GNSS Multi-Band L1/L2/L5 Surveying Antenna - TNC (SPK6618H)

Product Overview

The SPK6618H is a certified GNSS/GPS surveying antenna capable of multi-band (L1/L2/L5/E6) reception for GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou constellations. These 'UFO' antennas have incredible performance for the money. The antenna has a built in ground plane with significant filtering and amplification of L1, L2, L5, and E6 frequencies for all GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou satellites. Excellent for surveying or fixed antenna applications.

For automobile applications please see our u-blox ANN-MB-00 GNSS antenna. For weight sensitive applications (like RTK Drones) checkout the SPK-6E helical GNSS antenna.

Designed for the latest GNSS receivers, it provides a fast, easy, and reliable multi-band antenna solution but can be used with any GPS/GNSS receiver that can benefit from the L1/L2 dual, L1/L2/L5 triband, or L1/L2/L5/E6 quadband reception. While this antenna works great with normal L1 GPS/GNSS receivers it will not make your $20 receiver into a $200 receiver. Please check your receiver to verify it is capable of utilizing the L1 and L2 signals that this antenna outputs. If your receiver is not compatible with L5/E6 signals, that is ok too, there is no harm using this multi-band antenna.

However, if your GNSS receiver is capable of utilizing the Galileo HAS and QZSS MADOCA services, it can access those Precise Point Positioning (PPP) solutions through the E6 frequency band. This offers users near RTK accuracy without the need for additional equipment or a nearby RTK base station.

We disassembled a unit because we love to see how things work! The antenna incorporates a 130mm ground plane with six hybrid couplers to obtain signal phasing which makes this design a lot more insensitive to manufacturing-imposed issues (e.g. board material with inconsistent dielectric).

This antenna has been certified by the National Geodetic Survey. The ANTEX and ANTINFO are available. You can see the full listing under SFESPK6618H on the NGS Antenna Calibrations website.

It is important that you are also aware of the unique connection points on this antenna as the data and mounting connectors may be new to some users. This antenna has a TNC female connector found on nearly all surveying antennas. We recommend a TNC Male to SMA adapter or cable when using with our GNSS receivers. Also, this antenna uses a standard 5/8"-11TPI (threads per inch) connector found on surveying equipment. This is not compatible with a camera tripod. We recommend a 5/8" to 1/4" tripod adapter. You can also find 5/8"-11TPI threaded rod in most hardware stores in North America. For information about permanently fixing this antenna to a roof, please see our tutorial on How to Build a DIY GNSS Reference Station.

Note: A GNSS receiver and interface cables are not included with the GNSS Multi-Band L1/L2/L5 Surveying Antenna. These parts will need to be purchased separately.