NovAtel's WAAS GUS Signal Generator and Receiver

Jonathan Auld, Allan Manz, Latha Nachiyamai and Jan Diep

Abstract:	NovAtel has been involved in the development of ground based reference stations since 1996. This was when the first Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) ground station receivers were fielded. Since then the Multifunctional Transport Satellite Based Augmentation System (MSAS) (Japan); the Satellite Navigation Augmentation System (SNAS) (China); and the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) networks have all made the move to use similar receivers. The WAAS system will shortly be updating the Geostationary Satellite signal in space to support L1 and L5 frequencies. In 2002 NovAtel was awarded two contracts to supply Raytheon with both an L1/L5 Signal Generator and an L1/L2/L5 Receiver for integration into the Ground Uplink Station (GUS), which is part of the Geostationary Communications and Control Segment (GCCS). Lockheed Martin is under contract with the FAA under GCCS to provide two WAAS Signals in Space at L1 and L5 frequencies used for highly accurate, satellite-based navigation. The Signal Generator architecture and design will be reviewed as well as a short discussion of the commercialization effort NovAtel undertook to bring the product to market. The new GUS Receiver is based on the second generation WAAS receiver (WAAS-G2) receiver architecture. The architecture of the GUS Receiver will be discussed. An overview of the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based L5 receiver implementation will be given. The receiver firmware also incorporates Signal Quality Monitoring (SQM) on L1 and Digital Pulse Blanking on L2 and L5. The addition of L5 tracking into this product resulted in the development of an L5-Euro card. A summary of the L5 GEO tracking performance will be provided. A unique feature of the GUS Receiver is the ability to track non-standard radio navigation signals. A brief summary of this capability will also be provided. NovAtel has completed design and qualification of both the new signal generator and the receiver and production started in late 2004. These products will provide added integrity monitoring and expansion capability to match evolving GNSS system updates as they are deployed.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 18th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2005) September 13 - 16, 2005 Long Beach Convention Center Long Beach, CA
Pages:	2297 - 2303
Cite this article:	Auld, Jonathan, Manz, Allan, Nachiyamai, Latha, Diep, Jan, "NovAtel's WAAS GUS Signal Generator and Receiver," Proceedings of the 18th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2005), Long Beach, CA, September 2005, pp. 2297-2303.
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