GPS signal acquisition using the repeatability of successive code phase measurements

Abstract

This paper introduces a new method for GPS signal acquisition, which is based on the repeatability of successive code phase measurements and the M-of-N search algorithm. The performance of the proposed method in terms of probability of signal detection is similar to that of traditional methods, except that the calculation of the probability of detection does not rely on the noise distribution or the Carrier-to-Noise ratio (C/N0). The code phase repeatability-based method is presented along with equations for probability of detection and probability of false detection. If the distribution of the noise is known, it also provides an estimate of the C/N0. The proposed method is illustrated for coherent and non-coherent acquisition and C/N0 estimation.