple GPS antennas are impractical. This is particularly useful on military platforms that require multiple GPS inputs into existing and future systems. Cascading multiple GPS LNAs can provide as many outputs as needed.

Pre-Filtered GPS LNA Module Placement

Every application is unique and where the pre-filtered GPS module should be placed in the cascaded chain must be determined by system engineering. In situations where there is cable loss and/or passive GPS antennas, the optimum placement of the pre-filtered GPS module is as close to the antenna as practical. This will allow the module to minimize the noise figure, which will help to preserve the minimum detectable signal.

For best results, the module should be placed as physically close to the GPS Antenna to minimize the cable loss between the antenna and Pre-Filtered Module.