PCB antenna and radio certification
Questions about radio certification will be answered in our LPWAN and BLE seminars. About 1/3 of the time we explain how to certify wireless IoT devices. The wireless part is only a small part which has to be tested according to RED.
Question about certification and antenna
Q: I have a question for you. It can be assumed that my new product contains a certified GSM module and is connected to a PCB antenna I developed. If my device is to receive CE certification, does it need to be fully re-tested? Will my custom PCB antenna cancel the wireless module certification?
Answer about certification and antenna
A: The CE (RED) certification only applies to the radio module and is not transferred to the complete circuit board with the enclosure. CE +CE <> CE. You have to test again, but only a part of the tests already passed by the GSM module. With a bad antenna with a bad return loss, harmonics can be generated quickly. Also, a good chip antenna wrongly integrated, with a too-small ground plane or with bad platinum layout may lead to harmonics. If you don’t have any experience or measurement equipment (Vector Network Analyser), it is difficult to evaluate a self-made PCB antenna. If the experience is missing then I recommend an external consultant for antennas. A consultation with report often costs only 3 to 4 hours working time and saves thousands of Euros in radio certification.
Extract of wireless IoT related services:
– Matching of the antenna in the device (chip, PCB antenna, helical antenna)
– Guidance on antenna design if undertaken by the client
– Antenna layout of the dual F-antenna on an empty PCB in the customer’s enclosure
– Antenna layout of any other custom PCB antenna: Helix antenna, Flex PCB antenna, Antenna punched from tinplate, Antenna printed on plastic in housing, Antenna on ceramic, Slot antennas and many more techniques
– Antenna with radio module and power supply for extremely low power consumption
– Assisting in the implementation of the antenna or power supply concept in the fully-featured PCB of the customer
– Development of the whole PCB including an antenna with software Development by the customer
– Development of the whole device (HW + SW) following the client’s specifications
– Reference designs with NB-IoT, LTE-M, GSM, GNSS, BLE, Wi-Fi, MCU, sensors, charging electronics for over 20 applications with an open block diagram and the possibility for customers to develop their own code using a free C compiler
– Preliminary measurements and tests required for radio certification
– Radio certification according to RED (CE), FCC and several more standards
– Workshops at the client’s office or via video conference
– Training and seminars on radio technology and radio certification
We look forward to receiving your inquiry to harald.naumann (at) lte-modem.com and will be pleased to submit an offer.