Low-cost and flexible USRP based real-time global navigation satellite system receiver for ionospheric sounder

Abstract

Software defined radio (SDR) is a recent development in the wireless communication field that provides re-configurability and flexibility to the RF front end. We present a dual-frequency GNSS software receiver with an RF front end based on USRP N210 with DBSRX2. The USRP N210 with DBSRX2 can be used to receive L1C/A and L2CM signals. In this study, C++ class based GNSS-SDR software is selected to process navigation solutions for GPS L1 and L2C signals collected by the front end. When signals with two different frequencies penetrate a dispersive medium, such as the ionosphere, two different signal delays are created. Based on these delays, which can be calculated from the pseudorange and phase velocity result of the navigation solution, a total electron content (TEC) measurement is possible using the system that we develop.