Custom PCB Design for Logistics & Asset Tracking
Asset trackers fail in the field for boring layout reasons: the GPS antenna sits next to the LTE PA and never gets a fix, or quiescent leakage flattens the battery before the asset arrives. We design the board around radio co-existence, battery protection, and true microamp sleep so trackers survive the full shipment lifecycle.
Challenges specific to Logistics & Asset Tracking
GPS never gets a fix in the field
Cellular transmit bursts and ground-plane noise desense the GNSS front-end, so the tracker reports stale or jumping positions once it leaves the bench.
Three radios fighting for board edge
GPS, LTE/NB-IoT and BLE antennas all want clearance and keep-out on a credit-card board, and a bad placement detunes one or couples noise into another.
Battery dies before the asset arrives
Microamp-class leakage through pull-ups, level shifters and a leaky regulator quietly drains the cell over weeks of sleep, killing multi-year battery targets.
Battery damage from deep discharge or heat
Missing protection, no NTC sensing and no reverse-current path let a Li-ion or LiPo cell over-discharge or charge hot, creating safety and field-return risk.
No room left for a usable antenna
Shrinking the board to fit the enclosure squeezes the antenna clearance and stack height, trading range and efficiency for a few millimeters of area.
How GizanTech solves them
- Multi-radio co-existence layout. Place GNSS, LTE/NB-IoT and BLE antennas with measured keep-outs, isolate the GNSS front-end with a SAW filter and LNA, and route TX bursts away from the receive path to stop desense.
- Antenna keep-out and tuning. Reserve ground-clearance zones per antenna datasheet, add pi-network matching footprints, and budget the stack so each radio is tuned for its band on the final enclosure.
- Microamp sleep architecture. Hunt leakage paths with load switches and a low-Iq LDO/buck, gate pull-ups and level shifters, and verify sub-10 uA sleep on a hardware current profile before release.
- Battery management and protection. Spec a fuel gauge, dedicated protection IC with over-discharge cutoff, NTC thermistor sensing for JEITA charge windows, and a reverse-current ideal-diode path.
- Board-area and stack tradeoff. Drive a DFM-aware floorplan that fits the enclosure while protecting antenna clearance and component height, using buried/blind vias only where they pay for themselves.
| Rule | Target | Failure mode | Layout action |
|---|---|---|---|
| GNSS antenna keep-out from LTE PA/TX | >= 10 mm edge clearance, no copper under feed | Desense: poor or no fix, jumping position | Place GNSS at far board edge, SAW+LNA front-end, TX trace routed away |
| BLE / cellular antenna isolation | >= 15 dB port-to-port, separate ground keep-outs | Cross-coupling detunes and shifts radio bands | Orthogonal antenna orientation, dedicated clearance per datasheet |
| Sleep leakage budget | < 10 uA total quiescent in deep sleep | Short battery life, dies before asset arrives | Load switches per rail, low-Iq LDO, gated pull-ups and shifters |
| Battery protection and thermal | Over-discharge cutoff + NTC in JEITA window | Cell over-discharge or hot charge, safety risk | Protection IC, thermistor at cell, reverse-current ideal diode |
| Board-area vs stack tradeoff | Fit enclosure, keep antenna clearance + height | Cramped antenna kills range and efficiency | DFM floorplan, blind/buried vias only where they pay off |
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Frequently asked questions
Why won't my tracker get a GPS fix once it ships?
Almost always RF co-existence: the GNSS front-end is desensed by cellular TX bursts or noisy ground. We add a SAW filter and LNA, enforce antenna keep-outs, and route the TX path away from the receiver.
How do you hit multi-year battery life on one cell?
We design for sub-10 uA deep-sleep leakage with load switches, a low-Iq regulator, and gated pull-ups, then verify quiescent current on a hardware current profile rather than trusting the datasheet sums.
Can you fit GPS, cellular and BLE on a credit-card board?
Yes, but it is a floorplanning problem. We budget antenna clearance and isolation per datasheet, place radios orthogonally, and trade board area against stack height to keep each antenna efficient.
Do you handle Li-ion protection and certification-ready layout?
We spec a protection IC with over-discharge cutoff, NTC thermistor sensing for JEITA charge windows, and reverse-current protection, and lay out for the safety and EMC tests your carrier or region requires.