Last updated on February 8th, 2023
At Kinéis, our philosophy is to guide our device manufacturers through the integration of the Kinéis connectivity in their devices. Since the antenna is a crucial part of the connected device, we have tested a number of off-the-shelf antennas that would be suited to Kinéis transmission and reception, and even had some reference designs made by antenna experts.
Portfolio sections
The portfolio is divided into different categories of antennas:
- off-the-shelf internal antennas, considered as the smallest form factor, compatible with IoT standard constraints (small size, low cost)
- off-the-shelf external antennas, when the use case allows to have a visible antenna
- antenna reference designs, designed especially for Kinéis applications
Rating
Our team has tested all the antennas presented in the portfolio, with transmissions to the satellites in similar conditions:
- on the roof of the Kinéis building, installed on a wooden support
- connected to the same reference transmitter:
- 1W output power
- 60-second periodic transmission
- LD-A2 modulation (received by all in-orbit satellites)
- messages of maximum length (31 Bytes including protocol fields)
- protected by waterproof plastic casings
- on evaluation boards of standard dimensions 5cm x 10cm for antennas soldered on a PCB
- test campaign with duration 8 to 10 days in each orientation
Following the test campaigns, an indicator is computed to assess the performances of each antenna: number of received messages vs number of expected messages in satellite visibility. The value of this indicator is compared to a reference transmitter, and the comparisons are harmonized between all antennas tested in order to give each antenna a rating from to
In addition, we provide some comments about the integration constraints and caution for use: ground plane dimensions, installation on conductive support, IP rating etc…