A Miniaturized Loran H-field Antenna for Handheld Devices

This paper presents Loran signal processing results for a series of successively smaller H‐ field square‐loop antennas input to a preliminary design of low‐noise‐optimized, low‐ frequency ASIC. Antennas as small as 5cm (2‐inches) on a side are able to detect Loran signals both outdoors and indoors, although in some cases significantly attenuated compared to signals from a larger 50cm (20‐inch) antenna. Future work is aimed at developing a fully optimized LNA/ASIC design for the Loran frequency band at 100 kHz, in order to permit Loran operation with H‐field antennas smaller than 1‐inch (2.5cm). Introduction Loran position, navigation, and time (PNT) are desirable features in next‐generation personal navigation devices (Figure 1). First, Loran can improve navigation accuracy and Figure 1. Enabling a Small Loran Antenna for Integrated Navigation Devices. Geo-security Applications Multi-sensor Integrated Navigation Devices Next-Gen Antenna & LNA for Small-form-factor eLoran