NEO-8Q / NEO-M8 - Hardware integration manual
UBX-15029985 - Production information Design Page 15 of 16
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2.4.2 Active antenna design
Active antennas have an integrated low-noise amplifier. Active antennas require a power supply that
will contribute to the total GNSS system power consumption budget with additional 5 to 20 mA
typically.
For maximum external gain see the corresponding product data sheet.
If the supply voltage of the NEO-8Q / NEO-M8 receiver matches the supply voltage of the antenna
(e.g. 3.0 V), use the filtered supply voltage available at pin VCC_RF as shown in Figure 9. For exact pin
orientation, see the corresponding product data sheet.
Active antenna design using VCC_RF pin to supply the active antenna
Figure 9: Active antenna design, external supply from VCC_RF
If the VCC_RF voltage does not match the supply voltage of the active antenna, use a filtered external
supply, as shown in Figure 10. For the exact pin orientation, see the corresponding product data sheet.
Active antenna design powered from external supply
Figure 10: Active antenna design, direct external supply
☞ The circuit shown in Figure 10 works with all u-blox M8 modules, and with modules without
VCC_RF output.