Product Question - uFL to SMA adapter

Support Product Questions
1

Hello,

I recently ordered an Adafruit Ultimate GPS HAT for Raspberry Pi - Mini Kit and GPS Antenna - External Active Antenna - 3-5V 28dB 5 Meter SMA but missed that I needed an adaptor to sit in between.

There are several interface cables in the store, such as Interface Cable RP-SMA to U.FL, RP-SMA to uFL/u.FL/IPX/IPEX RF Adapter Cable, SMA to uFL/u.FL/IPX/IPEX RF Adapter Cable

Which one(s) should I order? (and what are the differences)

thanks,

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2

Hey Daniel,

They’re all very similar standards, a few are also cross-compatible variants although with most of the parts we supply here they’ll either be uFL, SMA, or very rarely Type-N connectors (I believe there’s only one antenna and converter in stock that uses it).

There are quite a few differences and advantages to each connection type which is the reason there are so many different versions available which RS has nicely summarized into a guide I’d recommend. Mainly, you only need to worry about the environment, operating voltage, and frequency although plenty of other variables come into affect too which would be way too long for a forum post:

https://au.rs-online.com/web/generalDisplay.html?id=ideas-and-advice/coaxial-connectors-guide

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Conveniently, you actually don’t need an antenna for your module as it’s got a built-in 15X15X2.5mm ceramic patch antenna in the GPS module.

However, if you’d like to use an external antenna, that should be possible too (be sure to check your operating frequency and bandwidth are suitable first) but this little SMA to UFL adaptor should do the trick for actually connecting the two devices:

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3

Hello Bryce,

Thanks for the links. I checked what I am looking for (uFL to SMA) and comes down to the SMA part which can be SMA or RP-SMA. (this link seemed interesting: What is the difference between SMA and RP-SMA?)

I intend to build a stratum 1 NTP server and I expect that an external antenna will be required.
The GPS antenna ( SKU: ADA960) has an SMA male connector, so I think that I need the SMA to uFL/u.FL/IPX/IPEX RF Adapter Cable (SMA to uFL/u.FL/IPX/IPEX RF Adapter Cable Australia) rather than the RP-SMA. However I am not 100% sure and would appreciate some confirmation.

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4

Hello Daniel,

You’re exactly right, I was under the impression that the GPS used RP-SMA rather than SMA (it would have been exactly backwards and you’d need another adaptor in between which defeats the purpose) I grabbed one of the SMA to UFL connectors from stock for you and the now corrected link in my previous post should now be accurate (I’ve thrown it together in the warehouse and it fits nicely).

If you have any other questions please let us know, all the best with the project!

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5

Thanks Very Much. Ordered!

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