Noncoherent Code Discriminator Gains for GNSS Signal Tracking

Ryan S. Cassel

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	Many common discriminators used for code tracking of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals take the form of a ratio of quadratic forms of the correlation outputs. We derive a general expression for the gain of such discriminators, show that it depends on the effective carrier-to-noise ratio, and evaluate it for several different code discriminators and GNSS signals, including GPS C/A-code, P-code, L1C, and M-code, Galileo E1 OS, GLONASS L1OF and L2OF, and BeiDou B1 and B2. We also analyze how noise and interference saturate the discriminator and the resulting effect on loop bandwidth. The discriminator gains derived in this paper compensate for the saturation and ensure that loop bandwidth and code tracking performance can be accurately predicted and controlled over a range of effective carrier-to-noise ratios.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 35th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2022) September 19 - 23, 2022 Hyatt Regency Denver Denver, Colorado
Pages:	3349 - 3368
Cite this article:	Cassel, Ryan S., "Noncoherent Code Discriminator Gains for GNSS Signal Tracking," Proceedings of the 35th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2022), Denver, Colorado, September 2022, pp. 3349-3368. https://doi.org/10.33012/2022.18398
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