Dairy farm electronics for New Zealand are shrinking onto the animal, and the antenna is where a designer loses a day. We parsed all 12 Walsin chip antennas: they publish only 9 distinct specifications, ten state the same 2 dBi gain across a 70-fold range of volume, and none is for GPS or below 2.4 GHz.
Venatech Limited, an authorised Walsin distributor in Hong Kong, holds the Walsin Technology (Walsin) parametric exports, including the 44-row antenna export. This post is for a New Zealand designer of collars, ear tags, milk-shed sensors or fence controllers who needs a radio antenna and wants to know where a Hong Kong source can help. Every part number below is real. Every count is ours. The news is attributed to its publisher and the day we read it.
How many New Zealand cows already wear electronic devices?
Nearly one million. DairyNZ says nearly one million New Zealand cows now wear devices, mostly to monitor individual animals for heat or health events, and in June 2026 the Prime Minister ruled out extra rules for virtual fencing collars.
The first figure comes from a DairyNZ “Inside Dairy” feature, last updated on 25 October 2024, which we read on 22 October 2026; it is two years old, so treat it as a floor. The second comes from RNZ reporting carried by the Otago Daily Times on 12 June 2026, which we read the same day. It describes solar-powered, GPS-enabled collars that steer cattle inside a virtual fence using sound, vibration and electric pulses. It says Halter and Gallagher lead the sector and export it, that virtual fencing falls under the Animal Welfare Act, and that farmers, vets and welfare groups disagree about it. Our view, labelled as ours: every collar and tag is a small radio, a battery, a sensor and a few dozen passives, and the antenna is the part with the fewest alternatives.
| Point in the sources | What it says | What it means for a component buyer | Match / mismatch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Devices on cows | Nearly one million (DairyNZ, October 2024) | A large fitted base, so spares and next-generation boards | Match for a demand-direction question |
| Collar design | Solar powered, GPS enabled (RNZ, June 2026) | The radio set includes a positioning receiver | Mismatch with a 2.4 GHz-only antenna plan |
| Policy | No extra virtual-fence regulation announced (June 2026) | Product rules stay under existing law | Match; we give no legal view |
| Component content | Neither source names any component | We make no claim about what any maker uses | Mismatch with any claim of a bill of materials |
Does a bigger Walsin chip antenna publish more gain?
No. We read the Peak Gain column on all 12 chip antennas: 10 state 2 dBi, from a 3.2 mm by 1.6 mm by 0.6 mm part of 3.07 cubic millimetres to a 19 mm by 3 mm by 3.8 mm part of 216.6, a 70-fold difference in volume. The only other value is 4 dBi on the two dual-band parts.
| Part | Dimension (mm) | Volume (mm3) | Published peak gain | Match / mismatch against a 2.4 GHz collar tag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
RFECA3216060A1T |
3.2 x 1.6 x 0.6 | 3.07 | 2 dBi | Match on band; the smallest body |
RFANT3216120A1T |
3.2 x 1.6 x 1.2 | 6.14 | 2 dBi | Match on band; twice the height |
RFANT9520120A0T |
9.5 x 2 x 1.2 | 22.8 | 2 dBi | Match on band; same gain as the part above at 3.7 times the volume |
RGFRA1903041A1T |
19 x 3 x 3.8 | 216.6 | 2 dBi | Match on band; same stated gain at 70 times the smallest |
RFANT6050110L0T |
5.9 x 5.1 x 1.1 | 33.1 | 4 dBi | Mismatch: the cell names 2.4 GHz and 4.9 to 5.9 GHz, so it is a dual-band part |
| Your incumbent part | enter it in the free cross-reference tool | Your call |
The volume is our arithmetic from the Dimension column. Gain is a property of the antenna on a specific board, so the export cannot tell you what you will see on your ground plane, and we hold no antenna datasheet. Our earlier posts on choosing a 2.4 GHz chip antenna and on chip antenna selection by band cover the neighbouring decisions.
Which Walsin chip antennas cannot be told apart in the export?
Five of twelve. We grouped the 12 chip antennas by every published field except the part number: they collapse to 9 distinct specifications, because RFANT3216120A1T, A3T and A5T are identical, and RFANT5220110A0T and A2T are identical.
That is a fact about the export, not about the parts. The suffix letters and digits almost certainly mean something to Walsin, since they sit in the orderable code, but the export does not say what. We have not seen this counted anywhere. A buyer who picks RFANT3216120A3T by gain and size has three parts to choose from and no stated reason to prefer one. Ask Walsin, through us, what the last three characters change before you freeze the BOM. That is the same family of gap as our post on why Walsin part numbers do not paste into your BOM.
Does Walsin list a chip antenna for GPS or sub-GHz?
No. All 12 chip antennas are 2.4 GHz parts, so 0 of 12 serve GPS or a sub-GHz radio; the GPS L1 band at about 1.575 GHz is served by 3 other families, and the sub-GHz 915 MHz area by 2 metal antennas.
We read the Working Frequency Range column on all 44 rows. The two metal antennas are RFMTA010504NNRB002 (863 to 928 MHz) and RFMTA060206NNBB002 (880 to 960 MHz), larger bodies than any chip part. The GPS L1 parts are two dipoles and one flexible printed antenna, none a chip. A collar with a GPS receiver and a 2.4 GHz link therefore needs more than one antenna and more than one family from this export. Which sub-GHz band your tag uses is a decision for your radio design and your regulator, and we give no view on it. The detail is in our post on sub-GHz antenna selection.
What do we hold on the shelf for a collar or tag?
Not an antenna. We checked all 1,125 lines in our stock list as at 23 September 2026: 0 of the 44 antenna part numbers is held, while 864 lines are ceramic capacitors and 254 are chip resistors.
The ceramic capacitors are the decoupling and matching passives around a radio; the ready stock page shows the dated snapshot, and stock moves. An antenna is a factory order. We state no lead time. For a small prototype run, ask us what Walsin will supply at a small lot, as our post on stock and reservation explains. Walsin antenna part numbers are summarised on the antenna product page.
What can Venatech support for a New Zealand agri-tech build, and what can it not?
We can cross a part, show a shelf and say what we lack. We hold no antenna datasheet, no ingress-protection or animal-welfare document, no qualification report, and none of the eighteen document types from REACH to PPAP appears in our 451 pages. That is a statement about the documents we hold, not about Walsin.
We state no price, lead time or delivery commitment. We make no statement on New Zealand radio rules, animal welfare law or product compliance; your compliance team owns that. We hold no office, entity or stock in New Zealand; our locations are Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Singapore and Jiangmen, with Chengdu in preparation. We do not state a country of origin. Our earlier post on New Zealand sourcing and ammonia in datasheets covers the shed environment.
How Venatech helps
- Cross-reference. Paste an incumbent capacitor or resistor into the free cross-reference tool. It decodes 18 manufacturers’ part numbers across 800,000+ crossable parts and lists Walsin candidates with match and mismatch fields.
- BOM check. Load a tag or collar BOM into /bom/, up to 500 part numbers or an Excel or CSV file.
- Ready stock. The Hong Kong ready-stock list is a dated snapshot as at 23 September 2026, not live-synced.
- Authorised line. Walsin is the only line we are authorised for. Stackpole and Viking are lines we supply.
- Service. Hong Kong-based, small lots, cross-referencing help, and a quote on request. See the MLCC range.
A worked example from our own export: ask about RFANT3216120A3T and we will list its two siblings RFANT3216120A1T and RFANT3216120A5T with every published field identical, and the suffix difference stated as unknown until Walsin answers.
The short version
New Zealand has nearly one million cows in devices, according to DairyNZ in 2024, and collars were in the news in June 2026. In Walsin’s export, 12 chip antennas publish 9 specifications, 10 state 2 dBi at any size, none is for GPS or sub-GHz, and none of the 44 antennas is on our shelf.
Send us one radio-side line from your collar or tag BOM and we will return the Walsin candidates with the differences stated. When three antennas have identical published fields, who tells you which one you are buying?
Sources
Fetched 22 October 2026. The news statements come from these pages; the part data comes from our own Walsin exports and stock list.
- DairyNZ, “Inside Dairy – The future of farm tech”, last updated 25 October 2024: https://www.dairynz.co.nz/news/the-future-of-farm-tech/
- Otago Daily Times, “PM supports electric collars for cows” (RNZ), dated 12 June 2026: https://www.odt.co.nz/rural-life/dairy/pm-supports-electric-collars-cows-rnz
Frequently asked questions
How many New Zealand cows wear electronic devices?
DairyNZ says nearly one million cows now wear devices, mostly to monitor heat or health events. The feature was last updated on 25 October 2024, so the true figure may be higher. Check DairyNZ for a current number before quoting it.
Does a larger Walsin chip antenna have higher gain?
Not in the export. Ten of 12 chip antennas state 2 dBi, from 3.07 cubic millimetres to 216.6, a 70-fold range in volume. The two 4 dBi parts are dual-band. Gain depends on your board, so qualify in your own circuit.
Are RFANT3216120A1T, A3T and A5T the same part?
Their published fields are identical: size, gain, band, standing wave ratio and the rest. The export does not say what the suffix changes. We have not seen this counted anywhere. Ask Walsin through us before you freeze the BOM.
Does Walsin make a chip antenna for GPS or 915 MHz?
No. All 12 chip antennas are 2.4 GHz parts. GPS L1 is served by two dipoles and one flexible printed antenna, and the 863 to 960 MHz area by two metal antennas. Check the band against your own radio design.
Do you hold Walsin antennas in Hong Kong?
Not as at 23 September 2026. None of our 1,125 stock lines is an antenna, so an antenna is a factory order. We hold 864 ceramic capacitor lines and 254 chip resistor lines. Stock moves, so ask before you design in.
Does Venatech advise on New Zealand radio or animal welfare rules?
No. We make no statement on radio rules, animal welfare law or product compliance, and we hold no office or stock in New Zealand. Confirm every legal question with your compliance team. We can cross a part and say which documents we hold.