Short in Antenna Cable

[snillor999]

There was a short in my antenna cable and now my M2 shows zero satellites with a good cable. I connected my antenna to another M2 and antenna works fine. Anyone have this issue? Is it broken? is there an avenue to get my M2 repaired? Thanks

[vgo195]

You will probably need this fix…

Helical antenna problem?

Hi vgo195, I had exactly the same problem with two of my M2 units, which no longer supply power to antenna. I didn’t succeed to find if it’s a software failure (short circuit protection locked) or an hardware one. Anyway, don’t throw it in the trash can ! I succeeded to repair them with a quite simple fix : connect TP24 pad to antenna inner pin connector pad through a 18 ohms resistor and a diode. TP24 is linked to 5V M2 external power. This way the antenna is directly powered from the externa…

It works for me and others. 1 year since the repair and still going strong…

[snillor999]

Awesome! I really appreciate the info. I’ll check in with support and see what they say, but I’ll definitely try this if all else fails. Fingers crossed. Thanks again

[snillor999]

Would you happen to recall diode size / type. I can solder. I’m just not sure which diode I need

[snillor999]

Nevermind about the diode size. I used this one …

NTE Electronics 1N5338B Zener Diode

And now it works again. Thanks!

EDIT:
Disclaimer: I want to point out to anyone reading this that Emlid does not approve of opening and altering the modules as this can damage the unit further. I also only a have very basic knowledge of electricity and electrical components and even though I mentioned what I used I have no idea if it is even close to the correct size. For all I know this unit may burst into flames tomorrow. This was a last ditch effort to try and get this unit working and if nothing else some small circuit board soldering practice.

[tatiana.andreeva]

Hi there!

@snillor999, thank you for the disclaimer!

Just want to also comment here in case someone else reads through this thread after the solution for a similar issue. The first thing we recommend in such cases is contacting us via support@emlid.com. Even if the issue may look similar to this one, its nature can be different, so it’s always better to diagnose it with us prior to self-repairing.

[zipang]

Hello Snillor
A zener diode is not the best choice as it allows a reverse conduction if the zener voltage is reached (here 5.1V). The M2 operates with low voltage and current so any signal diode like the 1N4148 will do. If you don’t have you can use a larger one like 1N400x.

[snillor999]

Thanks for the info! Heading to Amazon now to get me some new diodes.