An Empirical Method for Verifying GPS Oscillator Requirements

John M. Tammone Jr., Charles Craig

Abstract:	Analytical methods of determining oscillator performance requirements have progressed over the years. However, when it comes time to write that all important procurement specification for this critical system element, some empirical data to back up that analysis is of great value. This paper describes a method used to create controlled degradation of a VCXO, which was used in place of the system reference oscillator to test system performance of a high performance P-code GPS receiver. The phase noise spectrum created was then correlated with various receiver performance parameters. Since the resulting phase noise spectrum is controllable in both level and shape, the resulting test data is useful in estimating receiver performance under conditions, which are not easily attained, e.g., random vibration. Testing of this type gives the ability to establish realistic oscillator specifications since it gives some insight into the importance of various oscillator parameters such as phase noise and g-sensitivity.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 1987 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 20 - 23, 1987 Anaheim, CA
Pages:	111 - 114
Cite this article:	Tammone, John M., Jr., Craig, Charles, "An Empirical Method for Verifying GPS Oscillator Requirements," Proceedings of the 1987 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, Anaheim, CA, January 1987, pp. 111-114.
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