CC3000MOD Antenna alternative to ACX AT8010-E2R9HAA?

Tony,

I have the same question about the CC3000 module. I want to use an antenna that can be sourced in the USA. I would imagine that you could use the same design/components as LS Research uses so long as the board layout and dimensions are followed exactly (trace widths, prepreg and core thicknesses, ground plane pull-back, etc.)  Have you found a reliable answer to this question? Also, have you found a design reference for the LS Research CC3000 module? If so, could you please share a link?

Thanks,

Here is LS Research Chip Antenna Reference Design:
http://wiki.lsr.com/GetFile.aspx?File=%2fdownloads%2f330-0092.pdf

An official response WOULD be nice!

Hi Louis

I have a question regarding the antenna.  In the bill of material supplied in the documentation, the part number referenced is AT8010-E2R9HAA.  The web page you referenced in your post is part number AT8010-T2R9HAA.  These are two similar but different parts.  There does not appear to be a part number AT8010-E2R9HAA on ACX's website.  Is there a mistake on the bill of materials?  Are these two similar enough to full under the Modular grant?

Zach and Tony,

I am interested in getting this part (the antenna) for our design and have tried contacting ACX.  I have not been successful yet.  Is there any interest in combining resources in sourcing it?

Thanks,

Brent

Tony,

That is great news! I had no idea that Johanson and ACX were partner companies. That makes me feel quite a bit better about using the Johanson antenna in my design. Now, the only question is whether the FCC will treat it as the "same" antenna and allow using it in a "modular" design as Louis suggests. If not, I guess I can prototype with the Johanson antenna and manufacture with the ACX antenna.

Brent,

I have a good friend in China that specifically sources electronics parts. I have asked him to source this antenna for me and to get some samples for prototyping if possible; however, in light of Tony's discovery, I will probably prototype with Johanson, and then move to the ACX antenna for manufacturing. If you would like, I can keep you posted on what my contact finds out. I could probably even send a few samples your way if/when they come in if you are interested.  

Hi Zack,

Thank you for the offer.  However, in light of the fact that they are the same part, I think it will be simpler to just use the Johanson part for everything.

Zack/Tony

On another note, we are a very small company and do not have microwave test equipment that is needed to tune the discrete parts.  How did you (or will you) go about tuning yours?  Do you have the equipment or do you outsource it?  If you do outsource it, what company are you using?  I can't seem to find anyone who does that kind of work.  I know you can calculate it but I am not sure we have everything needed to do it correctly and accurately.

Thanks,

Brent

Hi All,

Sorry for the wait. It has a taken qutie a few contacts to verify this. 
You may use the Johanson 2500AT44M0400 antenna to replace the ACX atenna in the design. Doing so will not requrie FCC re-certification.

Cheers,
 Louis Peryea

Louis,

Thank you for your support and the confirmation that the Johanson antenna mentioned is the same as the ACX antenna. The files that you referenced in this post are very valuable. Do you know what software I need to be able to view the "TI Suggested Layout and Design Files?" Is there an open source viewer that I can use? I have Altium and CamVu, but neither of those recognize the file format.

Thanks,

Brent -

I would be happy to assist you in tuning and optimization of your RF components.  E-mail me at ben.corrado@rigado.com if you still need help!

Thanks,

Ben

Are there any other pre-approved antennas I cant see any stock of the two mentioned 

Hi Carl,

Please refer to this wiki [link] for your certification questions.

From the FAQ:

Q:What is the antenna limitation of this certification- is it attached to a specific antenna type or gain?

A:The existing certificate includes the chip antenna. If a different chip antenna is used it must have the same gain or less.The “specific type” means a chip antenna in this case but does not mean the chip antenna has to be from the same manufacturer.
      The antenna used and recommended is p/n: AT8010-E2R9HAA is Johanson p/n: 2500AT44M0400 and is featured and stocked on Digikey

-Louis

Hi Louis,

It seems that the Johansson antenna is out of stock on Digikey, Mouser, and everywhere else I've looked. I've looked through a few different antennae on Mouser but I don't quite see anything that matches the frequency range and gain of the Johansson one. Could TI please suggest an alternative that is actually stocked somewhere?

Thanks,

Vishal

Hi Vishal,

Here is a Digikey search with what I believe are the necessary parameters:
Peak Gain <2.5 dBi; Antenna Type: Chip; Frequency: 2.4 Ghz; In Sock  Search: [link]

I am not an RF expert so I cannot give you advice on which antenna is best for your application. However, I believe Johansson, and other antenna manufacturers have application engineering support to help you in selecting the best antenna.

With that being said, Murata uses their own antenna on the "CC3000 Type-VK". They use the LDA31 series: part number LDA312G7313F-237. I am not sure if their antenna would comply so i would recommend reaching out to Murata directly for the specifications.

Jorjin uses ACX as their primary antenna but suggests Unictron as an alternative supplier for their CC3000 EVM. Unictron AA055.

I hope this helps in your selection process!

Best Regards,
 Louis Peryea

While searching for antenna for the CC3000 I kept on coming across this thread, so I figured I'd post something.

As the CC3000 module becomes more popular with the growing "Internet of Things" movement there seems to be a problem with sourcing an approved antenna to match the demand of the CC3000. There seems to be zero stock anywhere in the world at the moment for the 2 approved antennas listed in this thread. Finding a source for the ACX AT8010-E2R9HAA or the Johanson 2500AT44M0400 seems to be impossible.

Like most engineers I would love to have our design fly under the wing of FCC certification but if we can't source the antenna needed for the design this becomes a bit of a problem.

If we could get a few more antennas FCC approved to be used with the cc3000 that would be extremely beneficial. I've seen a few companies now like Spark Devices and Mbed use the ANT-2.45-CHP-T  which seems to be very available, so if it could join the list of approved antenna's that would be very ideal.

 If TI could help the global community with an approved antenna list that includes more than the 2 we've talked about here we would be in their debt, thanks!

Louis,

Thank you for your previous responses. I have one more query.

For BOM, I notice that CAPs and resistors  have to be 0402 package type. But the do the manufacturers matter?

I am trying to get all the BOM (caps and resistors) from digikey without considering manufactureres. Can you comment on this ?

Thank you

Hi Srinath,

The manufacturer of your components should not matter.
Assuming the parts are within spec (same esl, esr, etc) nothing should radiate more than the system that was certified.

Pay close attention to the electrolytic makeup (x7r, x5r, etc) and the DC-Bias de-rating curve. The electrolytic will put you in the same ballpark, but your de-rating curves are what really separate the manufacturers.

With regards to resistors it's the same story, make sure you buy the same tolerance parts

Thanks,
 Louis

Thanks Louis,

For WiFi BOM, I am using attached spec for reference. Currently I am using TI CC3000MOD. Can you please confirm if this is the right spec to refer to for CC3000MOD BOM ? 

Also for resistors , capacitors and inductors mentioned in the attached spec,I tried locating them in digikey in respective links as mentioned below. But I couldn't locate them.

Inductors : http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en/inductors-coils-chokes/fixed-inductors/196627?k=RES%200402

Capacitors:  http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en/capacitors/ceramic-capacitors/131083

Resistors: http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en/resistors/chip-resistor-surface-mount/65769?k=RES%200402

I am newbie in to this BOM ordering. Can you please advise alternate solution for this ? Appreciate your comments.

Thank you.

7853.WiFi_BOM.pdf

Louis,

In my previous post, I attached a document. For capacitors, the document doesn't talk about if it is x7r or x5r type.  Can you please comment on this as well ?

Appreciate your comments.

Thank you,
Srinath

Hi Srinath,

For the Balancing network i used:
this for 2.2pF: (link)
this for 10pF: (link)
and this for the 2.2nH: (link)

For the decoupling caps i used this query: (link)

And lastly the 0 ohm (0402) jumpers (link)

The document does mention that the decoupling caps should be X5R and the RF Caps NP0.

Some good reading here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceramic_capacitor

Thanks,
 Louis

EDIT:
Schematic recommendations here: http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/CC3000_Schematic_Checklist

Thanks Louis.

Appreciate your patience in responding to my queries.

Sincerely,
Srinath

Hi Louis,

Is the balancing circuit fixed as part of the modular certification? I know the antenna more or less is, and obviously the module itself is, but as this circuit and the antenna trace connects the two together, I figured it may be a set piece overall. In other words, are we free to tune this to our application or does changing any of the values mean that we lose automatic modular certification?

I apologize for dragging this thread out further but it's the most directly related to my question.