DESIGN AND INTEGRATION OF A CIRCULAR SMALL LOOP ANTENNA WITH LORA-BASED LIVESTOCK TRACKING SYSTEM USING METHOD OF MOMENTS IN CROSS RIVER STATE

This paper presents the design and analysis of a circular small loop antenna for livestock tracking applications in Cross River State, Nigeria, with an integrated LoRa RA-02 transceiver system.The study investigates the impact of two critical parameters-the number of wire turns and the radius of the loop-on the radiation resistance and efficiency of the antenna.These parameters were varied across ten stages, and their effects were analyzed using the Method of Moments and simulated with MobatLab.The investigation was conducted in three phases: simultaneous variation of radius and turns, variation of turns with fixed radius (0.623 cm), and variation of radius with fixed turns (2 turns).Results showed that radiation resistance is proportional to the square of the number of turns and inversely proportional to the loop radius, with an antenna efficiency of 87.33%.To demonstrate practical application, the optimized antenna was integrated into a LoRa-based transmitter and receiver system using the RA-02 (SX1278) module.The transmitter unit, mounted on livestock, collects GPS data and transmits it wirelessly to a fixed receiver station.Field tests confirmed reliable long-range communication and effective real-time tracking, validating the suitability of circular loop antennas for rural IoT deployments.This hybrid approach combines theoretical antenna modeling with real-world wireless communication, offering a scalable solution for smart agriculture and livestock monitoring.