Sentinel MA252 Adhesive Mount 2in1 GNSS & LTE Antenna

The Taoglas Sentinel MA252 (MA252.A.LB.001) is a compact 2-in-1 external antenna designed to provide cellular connectivity and satellite positioning from a single low-profile housing.

Inside the antenna are two independent antenna elements:

• One wideband cellular antenna covering 2G, 3G and 4G LTE frequencies
• One active GNSS antenna supporting GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou

Each antenna element has its own 2-metre coaxial cable and SMA male connector. The cellular connection uses low-loss CFD-200 cable, while the GNSS connection uses RG-174 cable.

This arrangement makes the MA252 suitable for routers, gateways, trackers and telematics devices requiring one cellular antenna input and one GNSS input. The two cables do not provide cellular MIMO. If the connected router requires two cellular antennas for 2×2 MIMO, an additional cellular antenna or a different multi-element antenna will be required.

Designed for vehicle and IoT installations

The MA252 is particularly well suited to vehicle tracking, public transport, emergency-service vehicles, fleet management and remote monitoring equipment.

Its housing measures approximately 139 × 76 × 14mm, allowing it to fit discreetly against a windscreen, rear window or suitable plastic surface. Automotive-grade 3M adhesive provides a straightforward installation without requiring a hole to be drilled through the vehicle body.

The antenna can be installed internally or externally, subject to the mounting surface and installation requirements. Its IP67-rated enclosure protects the antenna against dust and temporary water immersion.

Wideband cellular connectivity

The cellular element operates across frequencies from 698MHz to 3600MHz. This includes the principal frequency ranges used by 2G, 3G and 4G LTE networks around the world.

A low-loss CFD-200 cable helps limit signal loss across the supplied two-metre cable run. This is particularly important at higher cellular frequencies, where ordinary thin coaxial cable can introduce significant attenuation.

The cellular cable terminates in an SMA male connector for connection to compatible routers, modems, gateways and tracking devices.

Multi-constellation GNSS positioning

The separate active GNSS element supports:

• GPS
• GLONASS
• Galileo
• BeiDou

Support for multiple satellite constellations can improve positioning availability and acquisition performance, particularly where the view of the sky is partially obstructed.

The GNSS element incorporates a low-noise amplifier and filtering. It operates from a DC bias voltage between 1.8V and 5.5V, normally supplied through the GNSS antenna socket of the connected tracking device or router.

The GNSS cable also terminates in an SMA male connector.

Important connection information

The MA252 has two cables, but it is not a two-port cellular MIMO antenna:

Always check that the connected equipment has separate SMA female cellular and GNSS sockets and can supply the required DC voltage for the active GNSS antenna.

Typical applications

• Vehicle tracking systems
• Fleet-management equipment
• Automotive telematics
• Emergency-service vehicles
• Public transport connectivity
• Remote asset monitoring
• Connected machinery
• In-vehicle routers and gateways
• HD video transmission over LTE
• M2M and IoT installations

Technical specification

What is included?

• 1 × Taoglas Sentinel MA252 combination antenna
• 1 × attached 2m CFD-200 cellular cable with SMA male connector
• 1 × attached 2m RG-174 GNSS cable with SMA male connector
• Pre-fitted 3M adhesive mounting pad