Cellular Antennas and Certification

Connectivity Cellular
1

I am reading through the Particle Certifications docs for the Boron and B series SoMs and I have a few questions.

Series B402 and Boron states that to comply with FCC certification you must use the same type and dBi rating antenna. The GRANT OF EQUIPMENT AUTHORIZATION for the B402 states “Maximum permitted antenna gain: 3.5 dBi for Band 2, 4, 1 dBi for Band12
and 13”

  1. The particle store only has LTE antennas with 4.7dBi and 5dBi. Does this mean we can’t use these antenna with the B-Series modules and still be compliant with the FCC certs?
  2. The requirement of “the same type” of antenna. What type of cellular antenna was the B series certified with?
  3. The B series B402 module is not listed under the IC (Industry Canada) section. Does this mean the B series is not certified for use in Canada?
  4. The B series B402 module nor the Boron LTE module is not listed under the CE approval section. Does this mean these modules do not have CE certification?
  5. I know the B series is PTCRB certified, but it is not listed under the PTCRB section of the docs. It is certified right?
  6. Do you have a list of antennas that are the same type and are within the dBi limits for the Boron and B series devices?

Thanks for the help.

2

Does anybody have any insights to these questions?

For reference this is the link we are referring to.
https://docs.particle.io/datasheets/certifications/certification/#overview

See that in the FCC documentation sections the Boron LTE has FCC Part15B SDoc, but the B Series module does not. Boron also has the 802.15.4 certification and the B series does not.

Is this list of documentation correct and up to date? B Series is not 802.15.4 certified, Part15B SDoc not available and is also not IC (Industry Canada)? Due to the lack of certification docs on that page for the B Series SoM, I assume this is true. But need to confirm.

1 Like
3

The B Series SoM ships with a different antenna than the Boron LTE. That antenna has not be added to the store yet, but will be. It’s currently shipped with individual units and what the device was certified with.

Same type of antenna refers to a trace or PCB antenna (what all Particle cellular devices were certified with) as opposed to something like a dipole antenna.

The B Series B402 does not currently have IC certification as it was not originally supported in Canada, but will be certified.

The B402 cannot be used in the EU, as it can only be used with the Particle SIM and there are no supported carriers outside of the US, Mexico, and Canada, so it will not be CE certified. There will be a different CE certified B Series SoM device in the future.

The PTCRB certification for the B Series SoM is missing. I’m not sure why and will track that down. It is certified.

The B402 won’t be 802.15.4 certified as Particle mesh is no longer supported. I’ll have to check on FCC Part 15B for B402, not sure if it’s not needed or just missing.

4

@rickkas7

Thank you so much for you answers.

I did have a follow up question

  1. I did not read anything about whether you can use a U.Fl extension cable on the antennas. To route the antenna it ships with to a better location. Does anybody know if this is ok without having to re-certify? So same antenna, just an extension cable.
5

@guitardenver1 - Where you able to get an answer to your question. I’m also considering an external antenna but would rather not loose the existing FCC certification. Where did you end up with this?

6

@jgskarda

I never got a official answer on whether or not you can use a U.Fl extension cable without violating FCC certs. My guess is it’s fine. But I was not able to get a professional answer without paying a certification vendor for one.