GPS SIGNALS &

STRUCTURE
OBJECTIVE
 Understand GPS
signals used for
location
determination.
GPS SIGNAL

 GPS transmits a microwave signal which

form part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
 EM energy can be modelled as waves or as
particles (photons).
 Thus the EM energy model to be used is
waves.
 All EM energy travels at the speed of light
which is 3*108 m/s or more precisely
299,792,458 m/s.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A WAVE
 The amplitude, alpha (α ) is the peak value
of the wave
 The larger the amplitude the higher the
energy.
 The phase, phi (φ) is angle of rotation of the
wave = precise ranging
CHARACTERISTICS OF A WAVE
 Lambda (λ) is the wavelength
 It is the length of one cycle of
oscillation.
 It is the distance from one crest (peak)
to another crest or vice versa (troughs).
 CHARACTERISTICS OF A WAVE
 The amount of time needed by an EM wave to complete
one cycle is termed the period.
 The number of cycles completed in one second becomes
the frequency.
 Frequency is measured in Hertz (1hz=1 cycle per
second). 1 hertz is a full wavelength that takes 1
second to cycle through 360 degrees.
 For example, the lowest sound a human can hear has a
frequency of about 25 Hz, 25 cycles in one second.
 Hz = hertz = 1 cycle/second
 KHz = kilohertz = thousand (1,000) cycles/second
 MHz = megahertz = million (1,000,000) cycles/second
 GHz = gigahertz = a thousand million (1,000,000,000) cycles/second
FREQUENCY & WAVELENGTH
 The relationship between wavelength and
frequency keeping the speed of light
constant is:
 C=λ * f
 Where c=speed of light and f is the
frequency.
 Thus long wavelength= low frequency
 Short wavelength =high frequency
WHAT CAN HAPPEN TO THE WAVE DURING
PROPAGATION ?

 The radio wave can be:

 Reflected;
 Refracted;
 Scattered and;
 Diffracted before reaching the receiver.

Signal from
satellite
REFLECTION OF GPS SIGNALS
 When a propagating EM wave encounters/
hits a surface it can be reflected back.
 Reflections occur from the surface of the
earth and from buildings and walls.
 Two types of reflection can occur depending
on the characteristic of the surface of the
object.
specular diffuse
SCATTERING
 It occurs when the medium through
which the wave is travelling has objects
with dimensions that are small
compared to the wavelength, and where
the number of obstacles per unit volume
is large.
 Scattered waves are produced by rough
surfaces, small objects.
SCATTERING
 Examples include, foliage, street signs,
and lamp posts induce scattering of
radio waves.
 Since GPS’s L band is similar to those
used in active Radar when looking at the
effect of vegetation on the signal the L
band- vegetation interaction model can
be applied.
 SCATTERING
 When the signal encounters the forest canopy, it
can be scattered by the tree crowns (surface
scattering).
 Volume scattering by trees and branches can
also occur.
 It is the scattering within a medium when EM
radiation transmits from one medium to another
medium.
SCATTERING
 Theradio wave can also experience
double bounce when the signal reflects
from more than one object surface e.g soil
surface then tree trunk.

 Sowith all the scattering Gerlach (1989)

reported loss of radio signal from the
satellite to be 23% as a result of trunks,
28% branches, 36% by foliage.
SCATTERING
 Thishas an implication on the accuracy
of the location measurement which
seems to degrade with the density of
vegetation.
REFRACTION

 Refraction is the bending of wavefront when

passing through a boundary between two
dissimilar media.
 For example, GPS signal as it passes through
the different layers of the atmosphere
(ionosphere & troposphere).
DIFFRACTION
 Diffraction
occurs at the edge of an
impenetrable body that is large
compared to the wavelength of the
radio wave.
 GPS SIGNAL STRUCTURE
 GPS satellite transmits a microwave radio
signal composed of two carrier frequencies (or
sine waves) modulated by two digital codes
and a navigation message.
 Satellite signals basically consists of 3
components:
 1. Two micro wave L-band (also called
Carrier) waves
 L1 carrier: 1575.42 MHz
 L2 carrier: 1227.60 MHz
 GPS SIGNAL STRUCTURE
 2.
Ranging codes modulated on the carrier
waves
 C/A code, coarse/acquisition code modulated
at 1.023 MHz, degraded code for civilian
users, modulated on L1 only
 P (Y) code, the precise code modulated at
10.23 MHz. It is modulated on both L1 and
L2 carrier waves, for authorized military
users
 GPS SIGNALS

 3.Navigation message
 Modulated on both L1 and L2 and contains
satellite positions and constants.
 Why use different frequencies??
CARRIER FREQUENCIES

 Two legacy carrier frequencies L1 and L2

and a new modern frequency L5.
 The frequencies fall within the microwave
region designated as the L-band with
wavelengths of 15 to 30 centimetres.
GPS SIGNAL STRUCTURE: CARRIER FREQUENCIES
 The L1 carrier is modulated by a coarse
acquisition code C/A code, a precise code
referred to as the P code and the satellite
message.
 The L2 carrier is modulated by the P code
and the satellite message.
GPS CODES AND CARRIER WAVE
MODULATION
 The carrier waves L1, L2 and L5 are
modulated with two binary codes : the C/A
(coarse acquisition) code and P (precise)
code .
 The codes (P and C/A) are nothing but
binary sequence of information which are
generated by a complicated algorithm.
 C/A and Pcodes are attached to the carrier
waves by phase modulation.
MODULATION
 The modulations are information that the
radio waves carry from the satellites to the
receiver hence the name carrier waves.

 Think
of any radio station! E.g. Star FM-
89.7MHz

 Atthis frequency you would hear white

noise however when you tune to the radio
you hear music which is frequency
modulated (FM) on the carrier wave.
MODULATION

 Threeoptions for carrier modulation:

 Frequency
 Amplitude
 Phase=== GPS
SO WHAT IS PHASE ?
A wavelength is divided
into phase angles.
 For a sine wave: 0°, 90°,
180°, 270°, and 360° are
known as phase angles in a
single wavelength.
 The oscillators in the GPS
satellite create very
constant wavelengths. Frequency of 1 hertz is a
 phase angles are important in the full wavelength that takes
1 second to cycle through
modulation of the carrier by phase. 360 degrees.
 PHASE MODULATION
 So what is phase modulation ?
 In phase modulation the frequency and
amplitude of the carrier waves do not
change however there is 180° changes in
their phase.
 Also called binary phase shift keying.

Change in phase
PHASE ANGLES
 When the rate of an oscillator’s operation is
very stable, both the length & elapsed time
between the beginning & end of every
wavelength of the modulation will be the
same.
 Thus the phase angles occur at definite
distances.
 PHASE ANGLES
 We can then use wavelengths to measure
distances because we can know how long
each wavelength is.
 However, the measurement my not end at
the complete end of a wavelength but at
some fractional part.
 How then do we determine
 this fractional part?
If 360 ° =24cm what about 270°
(270/360)*24=xm
24cm
MEASURING FRACTIONAL DISTANCE BY
COMPARING PHASE
 To find the fractional part, the GPS
receiver compares the phase angle of the
transmitted signal to that of a replica of the
transmitted signal to determine the phase
shift.
 The determined phase shift represents the
fractional part of the measurement.
 In GPS, the process is called carrier phase
ranging.
 PHASE SHIFT
 When two modulated carrier
waves reach exactly the
same phase angle at exactly
the same time, they are said
to be in phase, coherent, or
phase locked.
 However, when two waves
reach the same phase angle
at different times, they are
out of phase or phase shifted.
 EDM EXAMPLE
 The sine wave shown by the dashed line has
returned to an EDM from a reflector.
 Compared with the sine wave shown by the
solid line, it is out of phase by one-quarter of a
wavelength.
 The distance between the EDM and the
reflector, ρ, is then:
 ρ= ( Nλ+d )/ 2
 where:
 N = the number of full wavelengths the
modulated carrier has completed
 d = the fractional part of a wavelength at the
end that completes the doubled distance.
 For this example, d is three-quarters of a
wavelength because it lacks its last quarter. GPS for land surveyors
 If the wavelength is 19m then the fractional Electronic distance
part is 0.75*19m=14.25m measurement unit
 THE INTEGER AMBIGUITY PROBLEM
 Bydetermining the phase shift between the
incoming signal & the phase of the internal
oscillator in the GPS receiver reveals the
small distance at the end of a range.

 Althoughthe length of a fractional part of a

wavelength is estimated there still remains
a big unknown, namely the number of full
wavelengths, N of the modulated carrier .
 THE INTEGER AMBIGUITY PROBLEM
 This cycle ambiguity is symbolized by N

 Knowing the number of full wavelengths

between the receiver and satellite at the
instant of the measurement is more
difficult.

 Thisis known as the integer ambiguity

problem
CODE MEASUREMENTS
 thecode measurements (also referred to as
pseudorange measurements) enable
instantaneous position determinations using
GPS satellites.

 theP code is generally ten times more

accurate than the C/A code

 C/A code available to civilians

P AND C/A CODE

 Carry raw data used by the GPS receiver to

derive time and distance measurements.
 P and C/A codes also called pseudorandom
noise or PRN codes.
 They are not necessarily noise but very
complicated code capable of repetition &
replication.
 Their generation rate is measured in millions
of cycles per second, or megahertz (MHz)
PRECISE ACQUISITION CODE: P CODE
 It is a series of ones & zeros generated at
a rate of 10.23 million bits per second.
 It is carried on both L1 and L2.
 The P code is very long ~37 weeks long
(2x1014 bits in code) thus each satellite is
assigned a particular week of the P code.
PRECISE ACQUISITION CODE: P CODE
 Each satellite repeats the week long code
every 7 days.
 Assignment of a week’s code allows the
receiver to distinguish one satellite’s
transmission from another.
 For e.g., if a satellite is broadcasting the
tenth week of the P code, it must be Space
Vehicle 10 (SV 10).
P CODE
 The encrypted P code is called the P(Y) code.
 Encryption is done to prevent spoofing from
working.
 Spoofing is generation of false transmissions
masquerading as the Precise Code.
 A spoofer generates a signal that mimics the
P/ Code signal and attempts to cause the
receiver to track the wrong signal.
C/A CODE
 Alsoa series of ones & zeros generated at a
rate 10 times slower than the P(Y) code.

 Each GPS satellite broadcast its own unique

1023 bit C/A code and repeats the code every
millisecond.
C/A CODE
 Thelegacy civilian C/A code is broadcast on
L1 only however there is now a new civilian
signal known as L2C that is carried on L2.

 C/Ais phase modulated on the carrier

frequencies
LEGACY (TOP), MODERNIZED (BOTTOM)
SATELLITE NAVIGATION MESSAGE
 Contains information such as:
 Satellite time of transmission
 Precise satellite position (ephemeris)
 Satellite health
 Satellite clock correction
 Propagation delay effects
 Time transfer to UTC (Coordinated
Universal Time)
 GPS satellite Constellation status
SATELLITE MESSAGE
 Each satellite sends:
 a full & precise description of its own orbit &
clock data (ephemeris) and an approximate
guide to the orbits of other satellites
(almanac).
 parameters representing the delay caused by
signal propagation through the ionosphere
(ionospheric propagation delay parameters).
 (Parkinson and Spilker, 1996)
SATELLITE MESSAGE
SATELLITE MESSAGE
 TheNavigation Message comes in at a
pretty low frequency, 50 Hertz, and it
takes some time for the satellite to
acquire the whole thing.

 The entire Navigation message takes

12½ minutes to broadcast and to
receive (cold start).
SATELLITE MESSAGE
 Subframe 1
 Clock correction parameters, giving the
satellite clock offset from GPS time.
 Coefficient of the ionospheric
propagation delay model for single
frequency users (only L1 detection).
SATELLITE MESSAGE
 Subframe 2 and 3 Satellite ephemeris
from which satellite coordinates in
instantaneous coordinate system can
be determined.
 Subframe 4 Reserved for
alphanumeric message for future
applications and almanac data for
satellites 25 through 32
SATELLITE MESSAGE
 Subframe 4 also addresses atmospheric
correction.
 Control segment notes the delay
through the ionosphere by analysing
the different propagation rates of the
carrier frequencies, L1, L2 & L5 using
tracking stations with known locations.
SATELLITE MESSAGE
A single frequency totally depends
on the ionospheric correction in the
NAV message while a multi frequency
receiver can be able to calculate the
delay by itself.
THE NAVIGATION MESSAGE
 The ephemeris: orbital information which
allows the receiver to calculate the position
of the satellite.
 Each satellite transmits its own ephemeris.

 Ephemeris data by comparison is very

precise orbital & clock correction for each
satellite and is necessary for precise
positioning.
THE NAVIGATION MESSAGE
 Thisdata is only considered valid for
about 30 minutes. The Ephemeris data is
broadcast by each satellite every 30
seconds.
EPHEMERIDES
 Its a mathematical description of the
satellite’s orbit.
 Orbital information allow the receiver
to calculate the exact satellite position
in space at any one time.
 Ephemerides are Keplerian (after
German astronomer).
 Thus satellite orbits are elliptical
EPHEMERIDES
6 orbital elements; among them are the
 size of the orbit, that is its semimajor axis,
a,
 and its shape, that is the eccentricity, e.
 the right ascension of its ascending node, Ω,
 and the inclination of its plane, i.
 These parameters along with the argument
of the perigee, ω, and the description of the
position of the satellite on the orbit,
 ORBITAL PARAMETERS
 The spatial orientation:
 Orbital inclination, eccentricity, length, altitude
 The parameters of motion:
 Orbital period
KEPLER’S FISRT LAW
 The Perigee is the closest
point of the orbital ellipse
to the Earth.
 The Apogee expresses the
furthest point of an
elliptical orbit from the
center of the Earth.
KEPLER’S SECOND LAW
 “A line joining a planet and
the sun sweeps out equal
areas during equal intervals
of time”
 For satellites this means a
line joining the Earth.
KEPLER’S THIRD LAW
 The square of the time taken by a planet to
complete its orbit is proportional to the cube of its
mean distance from the sun.
EPHEMERIDES EXAMPLE:
EPHEMERIDES
 Theaccuracies of both the broadcast clock
correction and the broadcast ephemeris
deteriorate with time.

 As a result, one of the most important parts

of this portion of the NAV message is called
IODE.
 IODE is an acronym that stands for Issue
of Data Ephemeris, and it appears in both
subframes 2 and 3.
ALMANAC

 Subframe 5 Almanac data for satellite 1-

24,
 Almanac data is also contained in
subframe 4.
 each satellite transmits almanac data for
all satellites in constellation, depending on
which PRN numbers are in use.
ALMANAC
 The almanac assists the receiver in
determining which satellites to search for,
& once the receiver picks up each
satellite’s signal in turn, it then downloads
the ephemeris data directly from that
satellite.
 It provides coarse information about the
location of all satellites in the
constellation.
EXAMPLE ALMANAC

Accessed 9/3/2019
www.navcen.uscg.gov/
ALMANAC
 Almanacs are much smaller than
ephemerides as they contain coarse
orbital parameters & incomplete
ephemerides.
 The almanacs are still accurate enough to
allow a receiver to generate a list of
visible satellites at power-up.
ALMANAC
 Warm start up
 When a receiver has been in operation
recently and has some left over almanac
and position data in its non-volatile
memory from its last observations.
 This limits the time to first fix (TTFF) to
about 30 seconds with a warm start.
ALMANAC
 Cold start up
 When a receiver has no previous
almanac or ephemeris data in its
memory.
 Without previous data to guide it, the
receiver in a cold start must search for
all the satellites without knowledge of
its own position, velocity, or the time.
ALMANAC
 Once it acquires a signal from one
satellite, it gets some help and can
begin to download an almanac.
 The period needed to receive the full
information at cold start is 12.5
minutes.
ALMANAC
 The time to first fix (TTFF) is longest at a
cold start, less at warm, and least at hot.
 A receiver that has a current almanac, a
current ephemeris, time and position can
have a hot start. A hot start can take from
1/2 to 20 seconds.
SATELLITE HEALTH
 Determines whether satellite is
operating within normal parameters.
 Subframe 1 of the NAV message contains
information on the health status of the
satellite the receiver is currently
tracking.
 Health data of all satellites is also
contained in subframe 5 which informs
users of any satellite malfunction before
they use a particular signal.
 TELEMETRY & HANDOVER WORDS
 Each of the 5 subframes starts with the
telemetry (TLM) and handover words
(HOW).
 The TLM and HOW words are generated by
the satellite itself.
 The telemetry word indicates the status of
uploading by the control segment if it's in
process or not.
 Also contains information about the age of
the ephemeris data also helps the receiver to
find the beginning of each subframe.
TELEMETRY & HANDOVER WORDS
 The HOW provides the receiver information on
the time of the GPS week (TOW) and the number
of the subframe.
 the handover word helps the receiver to move
from tracking the C/A code to tracking the P(Y)
code.
SATELLITE MESSAGE
 Each subframe contains a telemetry (TLM)
and handover (HOW) word which is spaced
6 seconds uniformly and contains system
time.

(Pajares et al., 2004)

GPS POSITIONING SERVICES
 Two types of positioning services
 Standard Positioning services
 Precise Point Positioning services
STANDARD
 Positioning
accuracy that is provided by
GPS measurements based on the C/A code.

 SPS was designed to provide a minimum

level of positioning capability considered
consistent with national security, ±100m,
95% of the time, when intentionally
degraded through Selective Availability
(SA).
PRECISE POINT POSITIONING SERVICES
 Highest level of positioning accuracy that
is provided by GPS measurements based
on the P(Y) code .
 Originally available only to users
authorized by the Department of Defense.
 The P(Y) code was the only military code
now there is a new military signal called
the M-code.
SELECTIVE AVAILABILITY
 SA is an intentional degradation of the
accuracy of GPS horizontal positioning to
100m & vertical accuracy of ±175 meters (at
the 95% confidence level).
 SA was implemented by intentionally
dithering of the satellite clocks by the
Department of Defense in 1989.
 The accuracy of the C/A point positioning of
±20 meters to ±40 meters was just too good.
SELECTIVE AVAILABILITY
 Thus degraded satellite clocks’ accuracy
on the C/A code.
 However, the SA was disabled as of May
2000.
ANTI-SPOOFING

 To prevent spoofing the countermeasure

called Antispoofing (AS) is accomplished by
the modulation of a W-Code to generate the
more secure Y-Code that replaces the P code.

 When anti-Spoofing (AS), is activated access

is denied to the P code modulated on both L-
band frequencies.

GPS MODERNISATION
 L2C
 Civilian
signal modulated on the
L2 frequency (1227 MHz, or L2)

 When combined with L1 C/A in

a dual-frequency receiver, L2C
enables ionospheric correction.

 Civilians
with dual-frequency
GPS receivers enjoy the same
accuracy as the millitary. Use at
owners
risk!!
 L2C
 Fordual frequency receivers,
L2C enables faster signal
acquisition, enhanced reliability,
and greater operating range.

 L2C broadcasts at a higher

effective power than the legacy
L1 C/A signal, making it easier
to receive under trees and even
indoors. Use at
owners
risk!!
 L5
 L5 is the third civilian GPS
signal
 Designed for safety-of-life
transportation & other high-
performance applications.
 Uses a radio frequency of 1176
MHz.
 L5 is broadcast in a radio band
reserved exclusively for aviation
safety services.
 L5
 Itfeatures higher power,
greater bandwidth, and an
advanced signal design.
 Future aircraft will use L5 in
combination with L1 C/A to
improve accuracy (via
ionospheric correction) and
robustness (via signal
redundancy).
 L1C
 L1C is the 4th civilian GPS
signal.
 Anticipated to enable
interoperability between GPS
& international GNSS.
 Its name refers to the radio
frequency used by the signal
(1575 MHz, or L1)
 The design will improve mobile
GPS reception in cities and
other challenging
environments.
REFERENCES
 Gerlach, F.L. 1989. Global Positioning System
canopy effects study. USDA Forest Service
Technology and Development Program. MTDC
89-34. 18pp