In a RavTrack system you will need antennas for vehicles, as well as base stations, and possibly repeaters if your particular system uses any repeaters.   Here will will discuss common antennas for all three uses.

The Raveon “GX” series of tracking transponders used in a RavTrack system can be configured to operate as a vehicle unit, a base station, or a repeater, all by software configuration.  Each GX transponder will have 2 antenna connections.  One is for a GPS antenna, and the other for a UHF antenna.

Here is a picture of the GX transponder in the standard enclosure.  Note that the GPS antenna connector is an SMA female, while the UHF connector is a BNC female.  They are at opposite ends of the transponder.

Note that if your transponder is the weatherproof version  the UHF connector is TNC female.  Transponders installed in vehicles for tracking purposes will require both a GPS antenna and a UHF antenna. We have a few antennas that are combination GPS and UHF antennas.  When these are offered the antenna cable(s) will terminate in 2 separate connections. 

The GPS antenna receives the GPS satellite transmissions by which the transponder will determine its precise GPS location.  Note that the location is actually that of the antenna itself, which may be important to remember especially when dealing with large vehicles or other objects.

Once the location is determined the UHF antenna is required to allow transmission of the vehicle location.  The UHF antenna should be a “mobile” antenna chosen to match the proper transmission frequency of your system, as well as selected to best suit the type of vehicle.  The UHF antenna is almost always larger than the GPS antenna so size and styling can be important criteria.

Anther important criterion is the manner in which the antennas mount to the vehicle.    It is best to have the antennas as high up on the vehicles as practical, and generally speaking larger (UHF) antennas are typically better performers.  However an overly large antenna may not just be unsightly but prone to damage as well.  Some vehicles will be equipped with an “antenna bar” in order to mount the antennas.  As multiple antennas may posssibly compete with one another, it is best if a skilled RF technician is consulted or contracted to perform the installation.

Antenna mounts come in a variety of approaches of which the 3 most common are magnetic mount, through-hole mount, and flange mount.  The magnetic mount is most suitable for temporary installations, although the magnets are quite strong and the antennas may stay put even under challenging circumstances.  The through-hole mount is the sturdiest and most permanent, but requires a hole be drilled through the vehicle surface (or antenna bar).  The flange mount approach is typically used to grip the vehicle trunk lid, if this is available.  All of these mounts are available in “NMO” style where the UHF antenna physically threads on to the mount itself.  Here are some quick photos:

NMO style magnetic mount

Antenna threading onto NMO flange  mount.

Thorough-hole mount.

For more information on NMO mounts see the post “The versatile NMO antenna mount” in this section at:

http://ravtrack.com/GPStracking/2009/the-versatile-nmo-antenna-mount/

Oftten the GPS and/or UHF antenna will have a magnetic mount base or through-hole mount base incorporated as the antenna base.  Here is a photo of a combo GPS/UHF antenna with a through-hole base:

In some vehicle deployments the UHF antenna will not only broadcast location but will also receive transponder broadcasts from other fleet members.  This ability is fairly unigue to Ravtrack.

Once a location broadcast hits the air it is ready to be received by other fleet members but also by a base station or possibly a repeater.  Sometimes the base station is mounted on a mobile command vehicle, and special antenna considerations are in order.   However, typically the base station antenna is on top of a building, or an antenna tower.  Usually an omni-directional (all direction) antenna is used, as the vehicles can be broadcasting from many different locations. 

The most common omni-directional base station antenna is made with a fiberglass sheath.  Here is a picture:

This sort of antenna typically mounts onto a pole or mast the customer provides.  Check to see if the actual mounting hardware is included with the antenna. 

This antenna is also very effective for repeaters.  Sometimes, if a repeater is used the base station will use a directional antenna pointed at the repeater antenna.  Here is a picture of a Yagi style directional antenna used for this purpose:

Antennas can act as lightning attractors, so you may want to investigate lightning arrestors for some installations.

Here are some general rules if thumb when dealing with antenna installations::

Survey your area for best antenna locations

Use the largest antenna you can tolerate and afford

Make certain the antenna will work in your frequency

Determine your mounting and support early

Mount the antenna as high as practical

Try to keep the antenna cable short, and use good grade cabling

Take precautions against lightning and surge

Don’t forget signal cable and power for your transponders

Hire a skilled RF technician if at all possible

A popular type of antenna mount is called an “NMO” which stand for new Motorola.  NMO mounts come in a variety of types and are frequently used especially when installing mobile antennas.  Whether you are installing an antenna on a vehicle or a fixed structure the NMO mount may be a good solution.

The idea of the NMO mount is simple.  NMO mounts are devised to have a standard threaded connector where you screw on the antenna of choice to the mount of choice.  The NMO mount itself connects to the antenna and provides the antenna cable as well.  There are a large number of antennas that are built to screw on to the NMO mount. Simply look for an antenna with an NMO base.  Here is a simple picture of a mobile antenna with an NMO base combining to an NMO mount:

  Here an antenna with an NMO base will thread on to the NMO mount.  Note the antenna cable comes from the mount itself.

The NMO mount in the above example is a “trunk lid” mount.  The flange to the left hooks under the lid of a vehicle trunk.

Another popular type of NMO mount is the magnetic mount.  When affixed to many metallic surfaces the mount stays put quite well.  Here is a picture:

A third popular type  of mount is the through-hole mount.  This  requires a small (typically 3/8″ to 3/4″ ) hole be drilled through the surface hosting the mount, and is the best choice for an extremely rugged installation.  The “NMO” part of the mount protrudes above the mounting surface, becoming accessible to the antenna itself.  Here is a picture of a through-hole NMO mount:

The following external post provides a good look at a through-hole NMO mount assembly and brief description of the approach

http://www.radioreference.com/forums/radio-equipment-installation-forum/97536-install-nmo-antenna.html

The installation of a through-hole NMO mount and antenna is covered by this external video.  The video was shot by a fellow holding the camera in one hand while trying to perform the installation, so it is a bit shaky, but all-in-all he does an excellent job:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs-0EF7mP8k

Raveon can provide several NMO mounts and antenna types.  We invite your further questions.

The M7 GX series of GPS transponders may be directly connected to a Lowrance Globalmap 540C or a Globalmap 840C navigation display. When connected, the Lowrance display map will show the location of the vehicle it is in PLUS the location of all other M7 transponders within radio range.  This unique feature allows one to quickly, easily, and inexpensively, make a mobile AVL system for tracking cars, trucks, racecars, construction equipment, or any thing Raveon’s M7 GX transponder may be installed on.

Both the 540C and 840C have built-in interfaces for a “NMEA 0183″ devices, which is another way of saying that they can connect to other devices using a serial cable.   The NMEA 0183 is an RS232 serial connection that typically operates at 4800 baud.  It is used to exchange waypoint and other information between displays, GPS devices, and transponders.

When Raveon’s M7 GX transponder is connected to the Lowarnce diplay using the NMEA 0183 connection, the M7 transponder can put icons on the screen of the Lowrance display.  As the transponder received updated positions from other vehicles, it updates the position of the icons on the Lowrance display.

Lowrance 540C and 840C Wiring

From the Lowranace technical manual, here is how their NMEA 0183 interface works:

NMEA 0183 Cable Connections

NMEA 0183 is a standard communications format for marine electronic equipment. For example, an autopilot can connect to the NMEA interface on the GlobalMap 540c and receive positioning information.  The GlobalMap 540c can exchange information with any device that transmits or receives NMEA 0183 data. See the following diagram for general wiring connections. Read yourother product’s owner’s manual for more wiring information.

NMEA 0183 Wiring  (Data cable)

To exchange NMEA 0183 data, the GlobalMap 540c has one NMEA 0183 version 2.0 communication port. Com port one (Com-1) can be used to receive NMEA format GPS data. The com port can also transmit NMEA format GPS data to another device.  The four wires for the com port are combined with the Power Supply cable and NMEA 2000 Power cable to form the power/data cable (shown earlier). Com-1 uses the yellow wire to transmit, the orange wire to receive and the shield wire for signal ground. Your unit does not use the blue wire.

Wiring the DB9

The Lowrance’s “Data Cable” must be connected to the M7 transponder.  This connection will allow the M7 to put icons on the screen of the Lowrance display, showing the location of other tracked vehicles.  The Raveon M7 GPS transponder uses a 9-pin “DB9″ connector to connect to the Lowrance.  Solder the Lowrance data cable wires onto a DB9 connector and plug the DB9 into the M7 transponder as shown below:

The orange wire goes to pin two of the DB9, the yellow wire to pin 3, and the shield braid of he cable connects to pin 5 of the DB9.  The blue wire is trimmed off.

The extra wires on the Lowrance display called NMEA 2000 power are typically not used in a vehicle installation, and may be wrapped up with electrical tape and tucked away.

Configuring the Lowrance

Set the NMEA communication of the Lowrance to 4800 baud.

Configuring the M7 GX Transponder

Raveon has a designed the M7 GX transponder to work with Lowrance Display or any other NMEA 0183 display that can accept the “$GPWPL” NMEA message.   The $GPWPL is an industry standard message that the Lowrance displays and many other GPS displays interpret as a waypoint command.  The M7 GX outputs this $GPWPL message to put icons on the screen of the Lowarance, and to move the icons around on its screen.

To configure the M7 transponder to output the $GPWPL message, set the M7 GX to GPS mode 2.  To do this, put it into the configuration mode by send the +++ into the serial port.  The M7 will respond with an OK.  Type GPS 4 and press enter to put it into GPS 4 mode.  GPS 4 is the mode that causes the M7 GX to output $GPWPL messages whenever it receives a status/position message over the air.