ELECTRONIC NAVIGATION

SYSTEM
GPS
 GPS Signals in Detail

Carriers
• The GPS satellites transmit signals on two
carrier frequencies. The L1 carrier is 1575.42
MHz and carries both the status message and
a pseudo-random code for timing.
• The L2 carrier is 1227.60 MHz and is used for
the more precise military pseudo-random
code.
 PSEUDO RANDOM CODE
The Pseudo Random Code is a fundamental
part of GPS. Physically it's just a very
complicated digital code, or in other words, a
complicated sequence of "on" and "off" pulses
as shown here:

The signal is so complicated that it almost

looks like random electrical noise. Hence the
name "Pseudo-Random."
 There are two types of pseudo-random code. The first
pseudo-random code is called the C/A (Coarse
Acquisition) code. It modulates the L1 carrier. It repeats
every 1023 bits and modulates at a 1MHz rate. Each
satellite has a unique pseudo-random code. The C/A code
is the basis for civilian GPS use.
The second pseudo-random code is called the P (Precise)
code. It repeats on a seven day cycle and modulates both
the L1 and L2 carriers at a 10MHz rate. This code is
intended for military users and can be encrypted. When
it's encrypted it's called "Y" code. Since P code is more
complicated than C/A it's more difficult for receivers to
acquire. That's why many military receivers start by
acquiring the C/A code first and then move on to P code.
 C/A CODE AND P CODE
The Coarse Acquisition Code, or C/A code, is one of the
signals broadcast on the L1 carrier. This code is only
broadcast on the L1 carrier. The other signals on the L1
carrier are the Precise Code, or P code, and the navigation
message. The C/A code is used by civilian receivers to locate
position. The code is used to determine pseudo range (the
apparent distance to the satellite), which is then used by the
GPS receiver to determine position. The C/A code is coarse
compared to the P-code. The P code is more precise, but it is
encrypted into the Y code (by something called Anti-
Spoofing), and it cannot be decoded without having a key to
the encryption. This is not available to civilian users.
 The P code is ten times as fast, which means it can
determine the pseudorange ten times more
accurately. However, it is much more difficult to
search for, which is why even the military needs the
C/A code. The C/A and the P codes are pseudo
random number (PRN) codes. This means that they
have the characteristics of random noise. However,
they are not random; they are very precisely defined.
Out of all the possible random sequences, they have
been very carefully selected so that they are as
orthogonal to each other as possible. Orthogonal
codes can operate at the same frequency and cause
the minimum amount of interference.
 Up to 37 sequences have been defined for the C/A
code. Each satellite has its own different C/A code
sequence. The sequence is repeatedly broadcasted over
and over again. The timing of the sequence is critical. It
is this timing that allows the local GPS receiver to
measure the pseudorange accurately. The C/A code
sequence affects the phase of the L1 carrier wave.
Conceptually the in-phase L1 carrier can be thought of
as a zero and the reverse phase carrier can be thought
of as a one. Each zero or one (in-phase or reverse-
phase) of the carrier wave is called a chip. The C/A code
is 1023 chips long and it broadcast at 1.023 Mega-chips
per second. Therefore, the C/A code repeats every
millisecond.
 The broadcast travels at the speed of light, so each chip is
about 293 metres long and the whole sequence is about 300
km. There are 1540 cycles of the L1 carrier-wave for each
chip and the frequency of the L1 carrier wave is 1.575GHz.
Good GPS receivers can usually measure the pseudorange to
about 1m or better. Several satellites averaged together can
give differentially corrected positioning to 50cm or better.
The GPS receiver can also measure the angle of the carrier
wave, called the carrier phase. This can be measured to
better than 1mm. On L2 civilian GPS receivers can only
measure the carrier phase of the carrier wave. The actual
information on the L2 frequency is P code; it is encrypted
and only available to military users. Using the carrier phase
of the L2 signal and all the information on the L1 signal it is
possible for a differential GPS receiver to achieve accuracies
of 1cm or better.
THE NAVIGATION DATA MESSAGE
A 50-Hz navigation message is modulated onto
both the P code and C/A codes. One data
frame is 1500 bits and takes 30 s to complete
at the bit rate of 50 bit s–1. Navigation data
are contained in five subframes each of 6 s
duration and containing 300 bits.
Each of the five subframes commences with a 14-bit TLM
word (telemetry) containing SV status and diagnostic
data. This is followed by a 17-bit handover word (HOW).
HOW data enables a receiver, which has knowledge of
the code encryption, to acquire the P code. Data
subframe block 1 contains frequency standard corrective
data enabling clock correction to be made in the
receiver. Data blocks 2 and 3 hold SV orbit ephemeris
data. The two blocks contain such data as orbit
eccentricity variations and Keplerian parameters.
Message block 4 passes alphanumeric data to the user
and is only used when the ULS has a need to pass
specific messages. Block 5 is an extensive almanac that
includes data on SV health and identity codes.
NAVIGATION MESSAGE DATA FORMAT