New Cat4 LTE standard diversity kit used by Antenova
Antenova, a manufacturer of antennas and RF antenna modules for machine-to-machine (M2M) communications and the Internet of Things (IoT), is to show a development kit for a certified Cat4/LTE design at CES2019 in Las Vegas.
LTE Category 4 (Cat4) is the next step in 4G LTE device capability. A Cat4 device uses two antennas – a main antenna for transmit and receive, and a second antenna for receive only. The two antennas radiate in different pattern directions which means they will always provide a good signal in any orientation, as the unit is moved around or turned.
The kit gives designers a short cut to a successful Cat4 design and certifications, which can otherwise be difficult to achieve. Its part number is SR4L059-DVK-1 and it uses two of Antenova’s ‘Inversa’ LTE antennas which cover the cellular frequencies 698-798, 824-960,1710-2170, 2300-2400, and 2500-2690MHz.
Antenova will supply the complete kit with artwork, circuit and reference design. This can be used as a development kit or it can be plugged into a computer to test another design. Full testing is required to pass certifications, so Antenova’s kit is battery powered, which allows the device to be tested in an anechoic chamber.
Commenting, Chris Tomlin, Antenna applications director at Antenova explains: “RF is a very different discipline to electronic design and tends to be less well understood, and at Antenova we are working hard to create antennas and solutions that will help our customers to integrate antennas more easily. This kit will give our customers peace of mind, knowing that the antenna and its circuit are already working on the PCB, so their Cat4 LTE design will be able to pass certification.”
Antenova will show a functioning version of the kit at CES.
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