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Chip antenna versus wire antenna — Parallax Forums

Chip antenna versus wire antenna

Don MDon M Posts: 1,652
edited 2012-11-30 09:04 in Accessories
Anyone have any comments or experiences with either they would like to share? Advantages or disadvantages of either. Obviously the chip version allows for a more compact design.

Thanks.
Don

Comments

  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2010-09-23 05:37
    Range. 1/4 wave and dipole antennas are much more efficient. The former is omni-directional, as well.
  • sylvie369sylvie369 Posts: 1,622
    edited 2010-09-23 11:18
    Go to this page:

    http://www.parallax.com/tabid/829/Default.aspx

    and read the article linked to in the paragraph beginning "the range of the modules...".

    (that article is the .pdf that Leon mentions below, and it does make an attempt to quantify the difference, though they're pretty tentative about the results)
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,392
    edited 2010-09-23 11:35
    DonM,

    I had the chance to talk about this a few times with Digi, XBee manufacturer.

    Digi offers about 70-80 variants of the XBee with at least four antenna styles. The most common are the chip and wire antenna. The wide variety is available because of customer-specific preferences.

    From the datasheets you may not find specifics, but the very general impression I've had from engineers at Digi is that the wire antenna provides "a bit more range" though they don't quantify it for us.

    From a sales standpoint, we sell about 40% more wire antenna XBees than chip antenna.

    Ken Gracey
    Parallax Inc.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2010-09-23 11:37
    There is a PDF which compares antenna performance. A whip or dipole gives about twice the range of the chip antenna, as would be expected.
  • Don MDon M Posts: 1,652
    edited 2010-09-23 16:09
    Thanks everyone for the info. I guess what I am contemplating is designwise whether it is worth the trouble to use a larger case for a device to house the additional height for the whip antenna versus the chip antenna. I am just wondering how people address this.

    I know it is dependent on how much range one is looking for etc.

    @Ken- the sales indicator is a good tool to go by as well. Thanks for sharing.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2010-09-23 17:44
    One other consideration is the antenna's vulnerability to damage. A chip antenna and the pads it's attached to are much less likely to suffer from inadvertent bumps than a wire antenna would be.

    -Phil
  • sylvie369sylvie369 Posts: 1,622
    edited 2010-09-23 19:45
    What kind of range do you need? What's the project?

    Re. the wire antennas' sturdiness, I've crashed a couple in rockets without damaging them. I have an XBee with wire antenna here that has been in a rocket that hit the ground twice at well over 40 MPH and it still works perfectly. I'm sure the chip is sturdier, but the wire is not as delicate as it may look.
  • CircuitsoftCircuitsoft Posts: 1,166
    edited 2012-11-30 09:04
    Don M wrote: »
    ... use a larger case for a device to house the additional height for the whip antenna versus the chip antenna.
    Many Digi devices have Wire-antenna XBees, with the wire laid flat down against the XBee. So, you really only need ~1/4" (6mm?) of height to hold the wire antenna.
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