Implementing Real-time Signal Monitoring within a
GNSS Software Receiver
C. Stöber, F. Kneißl, I. Krämer, T. Pany, G.W. Hein
University FAF Munich, 85577 Neubiberg, Germany
BIOGRAPHY
Carsten Stöber is Research Associate at the Institute of
Geodesy and Navigation at the University FAF Munich.
He received his diploma in Geodesy from the Technical
University Berlin. His major areas of interest include
software GNSS receiver development and signal
monitoring.
Felix Kneißl is Research Associate at the Institute of
Geodesy and Navigation at the University FAF Munich.
He received his diploma in Mathematics from the
Technical University Munich. He works in the field of
GNSS application in aviation including cryptographic
methods for GNSS.
Isabelle Krämer is a Research Associate of the Institute
of Geodesy and Navigation at the University FAF
Munich. She received her diploma in Computer Science
from the Ludwig-Maximilian-University Munich. She is
implementing a GUI for a software GNSS receiver. Her
main research interests are Assisted GNSS and
developing networks for several software GNSS
receivers.
Dr. Thomas Pany has a PhD in Geodesy from the Graz
University of Technology and a MSc in Physics from the
Karl-Franzens University of Graz. Currently he is
Assistant Professor (C1) at the Institute of Geodesy and
Navigation at the University FAF Munich. His major
areas of interests include GNSS software receiver design,
Galileo signal structure and GPS science.
Prof. Günter W. Hein is Full Professor and Director of
the Institute of Geodesy and Navigation at the University
FAF Munich. He is responsible for research and teaching
in the fields of high-precision GNSS positioning and
navigation, physical geodesy and satellite methods. He
has been working in the field of GPS since 1984 and is
author of numerous papers on kinematic positioning and
navigation as well as sensor integration. In 2002 he
received the prestigious “Johannes Kepler Award” from
the US Institute of Navigation (ION) for “sustained and
significant contributions to satellite navigation”.
Presently he is heavily involved in the Galileo program.
INTRODUCTION
Problematic distortions of received GNSS signals are a
critical issue for all users. Signal anomalies caused by the
signal generating hardware, so called “evil waveforms”
(EWF), multipath effects or interfering signals lead to a
deformation of the correlation function within a GNSS
receiver. To identify hazardous distortions multi-
correlator techniques can be employed and by using the
gathered data it is possible to protect a user against the
mentioned signal anomalies. The aim of this paper will be
a demonstration of some capabilities of the software
receiver developed at the University FAF Munich. It will
describe aspects of the implementation of monitoring
algorithms within the receiver and furthermore the results
derived from the implemented algorithms will be
presented.
One of the core problems while developing a GNSS
software receiver is to make it work in real-time.
Furthermore adding additional capabilities, like signal
monitoring in real-time, will enhance this problem. Apart
from this a software receiver is well suited to implement
all kinds of monitoring algorithms because of the “direct”
access to all possible needed data. Hence after finishing
the real-time capable GNSS software receiver it was the
next logical step to implement monitoring functionality.
To detect deviations of the correlation function from its
nominal shape a multi-correlator module was developed
for the software receiver. It provides a variety of
correlator measurements at distinct Doppler and code
phase offsets. On high power standard PC hardware it
provides correlator measurements for all satellites in view
simultaneously. On low power hardware it can work
either in multiplexing mode switching between different
satellites or it delivers measurements for a single satellite.
Using the correlator output different metrics,
mathematical combinations of the correlator
measurements, are formed within the monitoring module.
The functionality is not limited to a special GNSS due to
the high flexibility of the software receiver. Currently
GPS C/A, L2 Civil Signal, GIOVE-A E1/E5a and SBAS
signals are monitored.
Within the framework of this paper the general features
and first results of the ipexSR Signal Monitor will be
presented.
SURVEY OF THE ipexSR SOFTWARE RECEIVER message decoder. Since signal acquisition turns out to be
the most time consuming process, a specific unit has been
The ipexSR is a High-end real-time capable GNSS dedicated to it also in order to have a more careful
software receiver developed at the Institute of Geodesy control.
and Navigation at the University FAF Munich [1]. The
receiver is intended to run on a conventional PC. It is Going further, the navigation processor retrieves the
currently in its third phase of development, coming after measurements from the master receiver and passes them
single-frequency predecessors and presenting significant to one or more navigation modules. These modules
innovations. It can receive and track signals coming from perform various actions going from single-point-
all-in-view satellites of different GNSS (GPS/Galileo) positioning over RINEX output to signal quality
and SBAS, offering precise positioning as well as monitoring.
reference station/monitoring services.
The software receiver provides a user friendly GUI which
The receiver can process IF samples provided in real-time exhibits all information within a configurable multi-tab
by a USB front-end or from recorded data streams read interface depicted in Fig. 2. It shows the number of
from conventional storage media. Tab. 1 describes some tracked satellites, current GPS time, user position
characteristics of the triple frequency front-end which is coordinates, estimated accuracy etc. Detailed information
currently in use. The front-end has been jointly developed about acquisition and tracking (3D view of the
with the Fraunhofer Institute of Integrated Circuits and autocorrelation function, estimated C/N0, Pseudorange
exploits a special data transfer scheme that allows a and Range rate, atmospheric delays etc.) and various
transfer rate up to 312.5 Mbps, necessary for a continuous monitoring tools can be displayed too.
processing of the triple frequency samples stream.

Frequency Bandwidth Sample Rate ADC Res.

L1, E1 15/20 MHz 40.96 MHz 2/4 Bits
L2 15/20 MHz 40.96 MHz 2/4 Bits
L5, E5a 15/20 MHz 40.96 MHz 4 Bits
Tab. 1 Some characteristics of the triple frequency
front-end connectable to the software receiver

The receiver is implemented as a set of C++ classes,

grouped into modules, with well defined input and output
data interfaces. The block diagram depicted in Fig. 1
illustrates the general architecture of the ipexSR.

Nav.
Message
Container SISNET
Fig. 2 Screenshot of the ipexSR GUI, activated tab
provides information on the tracked satellites
Controller

Receiver
Status
Assisted GNSS
Server
IF Data Source
(USB, File)
Master
Receiver
Nav.
Processor
Depending on the desired scenario, i.e. desired receiver
settings, the user loads the appropriate configuration file
Acquisition
(shown in the left side of Fig. 2) and the receiver can be
Receiver 1 Manager Single Point
Positioning (RAIM)
started. The configuration file represents a very powerful
tool because it enables the user to control the receiver
Receiver 2
Level 1 FFT
Acquisition
RINEX, NMEA, RTCM,
Emulation output modules entirely. One can select general parameters like
the services, the number of tracked channels and the
Receiver n

Level 2 FFT
SQM desired output formats. Furthermore detailed
Receiver n+1 =
Acquisition
configuration of the acquisition scheme, the tracking loop
Spectrum Monitor
RTCM input configuration, the bit synchronization algorithm, the
navigation message decoder, the positioning algorithm
Fig. 1 Overall software receiver architecture and various output formats is provided. Many parameters
can be changed at any time, even during the receiver
After receiving IF-samples from the extern, the whole runtime, realizing a live configurability.
signal processing is controlled by a so-called Master
Receiver. It has several receiver units attached, each Current performance analysis show accuracy levels
tracking a specific GNSS service. One single receiver which are better than 30 cm for code measurements and 1
unit comprises a number of different channels, each mm for carrier phase measurements respectively. Beside
tracking one satellite signal. The receivers share most part the ordinary navigation features, a series of support
of the C++ source code, employing a universal tracking services has been added to increase the performance,
scheme which however can be configured in a different offer new capabilities and extend the receiver application
way for each of them. One major difference between the field.
different receiver units is given by the navigation
The possible applications of the receiver are as a GNSS
reference/monitoring station and as a powerful
development platform for new algorithm prototyping. A
version of the software receiver is currently working
twenty-four-seven as GPS/Galileo/SBAS reference
station, providing measurements obtained from GPS C/A
and L2C, EGNOS and GIOVE-A E1-E5a broadcast
signals.
SIGNAL MONITOR
To detect deviations of the correlation function from its
nominal shape a Signal Monitor module was
implemented into the ipexSR software receiver. This
module uses correlator measurements provided by a
multi-correlator module also implemented within the
receiver. The multi-correlator module provides a variety
of correlator measurements at distinct Doppler and code
phase offset and is not employed by the Signal Monitor
exclusively. Nevertheless the correlator output is utilized
to form different test metrics, mathematical combinations
of the correlator measurements, within the Signal
Monitor module. To identify signal distortions the
calculated metric values can be compared in real-time
towards thresholds which are feed into the assessing
routines of the Signal Monitor.
The Signal Monitor module is deeply integrated into the
software receiver. Therefore it has access to all general
receiver intern measurements and data. This provides a
very powerful tool to monitor and detect signal anomalies
on the one hand. Furthermore the Signal Monitor module
is able to give feedback to other parts of the software
receiver. The feedback implementation is foreseen in a
next implementation step. The general ipexSR
architecture allows for example delivering a warning to
the positioning routines in case of a detected signal
anomaly. This information could be used to exclude a
satellite from the navigation solution in real-time.
The functionality of the Signal Monitor is not limited to a
special system due to the high flexibility of the software
receiver. Currently GPS C/A, L2 Civil Signal, GIOVE-A
E1/E5a and SBAS signals are monitored.
2D Multi-Correlator
The multi-correlator implemented within the ipexSR
calculates the cross-correlation function between a user
definable reference signal and the received signal. The
cross-correlation function is evaluated over a 2-
dimensional grid of code phase and Doppler offsets. For
each receiver unit, as depicted in Fig. 1, the associated
multi-correlator can be configured independently to work
in different modes: it may run on all channels of the
receiver unit continuously, on one channel continuously
or it may switch in time-multiplexing scheme between
different channels.
The correlators are defined as complex values.
Conventionally the real component is denoted as I-
component and the imaginary component as Q-
component. The expected value of the correlator C with
respect to thermal noise is
⎛ ΔωT ⎞ (1)
C (Δτ , Δω ) = α exp{iΔϕ } C / N 0 Rc* , r (Δτ )sinc⎜ ⎟
⎝ 2 ⎠
where α is an arbitrary (but constant) scaling factor, Δφ is
the carrier phase tracking error in [rad], C/N0 is the
signal-to-noise ratio in [Hz], Rx,y is a one-dimensional
cross-correlation function between the signal x and y, r is
the internally generated signal at baseband, c* is the
complex conjugate of the baseband representation of the
received signal and T is the coherent integration time in
[s]. The code phase offset Δτ is given as the sum of the
code tracking error plus regularly spaced offsets as
Δτ = Δτˆ + kΔτ MC . (2)
The (angular) Doppler offset Δω is given as the sum of
the Doppler tracking error plus regular spaced offsets as
Δω = Δωˆ + lΔωMC . (3)
The two indices k and l are the arguments of the 2-
dimensional correlation function. The correlator spacing
ΔτMC in [chip] is given by the ratio of the code rate
divided by the sample rate. Currently the front-end
supports 20.48 Msamples/s or 40.96 Msamples/s. The
angular Doppler spacing is defined via the coherent
integration time as
2π . (4)
Δω MC =
T
The multi-correlator performs an internal data-bit wipe
off and thus allows long coherent integration times.
Typically employed integration times used within the
ipexSR software receiver range from 200ms to 5s. It is
essential, that the PLL locks well on the direct line-of-
sight signal during this coherent integration.
Two main types of correlators might be used for the
Signal Monitor module, namely the P- and the W-
correlator. According to [2] the P-correlator is defined by
using the (infinite bandwidth) PRN code sequence as
reference signal (including the modulation scheme), the
W-correlator uses the PRN-code convoluted with Dirac’s
delta function to obtained an estimate of the received
waveform. In the following only the P-correlator will be
described.
The covariance between two P-correlator values is given
by
Δω12 T ⎞
P1 P2 = 2α 2 R c *
, c rec
(Δτ 12 )sinc⎛⎜ ⎟ (5)
rec
⎝ 2 ⎠
where the indexes ‘12’ denotes the code phase and
Doppler offset difference of both correlators. Here cres
denotes the internally generated infinite bandwidth PRN
code.
Fig. 3 Typical multi-correlator output for a Galileo
E5a signal at low elevation angles (sample rate = 40.96
MHz)
Fig. 3 shows the absolute value of one P-multi-correlator
output obtained by receiving a Galileo E5a (pseudolite)
signal on a moving receiver. Near multipath signals (< 5
chips delay) and one far multipath signal (around 9 chip
delay) arrive together with the line-of-sight signal. Due to
the movement of the receiver and the fine Doppler
resolution of the multi-correlator the peaks in the cross-
correlation function are well separated in code phase and
Doppler dimension.
The Signal Monitor module employs currently the P-
correlator, resulting in the signal autocorrelation function,
but can be set to W-Correlator too. The only constraint
which was made while implementing the Signal Monitor
was the limitation that only multi-correlator values at
Doppler offset zero are considered. Nevertheless this
constraint can be removed if necessary.
Implementation Issues
Within the ipexSR software receiver a flexible design
was chosen for the Signal Monitor module. The main
reason for the used design depicted in Fig. 4 is the high
variability needed for a development platform. The
aspects shortly described in the following are naturally
inherent to C++ implementations but nevertheless
important for further developments of the Signal Monitor.
Fig. 4 Simplified Signal Monitor design and data flow
When simplifying the implementation there are mainly
three parts of the Signal Monitor module. Without
describing detailed design issues one should realize the
following things: The “Signal Monitor Main” part only
organizes the data per channel and does final
assessments. The real calculation and assessment of
metric values are done independent while the “Main” part
only controls these actions. The advantage of this obvious
implementation is that organization, calculation and
assessment do not interfere except for defined interfaces.
In case of a major change in one of the mentioned parts
the others can be adapted very easily.
Because the “Signal Monitor Main” part is more or less
only a controlling part it can also be extended to
incorporate different monitoring methods like validation
of orbit parameters or confirmation of the received
satellite signal power [4]. Furthermore more
detailed/complex assessment methods can be
implemented too, because the “Signal Monitor Main” is
gathering all assessments from all signals in view.
Big efforts were put into finding a generic scheme to
configure the Signal Monitor module according to user
needs. For the mathematical combination of the multi-
correlator measurements the scheme is composed of:
• Metric type (defining the mathematical
combination)
• Metric service (defining the service of the
signal, e.g. GPS L1 C/A, which is observed)
• Reference signal for correlation
• Vector of correlator offsets w.r.t. punctual
correlator (measurements at this offsets are used,
needed number and combination of the values
depends on metric type)
For the assessment of the calculated metric values four
additional properties are needed:
• Satellite PRN (enabling satellite depending
assessment)
• Mean value of the metric
• Assessment method (enabling usage of different
methods to assess the calculated metric values)
• Threshold value (implemented as vector to
enable usage of polynomials)
The described property scheme is very flexible and
allows free configurability. As a result of the efforts
neither the used metrics nor the assessment
thresholds/methods are “hard coded” within the ipexSR,
except for the definition. All configuration parameters are
read out of configuration files at the startup of the
receiver. The only constraint which has to be fulfilled is
the availability of the needed multi-correlator
measurements at distinct Doppler and chip offsets. As
mentioned above currently only Doppler offset zero is
taken into account and the existence of correlator
measurements at defined chip offset is depending on the
sample rate of the connected front-end.
Employed Metric Types

The metric types employed within the ipexSR are chosen

similar to [3]. The receiver is assumed to be phase-locked
so only the in-phase measurements IX are used. Here the
subscript X denotes the code offset with respect to the
punctual correlator in [chip]. Three generic metric types
are currently implemented, namely:

IB
Single Sided Ratio
IA
I B − IC
Average Ratio
IA
(I B − I C ) − (I D − I E ) .
Delta
IA
Normally A equals to the punctual correlator and
therefore has a value of zero. Furthermore B equals to –C
and D equals to –E normally. There is also the possibility
to observe (and display) single correlator measurements
at distinct code offsets but they are not used for the signal
assessment.
Data logging
The Signal Monitor provides the possibility to store all
calculated metric values within log files. Beside this
ordinary feature the main advantage of the ipexSR log
files is given by the possibility to store additional data
into the same files. For example time, azimuth, elevation,
line of sight Doppler value and signal to noise ratio at the
instant of time where the metric value was calculated can
be stored within the same file. This allows comprehensive
post processing analyses of the calculated metric values.
Graphical User Interface
A graphical user interface (GUI) for the Signal Monitor
module has been implemented embedded within the
frame of the overall GUI of the ipexSR software receiver.
It gives real-time feedback to the user by displaying all
relevant data.
As depicted in Fig. 5 a list of all currently monitored
satellites including the current metric values and the
assessment status is displayed at the top. Furthermore
history plots for the calculated metric values are provided
to give a visual impression of the development of the
metric values over time. The text-box at the bottom of
Fig. 5 displays detailed information in case of a metric
value exceeding the defined threshold (the depicted
warnings for satellite 13 resulting from intentionally
wrong thresholds).
Fig. 5 Graphical user interface of the Signal Monitor
module
DETERMINATION OF SUITED TEST METRICS
Due to the flexibility of both the ipexSR and the included
Signal Monitor module, a very large number of different
test metrics can be used to monitor signal anomalies. In
order to maximize the detection capability at low false
alarm rates, low computational burden and high clearness
at user level, it is necessary to select the most suitable test
metrics for all possible combinations of systems,
services, front-end configurations and correlator
configurations a priori.
For this reason an external test program was developed,
selecting the most suitable test metrics for the following
signal modulation types:
• BPSK(n), Binary Phase Shift Keying
modulation as used for GPS C/A, GPS L2C,
EGNOS, Galileo E6a and Galileo E6b
• BOC(1,1), Binary Offset Carrier as used as a
baseline signal for Galileo E1 Open Service
• MBOC(1,11,1/6), Multiplexed Binary Offset
Carrier as proposed for optimized modulation
for Galileo E1 Open Service
• BOCcos(15,2.5) Binary Offset Carrier (cosine
subcarrier) as planned for Galileo E1 PRS
• BOCcos(10,5) Binary Offset Carrier (cosine
subcarrier) as planned for Galileo E6 PRS
• AltBOC(15,10) Alternative Binary Offset
Carrier as planned for Galileo E5 OS signals
The external program employs all possible combinations
of P-correlator measurements at Doppler offset zero to
form test metrics. The following metric types are
supported:
 As a last step within the determination of the suited test
Metric Type Depiction Remarks metrics all assessed metrics are sorted by their respective
EWF to Noise Ratio also accounting for highly correlated
Single Sided IB No restrictions w.r.t.
Ratio correlator spacing
metrics.
IA
Symmetric ( I −C − I +C ) Uses one pair of The parameter space of distorted waveforms follows the
Average Ratio symmetric I-Samples classical description of threat models A, B and C. Threat
IA
Asymmetric (I B − I C ) No restrictions w.r.t. model A describes an error in the digital part of the signal
Average Ratio correlator spacing generation unit modeled by a delayed or advanced falling
IA
(or rising) chip transition. The effect of a 0.1 chip delayed
Symmetric (I −C − I +C ) − (I − E − I + E ) Uses two pairs of
Delta IA symmetric I-Samples rising chip transition at a single BOC(1,1) chip is
depicted within the left part of Fig. 6. The resulting
distorted P-correlation function is shown in the right part
The assessment of the suitability of a test metric depends
of the same figure.
on the sensibility of the metric value with respect to
signal deformations and the noise inducted variation of
the test metric. Therefore the theoretical noise of each
metric is calculated using the nominal shape of the P-
correlation function in dependency of the used integration
time, signal to noise ratio, modulation type, code, front-
end bandwidth and filter type. In a next step the
sensibility of each test metric is evaluated computing the
P-correlation function for a specified set of signal
distortions, again in dependency of the used integration
Fig. 6 Rising chip transition at single BOC(1,1) chip
time, signal to noise ratio, modulation type, code, front-
and resulting correlation function distortion
end bandwidth and filter type. The P-correlation function
is calculated by simulating the code tracking using an
early minus late discriminator at a specifiable correlator Treat model B describes an error within the analog part of
spacing. the signal generation causing the signal amplitude to
“ring” at a certain frequency fd and a certain damping
These two pieces of information offer a definition of the factor σ. Each chip transition is described by an
so called Evil Waveform (EWF) to Noise Ratio. There amplification of
are many different types of definitions and some of them
do not define a metric in the mathematical sense. The ⎡ σ ⎤ (6)
following definitions are used within our software: a (t ) = 1 − exp( −σt ) ⎢cos( 2πf d t ) + sin(ω d t ) ⎥
⎣ 2π f d ⎦

EW max{ p∈P} (M p − M 0 ) Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 show the effect of a ringing of fd =17.0
Order 1 :=
N std (M 0 ) MHz and damping factor σ =0.80 at a single BOC(1,1)
chip and the resulting distorted P-correlation function.
EW min { p∈P} (M p − M 0 ) The plots show the normalized correlation functions.
Order 2 := Threat model B does not show strong deviations in shape
N std (M 0 )
compared to the undistorted waveform. Nevertheless
signal power decreases significantly.
∑ (M p − M 0 )2
1
Order 3 EW P − 1 p∈P
:=
N std (M 0 )

Here P denotes the set of assessed distorted waveforms,

|P| denotes the number of elements of the parameter set
P, Mp denotes the metric value under the distorted
waveform p and M0 denotes the mean value of the metric
respectively the value of the metric under an undistorted
waveform. Order 1 prefers so called “specialist metrics”,
i.e. a metric detecting only one kind of distortions very Fig. 7 Ringing effect at single BOC(1,1) chip and
well is favored over metrics detecting all kinds of resulting distorted P-correlation function
distortions well. Order 2 prefers “general purpose
metrics” which have good detection properties for many
different kinds of signal distortions. Order 3 provides an
intermediate weighting between the detection properties
of order 1 and 2.

Fig. 8 Ringing effect at single BOC(1,1) detailed view
on correlation peak
Threat model C describes a simultaneous error in the
digital and analog part of the signal generation and is
modeled as a subsequent application of threat model A
and threat model B. Fig. 9 presents the effect of a 0.1 chip
delayed rising chip transition combined with a ringing of
fd =17.0 MHz and damping factor σ =0.80 at a single
BOC(1,1) chip and the resulting distorted P-correlation
function.
Fig. 9 Threat model C at single BOC(1,1) chip and
resulting distorted P-correlation function
For BPSK and low subcarrier rate BOC signals, the
parameter space commonly used is given by all delays of
-0.15 chip to 0.15 chip in steps of 0.01 chip and ringing
frequencies of 5.0 MHz up to 20.0 MHz at damping rates
between 0.8 and 8.8 in steps of 1.0 MHz respectively 1.0.
All computations are performed with complex baseband
signals. As the parameter space can grow comparatively
fast with its granularity, efficient programming using C
was necessary.
The simulation of the receiver front-end is performed
either by using Fourier methods or by digital filtering the
band unlimited signals using (among others) Butterworth
filters of arbitrary order and certain bandwidth.
The evaluation of the single correlators either utilizes
direct integration or Fourier techniques again. Using only
few iteration steps in the simulation of the delay lock
loop, direct integration performs better compared to
Fourier techniques.
Depending on the final configuration of the ipexSR
software receiver with respect to front-end filtering and
correlator spacing, the described tool provides a set of
“optimal” test metrics for the Signal Monitor module.
PRELIMINARY RESULTS
To test the capabilities of the Signal Monitor module
several tests have been carried out. As hardware platform
a standard laptop (Intel Centrino Duo at 2.33 GHz) was
employed. The Frond-End was connected to a NovAtel
GPS-704X rooftop antenna depicted within Fig. 10. The
installation roof is an uneven metal construction and has
some further installations on it, which results in big
multipath effects. Nevertheless this environment was
chosen for the tests to obtain preliminary results of the
performance and accuracy of the ipexSR software
receiver within a “real” environment.
Fig. 10 Rooftop antenna of building 41
Within the following IA etc. denote the correlator spacing
w.r.t. punctual correlator (e.g. IB=0.05 is the in-phase
B
measurement at correlator offset 0.05 [chip]) used to
calculate the provided test metrics. The depicted metric
values are not smoothed and the x-axis time scale is
within relative time to the first observation of the
corresponding satellite.
Within Fig. 11 an analysis of measurements from satellite
GPS 12 is displayed. Similar analyses have been carried
out for all satellites in view. One can see the calculated
unsmoothed values for a single sided ratio metric (IA=0.0,
IB=0.05) at the top of the figure. Furthermore the
B
corresponding C/N0 value and the elevation angle are
displayed below. The mean value of the employed metric
was determined as
x metric = 0.96983 ± 0.000052 .
At the bottom of Fig. 11 the calculated polynomial
coefficients for monitoring thresholds are depicted. The
coefficients have been derived from the measurements by
using a least squares fit depending on elevation and signal
to noise ratio. Therefore elevation and signal to noise
ratio have been divided into different bins and are
modeled as shown in (8) and (9) within the least squares
fit. The dotted lines are obtained by
Threshold = x metric ± k ⋅ σ metric . (7)
 Satellite: 12 Number read metric values: 959
Time first observation: week 1471 second 78845 Minimum C/N0 43
0.98

0.975

Metric Value
0.97

0.965

0.96
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
Relative time [s] 4
x 10
55
C/N0 [dbHz]
50

45

40
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
Relative time [s] 4
Sat elevation [deg]

x 10

50

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
Relativ time [s] 4
x 10

Polynomial 2. order (elevation)

Metric Value
0.98

a0= 0.0038321 ± 0.00037403 0.97

a1= −7.5057e−005 ± 1.6483e−005 0.96

a2= 5.4614e−007 ± 1.6226e−007 0.95

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
4
Polynomial 1. order (sqrt(1/CN0)) x 10

Metric Value
0.98

a0= 0.00017216 ± 0.00018841 0.97

0.96
a1= 0.36059 ± 0.045216
0.95
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
Relative time [s] x 10
4

Fig. 11 Single sided ratio metric (IA=0.0, IB=0.05) results on L1 C/A, satellite GPS 12, elevation cutoff 10°, min
B

C/N0=43dBHz

Within (7) k is the inflation factor which can be set by the

Sat: 3 No. obs: 911 Sat: 5 No. obs: 907
user and was chosen as 5.26. The fitted standard Mean −0.0024531 ± 0.00012293
Single obs ±0.0037105
Mean −0.0014051 ± 0.00010482
Single obs ±0.0031567

deviation of the calculated metric value σmetric is obtain

0.015 0.015

0.01 0.01

via
0.005 0.005
Metric Value

Metric Value
0 0

−0.005 −0.005

−0.01 −0.01

−0.015 −0.015

2
σ metric = ∑ aiθ
−0.02 −0.02

i (8) −0.025
0 0.5 1
Rel. time [s]
1.5
x 10
4
2
−0.025
0 0.5 1
Rel. time [s]
1.5
x 10
4
2

Sat: 12 No. obs: 959 Sat: 15 No. obs: 929

i =0 Mean −0.0043912 ± 0.00010981 Mean −0.0012741 ± 9.7923e−005
Single obs ±0.0034004 Single obs ±0.0029846
and 0.015

0.01
0.015

0.01

i
⎛ ⎞
0.005 0.005

1
1 (9)
Metric Value

= ∑ ai ⎜ ⎟ Metric Value
0

σ metric −0.005 −0.005

⎜ C / N0 ⎟ −0.01 −0.01

i =0
⎝ ⎠ −0.015

−0.02
−0.015

−0.02

−0.025 −0.025
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Rel. time [s] x 10
4 Rel. time [s] 4
x 10

where ai are the depicted polynomial coefficients and θ is

the current elevation in [degree] for the blue dotted line. Fig. 12 Average ratio metric (IA=0.0, IB=-0.05, B

For the green dotted line the signal to noise ratio is used IC=0.05) results on L1 C/A, satellites GPS 3,5,12 and
within [Hz]. 15, elevation cutoff 10°, min C/N0=43dBHz

It shall be pointed out that the determination of

monitoring thresholds based only on metric Satellite: 7 Number read metric values: 7722
Time first observation: week 1472 second 565916 Minimum C/N0 33
measurements generally may not be adequate within the 1

worse environment used for the tests. Due to the big 0.99
Metric Value

multipath effects (and thermal noise) the measurements 0.98

comprise systematic errors which are included within the 0.97

threshold determination process. Nevertheless the 0.96

0 5 10 15
calculated thresholds give a first impression on the Relative time [s] 4
Sat elevation [deg]

x 10

general performance of the ipexSR Signal Monitor. 50

Within a “common” measurement environment multipath 0
effects are expected to be less than within the used test 0 5
Relativ time [s]
10
x 10
15
4

environment. Anyhow they will normally not be Arithmetic Middle= 0.97556 ± 3.6556e−005
insignificant and thus automatised determination of Error single metric value= ± 0.0032124

monitoring thresholds may not work. Histogram for artihmetic middle calculation up to 3 sigma
1000

The results of an average ratio test metric (IA=0.0, IB=- B

500
0.05, IC=0.05) are shown within Fig. 12. For all depicted
satellites the maximum elevation of the corresponding 0
0.96 0.965 0.97 0.975 0.98 0.985 0.99
pass was about 80°. The general characteristics are
similar. The slightly differences for the obtained mean
metric values have to be analyzed more in detail if they Fig. 13 Single sided ratio metric (IA=0.0, IB=0.05) B

result from different multipath due to different azimuth- results for L2 civil signal, satellite GPS 7, elevation
elevation masks. cutoff 5°, min C/N0=33dBHz
 Within Fig. 13 the results of a single sided ratio metric ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
(IA=0.0, IB=0.05) monitoring the L2C signal of GPS
B

satellite 7 are provided. The data has been gathered from The project work has been partly carried out within the
two passes of the satellite between 29 and 31 March framework of the following projects:
2008. A configuration which multiplexes between all
L2CS transmitting satellites was used and the results for Institution Project Title
the other satellites are very similar. AGeoBw Software GNSS-Receiver
BWB (Federal Office of Software GNSS-Receiver
One should realize the following things: The scattering Defense Technology and
within the metric values is depending as expected on the Procurement)
satellite elevation. The histogram seems Gaussian in DLR (German Aerospace UNITAS IV
nature but detailed analysis proved it is not, which is Center)
mainly due to the systematic multipath influences.

0.99
Satellite: 7 C/A REFERENCES
0.985

0.98
Metric Value

0.975

0.97 [1] Anghileri, M., Pany, T., Sanroma Güixens, D.,

Won, J.-H., Sicramaz Ayaz, A., Stöber,
0.965

0.96
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
55
Relative time [s] 4
x 10 C., Krämer, I., Dötterböck, D., Hein, G.
C/N0 [dBHz]

50
45
40
W., and Eissfeller, B., "Performance
35
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Relative time [s]
1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
4
x 10
2
Evaluation of a Multi-frequency
0.99
Satellite: 7 L2CS GPS/Galileo/SBAS Software Receiver,"
0.985
Proc. ION-GNSS 2007, Fort Worth.
0.98
Metric Value

0.975

0.965
0.97
[2] Pany, T., Eissfeller, B., and Hein, G., "A Two
0.96
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
Dimensional (Delay/Doppler) Multi
Correlator in a Multi-Frequency PC-
Relative time [s] 4
x 10
50
C/N0 [dBHz]

45
40
35
30
Based Software Receiver," Proc.
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Relative time [s]
1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
4
x 10
2
NAVITEC 2006, Noordwijk, 2006.
Fig. 14 Comparison for a single sided ratio metric
(IA=0.0, IB=0.05) for L1 C/A and L2 civil signal [3] Phelts, R. E., Walter, T., and Enge, P., "Toward
Real-Time SQM for WAAS: Improved
B

Detection Techniques," Proc. ION-GNSS

Fig. 14 depicts simultaneous calculated metric values for 2003, Portland.
satellite 7 on L1 C/A and L2 CS. One can see the
different number of measurements resulting from the [4] Xie, G., Pullen, S., Luo, M., Normark, P.-L., Akos,
different multi-correlator time multiplexing scheme for D., Lee, J., Enge, P., and Pervan, B.,
the dedicated receiver units (see Fig. 1). The signal to "Integrity Design and Updated Test
noise ratio variations of the depicted signals indicate big Results for the Stanford LAAS Integrity
multipath effects inherent to the test environment. The Monitor Testbed," Proc. ION-AM 2001,
stronger noise of the L2 CS metric may results from a Albuquerque.
bandpass filter used for L2. This bandpass filter has to be
employed because of an interfering jammer at the L2
frequency which was identified within the test
environment. Furthermore only the L2CM is tracked
which is due to memory limitations prohibiting multipath
mitigation for L2CL.

CONCLUSIONS

Within the framework of this paper the general features

and first results of the ipexSR Signal Monitor have been
presented. The Signal Monitor is implemented as an easy
to use but powerful tool to detect and assess signal
anomalies. Several tests have been conducted to prove its
capabilities to use all signal in view which can be tracked
by the ipexSR software receiver. As the next developing
step detailed analysis of the calculated metric values will
be conducted. Furthermore robust assessing thresholds
will be derived and have to be validated with our
software signal simulator.

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