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What Is The Best GPS Antenna/Unit in 2024 - Printable Version

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What Is The Best GPS Antenna/Unit in 2024 - SchwabTh - 2024-06-15

I am running System BLUE 19.3 with firmware 10.0b3 in North America in Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.A.

What is the top performing GPS Antenna/Unit currently available to interface with the Blitzortung servers?

I currently have a Mediatek GPS antenna with a male connector. See attachment.

I am willing to "upgrade" if it will be worthwhile.

Also what are optimal settings:  for satellite types (GPS, GLONASS, etc) & baud rate others have used?

Thank you.

   

RE: What Is The Best GPS Antenna/Unit in 2024 - Kets_One - 2024-06-17

Hi Schwab,

GPS system used by BO consists of two parts:
- GPS/GNSS antenna
- GPS controller (that does the necessary calculations)

Isn't the GPS controller integrated in the BLUE system board (with my BLUE mini board its integrated). This means you normally cannot swap it out for another.
For the antenna though, you can use a different one if you like. They are all connected using the SMA connector on the board.

RE: What Is The Best GPS Antenna/Unit in 2024 - cutty - 2024-06-17

(2024-06-17, 09:20)Kets_One Wrote: Hi Schwab,

GPS system used by BO consists of two parts:
- GPS/GNSS antenna
- GPS controller (that does the necessary calculations)

Isn't the GPS controller integrated in the BLUE system board (with my BLUE mini board its integrated). This means you normally cannot swap it out for another.
For the antenna though, you can use a different one if you like. They are all connected using the SMA connector on the board.

Tom,
... the newer blues (  and the Blue Mini) should use highest baud, and our older Blues and Reds 115200.  I personally use GPS+Glonass with SBAS enabled  on my Blues, and Reds don't give me a choice of constellation, but , I do enable SBAS... since I normally have a GPS SBAS sat (133,134,135) in view.
It's not as critical now, since all signal time stamps are assigned by the receiving server, but it's important to keep that 1pps in sync.
I've stayed in the 'lower end' antennas, after experimenting with a few supposedly better one... didn't notice much difference... my issue is simply having them in location to view the largest constellation areas... location seems much more important than 'variety' or brand of antenna, at least for me. For the last month or so, my reception has been degraded compared to ongoing history.  My latest Blue (3020) has a LOT more GPS loss than the other three, and the antennas for each are in the same 18" area!
I've a GPS status page cobbed together here: https://sferics.us/GPSinfDat.html  which I refer to once in awhile...
Mike

RE: What Is The Best GPS Antenna/Unit in 2024 - Kets_One - 2024-06-18

Cutty,
Since i also participate in the NTP Pool for internet timeservers i have two more GPS antenna's.
In my experience these is a minimum distance between these antenna's of around one feet (~30 cm).
If I put them closer together reception suffers.
Maybe this is happening with you too? Personally i dont experience GPS loss with BLUE mini (which has the u-blox M10 GPS chip) and a cheap puck antenna.

RE: What Is The Best GPS Antenna/Unit in 2024 - hazelnut - 2024-10-14

You don't need to do much, or in fact anything really, for the GPS, as long as you get some sort of signal the rest doesn't matter much.  It's digital, not analog, it either works or it doesn't.  I've been using some generic patch antenna up on a shelf for as long as I've had the station with no problems.

RE: What Is The Best GPS Antenna/Unit in 2024 - Toxic - 2024-10-14

Hi

for my new system blue mini I purchased this one from amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09TLFG368/

seems to give good results so far.  GPS receiver is location in the loft just under a roof tile and I still get good reception.


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