u-blox, Rohde & Schwarz Successfully Simulate Galileo with u-blox Platform

February 14, 2011

u-blox and Rohde & Schwarz (R&S), a supplier of test and measurement equipment, have successfully concluded a simulation of the European Galileo satellite positioning system. The test, carried out with the R&S SMBV100A vector signal generator and its GNSS simulation options, verified the u-blox proof-of-concept and the compatibility of u-blox receiver technology with the Galileo transmission protocol.

This article is tagged with GNSS simulator, Rohde & Schwarz, signal processing, simulator, u-blox and posted in OEM

Innovation: GNSS and the Ionosphere

February 1, 2011

What’s in Store for the Next Solar Maximum?
Although the sun can become disturbed at any time, solar activity is correlated with the approximately 11-year cycle of spots on the sun’s surface. We are just coming out of a minimum in the solar cycle and headed for the next maximum, predicted to occur around the middle of 2013. How significantly will GNSS users be affected? In this month’s column, two ionosphere experts tell us what might be in store.

This article is tagged with coronal mass ejections, electron content, ionosphere, ionospheric interference, signal processing, solar flare, solar high and posted in From the Magazine, Innovation, OEM

GNSS RF Compatibility Assessment: Interference among GPS, Galileo, and Compass

December 1, 2010

A comprehensive methodology combines spectral-separation and code-tracking spectral-sensitivity coefficients to analyze interference among GPS, Galileo, and Compass. The authors propose determining the minimum acceptable degradation of effective carrier-to-noise-density ratio, considering all receiver processing phases, and conclude that each GNSS can provide a sound basis for compatibility with other GNSSs with respect to the special receiver configuration.

This article is tagged with BeiDou, Galileo, GPS interference, interoperability, signal processing and posted in GNSS, OEM

Figure 2. GPS is visible in the spectrum only if a narrow resolution bandwidth is used. This spectrum was obtained with a center frequency of 1575.42 MHz, a frequency span of 4 MHz, a resolution bandwidth of 10 Hz, root-mean-square averaging with 20 averages, and a reference level of 250 dBm.

Innovation: Record, Replay, Rewind

October 1, 2010

Testing GNSS Receivers with Record and Playback Techniques
Is there a way to perform repeatable tests on GNSS receivers using real signals? This month’s column looks at how to use an RF vector signal analyzer to digitize and record live signals, and then play them back to a GNSS receiver with an RF vector signal generator.

This article is tagged with signal processing, simulation, simulator and posted in From the Magazine, Innovation, OEM

Challenged Positions: Dynamic Sensor Network, Distributed GPS Aperture, and Inter-nodal Ranging Signals

September 1, 2010

A performance assessment demonstrates the ability of a networked group of users to locate themselves and each other, navigate, and operate under adverse conditions in which an individual user would be impaired. The technique for robust GPS positioning in a dynamic sensor network uses a distributed GPS aperture and RF ranging signals among the network nodes.

This article is tagged with antenna technology, emergency response, sensor network, signal processing and posted in OEM

At the JPO. Frank Butterfield of Aerospace, Col. Parkinson, and Cdr. Bill Huston, deputy JPO director from the U.S. Navy, in the early 1970s. A model of a Phase I GPS satellite stands on the table between the latter two. (Credit: Bradford W. Parkinson and Stephen T. Powers)

Part 2: The Origins of GPS, Fighting to Survive

June 1, 2010

GPS Phase I program approval meant that the real work could begin. The conclusion of a two-part history, told by the people who made it.

This article is tagged with GPS heroes, GPS history, receiver design, signal processing and posted in From the Magazine, OEM

Mathematician Bill Guier (l) and physicist George Weiffenbach (r), told APL Research Center director Frank T. McClure (c), about their success using Doppler tracking for satellites. “McClure’s brain started going into fast forward,” remembered John Dassoulas. “Knowing the navigational challenges the U.S. Navy faced, McClure said, ‘Well, if you can find out where the satellite is, you ought to be able to turn that problem upside down and find out where you are.’" (Credit: Bradford W. Parkinson and Stephen T. Powers)

Part 1: The Origins of GPS, and the Pioneers Who Launched the System

May 1, 2010

The original system study, the key innovations, and the forgotten heroes of the world’s first — and still greatest — global navigation satellite system. True history, told by the people who made it. Part One of a Two-Part Special Feature.

This article is tagged with GPS heroes, GPS history, receiver design, signal processing and posted in From the Magazine, OEM

On the Edge: Multipath Measures Snow Depth

November 1, 2009

The September “Innovation” column in this magazine,
“It’s Not All Bad: Understanding and Using GNSS
Multipath,” by Andria Bilich and Kristine Larson (see
www.gpsworld.com/multipath), mentions the use of multipath in studying soil moisture, ocean altimetry and winds, and snow sensing. An experiment the authors conducted, designed to study soil moisture, yielded a surprise bonus: a new methodology for measuring snow depth via GPS multipath. It has important implications for weather and flood forecasting, and could also bring new insight to bear on GPS antenna design.

This article is tagged with antenna technology, multipath, signal processing, snow depth, snowstorm, weather forecasting and posted in OEM

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