Connor Holowachuk | Project exact-pcb-antenna-tuning

Project Overview

Noisy construction environments make it difficult to achieve reliable long-range communication. The goal of the project was to optimize the signal strength of both the Temperature Logger and Relay PCBs to ensure reliable long-range communication.

Signal Optimization

The Relay PCB accepts incoming signals from temperature loggers via LoRa and pushes them to the cloud using a u-blox 4G modem.

Tuning the Antenna

Using a spectrum analyzer and smith chart, the antenna was tested and tuned in a variety of environments to ensure optimal performance in real-world conditions.

Antenna IsolationTo measure the etched antenna's baseline performance, the PCB was placed a sufficent distance form any conductive medium and testing with a spectrum analyzer.

Smith Chart AnalysisA Smith Chart was used to analyze the antenna performance and determine the optimal impedance and tuning component configuration for efficient performance of the on-board antenna.

Real-world Conditions TestingAdding a nearby battery, a highly conductive medium, helped to test the antenna in a real-world environment. Tests were also conducted with nearby steel structures to test the antenna's ability to avoid interference.

Relay Design Improvements

The Relay PCB accepts incoming signals from temperature loggers via LoRa and pushes them to the cloud using a u-blox 4G modem. An SMA connector was added for interchangable antennas and the layout was improved to reduce parasitic capacitance and improve signal strength.

Relay Signal OptimizationOptimizing the Relay design for use with an SMA connector for interchangabile antennas. The on-board signal routing was carefully measured to ensure optimal signal strength.

PCB Layout ImprovementsImproving the layout of components on the PCB, and adding high density ground plane vias, helped to reduce the parasitic capacitance and improve the signal strength.

Noise AttenuationAdding a tin can connected to the ground plane helped to reduce the noise from the environment and LoRa interference with GSM signals and improve the signal strength.

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