Data Sheet

NEO-M8P - Data Sheet

UBX-15016656 - R06 Early Production Information Functional description

Page 15 of 30

1.18 Power management

u-blox M8 technology offers a power-optimized architecture with built-in autonomous power saving functions

to minimize power consumption at any given time. In addition, a high efficiency DC/DC converter is integrated

for lower power consumption and reduced power dissipation.

For more details see the u-blox 8 / u-blox M8 Receiver Description Including Protocol Specification [2].

1.18.1 Power control

A separate battery backup voltage may be applied to the module to retain the current state of the receiver and

sustain a low power real time clock (RTC) while the main supply is removed. This enables faster acquisition and

navigation upon start-up.

Alternatively, a configuration command (UBX-CFG-PWR) can be issued to stop the receiver in a similar way to

Hardware Backup Mode (see also 1.17.2 above) while the main supply remains active. This mode is referred to as

Software backup mode; current consumption in this mode is slightly higher than in Hardware Backup Mode. The

receiver will then restart on the next edge received at its UART interface (there will be a delay before any

communications are possible).

See Table 11 for current consumption in backup modes.

1.19 Antenna

u-blox recommend use of an active antenna

or external LNA with this module to achieve best performance.

Parameter Specification

Antenna Type Active or passive antenna

Active Antenna Recommendations

Minimum gain

Maximum gain

Maximum noise figure

15 dB (to compensate signal loss in RF cable)

50 dB

1.5 dB

Table 5: Antenna Specifications for the NEO-M8P modules

The antenna system should include filtering to ensure adequate protection from nearby transmitters. Care

should be taken in the selection of antennas placed closed to cellular or WiFi transmitting antennas.

For guidance on antenna selection see the NEO-M8P Hardware Integration Manual [1].

For information on using active antennas with NEO-M8P modules, see the NEO-M8P Hardware Integration Manual [1].