Abstract
In the use of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) to monitor ionosphere variations by estimating total electron content (TEC), differential code biases (DCBs) in GNSS measurements are a primary source of errors. Satellite DCBs are currently estimated and broadcast to users by International GNSS Service (IGS) using a network of GNSS hardware receivers which are inside structure fixed. We propose an approach for satellite DCB estimation using a multi-spacing GNSS software receiver to analyze the influence of the correlator spacing on satellite DCB estimates and estimate satellite DCBs based on different correlator spacing observations from the software receiver. This software receiver-based approach is called multi-spacing DCB (MSDCB) estimation. In the software receiver approach, GNSS observations with different correlator spacings from intermediate frequency datasets can be generated. Since each correlator spacing allows the software receiver to output observations like a local GNSS receiver station, GNSS observations from different correlator spacings constitute a network of GNSS receivers, which makes it possible to use a single software receiver to estimate satellite DCBs. By comparing the MSDCBs to the IGS DCB products, the results show that the proposed correlator spacing flexible software receiver is able to predict satellite DCBs with increased flexibility and cost-effectiveness than the current hardware receiver-based DCB estimation approach.
Highlights
Differential code biases (DCBs) in global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are the inter-delay differences between two or three frequencies of GNSS signals
This study proposes a new approach for GNSS satellite DCB estimation based on a correlator spacing flexible software receiver and is called the multi-spacing DCB (MSDCB)
The comparison of the root mean square (RMS) and mean difference values between DCBs calculated by the MSDCB and those released for the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE) products has demonstrated that the MSDCB method results are similar to the multi-station method
Summary
Differential code biases (DCBs) in global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are the inter-delay differences between two or three frequencies of GNSS signals. The second approach is to predict receiver and satellite DCBs through GNSS code measurement differences after the ionospheric delays have been modeled. In [15], DCBs of a new BDS satellite (BDS-3) are estimated based on an undifferenced and uncombined model of triple-frequency observations To date, these DCB estimation methods are all based on long-period multi-station or single-station observations (at least 24 h) from structural fixed hardware receivers, including their signal tracking loops. GNSS signals usually have chip shape distortion when the GNSS signal is transmitting and receiving in the radio frequency (RF) filter of the satellite and receiver front-end These chip shape distortions will lead to deviations from the ideal triangular shape of the receiver’s correlation function. This study proposes a new approach for GNSS satellite DCB estimation based on a correlator spacing flexible software receiver and is called the multi-spacing DCB (MSDCB). A summary of the work and future research suggestions are presented
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