Wideband LNAThe wideband LNA is based on the Qorvo SPF5189Z LNA chip (pdf datasheet) which has the following stated specifications:
- Frequency range of 50 MHz to 4000 MHz
- Noise Figure = 0.6dB @ 900 MHz
- OIP3 = 39.5 dBm @ 900 MHz
- P1dB Saturation = 22.7 dBm @ 1960 MHz
- Gain = 18.7 dB @ 900 MHz
Compared to most other SPF5189Z LNAs found on eBay, our wideband LNA comes standard with a fully conductive metal enclosure, includes ESD protection on the antenna input, and is by default powered via a 3 – 5V bias tee power supply.
Our RTL-SDR Blog V3 dongles have a 4.5V bias tee built in, so they can be used to power this LNA.
Direct power can be enabled by simply changing the jumper position and removing the metal enclosure.
This is a general purpose wideband LNA.
It is good for reducing the noise figure and thus increasing the SNR, and for overcoming coaxial loss on all supported frequencies between 50 – 4000 MHz. However, since it is wideband, you may need an additional filter if you have strong overloading signals in your area. If you are mainly interested in improving ADS-B reception we instead recommend our triple filtered ADS-B LNA, which is also available in our store.
The SPF5189Z specifications are similar to that of PGA-103+ or PSA4-5043+ based LNAs. In the image slider below we compare the gain with the LNA4ALL which is a PSA4-5043+ based LNA.
Spare Aluminum EnclosureThe second product is a spare RTL-SDR Blog V3 aluminum enclosure. Some readers of this blog have contacted us as they've found that the RTL-SDR V3 enclosures fit well (after being trimmed to size) for homebrew filters, other LNAs, and for FlightAware dongles.
Our spare enclosures come with two SMA side panels, and one USB side panel. At the moment, stock of this product is limited.
Note that we are not including a thermal pad, as FlightAware dongles do not require additional cooling as they operate at 1.09 GHz. Additional cooling via thermal pad is only required for stable operation when using RTL-SDRs above ~1.5 GHz.
