A Miniature LORAN H-Field Antenna for Low-Profile Conformal Hybrid Applications

David Lee, Steven Best, Drayton Hanna, Eddie Rosario

Abstract:	Hybrid GPS-LORAN receivers are commercially available today, primarily intended for the marine navigation market where accuracy is the driving design requirement. However, new hybrid applications are being considered where size is an important requirement and accuracy may be relaxed slightly. For these applications, reducing the LORAN antenna size is imperative. Because the LORAN antenna is quite large compared to the GPS antenna, reducing the LORAN antenna size enables the hybrid unit to fit into much smaller packaging. Most H-field LORAN antennas are on the order of 15x15 cm (6x6 in) in size - too big for many low-profile conformal applications. One survey indicates that a more suitable LORAN antenna size is on the order of 5x5 cm (2x2 in) or less for emerging markets, which can afford a modest impact in accuracy. This paper reports the design and test of a miniature Hfield LORAN antenna that provides comparable position accuracy to a typical commercial antenna. As a result, a new size-performance baseline has been established for the dual-loop LORAN antenna. Further, it is possible that even smaller LORAN H-field antennas can be achieved once the antenna design and fabrication are optimized.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 2009 International Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 26 - 28, 2009 Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel Anaheim, CA
Pages:	869 - 874
Cite this article:	Lee, David, Best, Steven, Hanna, Drayton, Rosario, Eddie, "A Miniature LORAN H-Field Antenna for Low-Profile Conformal Hybrid Applications," Proceedings of the 2009 International Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, Anaheim, CA, January 2009, pp. 869-874.
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