ANTEX

ANThenna Exchange format (ANTEX) files

A precise characterisation of the antennas used to receive GNSS signals is a crucial element in the use of GNSS systems. Anthena manufactures always provide detailed information of their products (at least reputable manufacturers) but the formats used to convey the information are not always compatible from one manufacturer to another. This greatly complicates the comparison of different products and makes analysis a painful task. It is here that ANTEX files play an important role. 

ANTEX files provide characterisation both for the satellite antennas and receiver antennas. The most important pieces of information provided by the files are the phase centre offsets (PCO) and the phase centre variations (PCV). Any errors in the PCOs and PCVs will translate into positioning and timing errors for any navigation application. Importantly enough, ANTEX files also provide some information on how the calibration was performed, who did it (agency or lab) and the serial numbers for the antennas tested. In addition ANTEX files will also provide phase patterns for the antennas included in the file

The GSSC supports the ingestion of ANTEX files although at the time of writing (October 2022) none is available from the GSSC.