Measurement and Positioning Analysis of an Integrated Choke-Ring Antenna and GNSS Receiver

Benjamin Adu, Pragati Basnet, Soroush Sasani, Sunil Bisnath, Bruce Sheilds, Ken MacLeod

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of a novel smart choke-ring antenna, designed for enhanced Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) performance by integrating antenna and receiver components into a compact, co-located architecture. The investigation involved a dual-phase comparative approach: (1) a 48-hour side-by-side test of the smart choke against a traditional RF cable-based choke antenna setup, and (2) a week-long performance comparison with NRC1, a nearby IGS station equipped with a conventional choke-ring antenna. Signal quality assessments based on carrier-to-noise ratio (C/N0) and multipath error analysis demonstrated significant performance advantages for the smart antenna, particularly in the GPS, GLONASS and Galileo constellations. In fixed-ambiguity Precise Point Positioning (PPP) mode, the smart choke setup achieved 23% and 19% improvements in horizontal and vertical RMSE, respectively, over the traditional setup. Weekly PPP results further showed comparable performance with NRC1, affirming the system’s reliability with 10.5% and 25% improvements in the horizontal and vertical components. Percentile-based metrics underscored the smart antenna’s robustness, particularly in mitigating outlier effects. These results support the smart choke antenna as a viable, high-performance alternative to traditional GNSS configurations, with implications for infrastructure monitoring, geodetic surveying, and autonomous systems. Future work will focus on long-term deployment, environmental stress testing, and design optimization based on field feedback.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 38th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2025) September 8 - 12, 2025 Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor Baltimore, Maryland
Pages:	3106 - 3121
Cite this article:	Adu, Benjamin, Basnet, Pragati, Sasani, Soroush, Bisnath, Sunil, Sheilds, Bruce, MacLeod, Ken, "Measurement and Positioning Analysis of an Integrated Choke-Ring Antenna and GNSS Receiver," Proceedings of the 38th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2025), Baltimore, Maryland, September 2025, pp. 3106-3121. https://doi.org/10.33012/2025.20295
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