Navnotes 2006 2

ELEC4600
NAVIGATION
ENGINEERING
NOTES
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this part of the course the student should know:
a. the basic requirements for an air navigation system
b. the principles underlying the operation the navigation systems presented.
c. the means by which the system meets the requirements for an air navigation system.
d. the sources, magnitude and effects of errors in the systems presented
e. the means of reducing the effects of errors
f. the limitations, usage and current status of the systems
g. how the systems are used in practice
h. the coordinate systems used in navigation
i. how to compute position using LORAN C and GPS
j. the techniques for optimal combination of navigation data from multiple sources.
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 1
DEFINITION
Navigation is the art and science of determining the position and velocity of a vehi-
cle relative to its destination.
2 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
1. ORGANIZATIONAL FRAMEWORK
1.1 ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization)
based in Montreal
an organization of the United Nations
provides standardization for member states in the area of civil aviation this includes:
personnel licensing
rules of the air
meteorological services
aeronautical charts
units of measurement
operation of aircraft
aircraft nationality and registration marks
airworthiness of aircraft
facilitation
aeronautical telecommunications including navigation aids (equipment and pro-
cedures)
air trafc control services
search and rescue
accident investigation
aerodromes
aeronautical information services
environmental protection
security
transport of dangerous goods
EXAMPLE: Annex 10 - Navigation Aids Used in International Air Operations
- signal format
- signal levels
- calibration procedures/frequency
- accuracy requirements
- quality
- frequency of operation
does not apply to (for example)
INS (not a ground-based system)
or TACAN (not a civil system)
1.2 National Governments
in Canada, Nav Canada and Transport Canada, in USA, the Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration (FAA)
install and maintain ground-based navigation aids
design the airway and air route structure
approve aircraft navigation equipment installations (airworthiness)
provide air trafc control services
1.3 ARINC (Aeronautical Radio Inc)
organized by a group of airlines originally to provide a communications network
one other objective is to standardize interfaces between aircraft and electronic black
boxes to allow a choice of suppliers
has issued standards for equipment racking including connectors (and pin assignments)
for communicati
currently working on data bus standards (ARINC 429 and ARINC 629)
1.4 RTCA (Radio Technical Committee for Aeronautics)
(There is one for marine as well)
An organization of manufacturers, users, and government agencies (US and foreign)
Its main function is to develop performance specications for aircraft electronic
equipment
e.g. DOC 160 - Environmental Testing Requirements for electronic equipment
This committee is very inuential in that the FAA (US Federal Aviation Administra-
tion) usually uses RTCA specications as the main basis for certication of equipment
for aeronautical use. In fact the FAA rarely generates its own specications, it just ref-
erences the appropriate RTCA document.
2. UNITS AND CONVENTIONS
Distance: Nautical Mile (NM)= 1852m exactly
(originally dened as the length subtended by 1 minute of arc at the equator)
Speed: knot (kt) = 1 nautical mile per hour
Angle: degrees measured clockwise from North and is always expressed as 3 digits.
e.g. 090, 006. Note: zero is pronounced zero
North: In most navigation the North reference is either TRUE (geographic North or the direc-
tion of the North Pole) or MAGNETIC (the direction of the magnetic pole currently near Res-
olute Bay NWT)
The angular difference between Magnetic and True North at any given point is called the
VARIATION
since the Magnetic Pole is constantly moving VARIATION changes from year to year.
Because it is quite difcult to determine True North and it is relatively easy to determine Mag-
netic North using a magnetic compass, most continental navigation is done using the Mag-
netic reference.
Heading: The angle between the longitudinal axis of a vehicle and the North reference (can
be either Magnetic or True)
Relative Bearing: The angle between the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and a line joining
the vehicle and the point in question
True Bearing: The angle between True North and the line joining the vehicle and the point in
question.
Magnetic Bearing: Same as True Bearing except that the reference is Magnetic North
Runway Identiers: Runways are numbered according to their magnetic bearings with the
least signicant digit removed.
e.g. the bearing of Ottawa runway 07 is 071(M)
Note: the runways at Toronto were renumbered several years ago because the changing mag-
netic variation caused the runway bearing to change from 055 to 056 and thus runway 05
became runway 06
Figure 1: Definitions of Navigational Terms
Relative
Bearing
TRUE
NORTH MAGNETIC
NORTH
Magnetic
Bearing
True
Bearing
Magnetic Heading
True Heading
Variation
3. LINES OF POSITION AND POSITION FIXES
3.1 Lines of Position
Typically a single measurement from a navigational aid provides only one variable to the
navigator e.g. a bearing, a distance or a difference in distances. There are therefore many
positions which would result in that one reading. These are called lines of position.
Figure 2: Lines of Position
Lines of Position for
Several Bearing Measurements
Several Distance Measurements
Several Distance Difference Measurements
3.2 Position Fix
In order to determine the observers position, at least two lines of position are required.
An additional requirement is that the lines of position must cross at a suitable angle
(ideally 90 degrees). The condition describing the quality of the x due to the angle
between the lines of position is called the geometry of the x. In the diagram below,
facilities A and B give poor geometry while A and C give good geometry.
Figure 3: Illustration of Geometry
Note: If the measurements were perfect, geometry would not have any effect except at 0
degrees. However, all measurements contain errors and the combined effect of errors and
geometry are shown below
A
B
C
Figure 4: Effects of Good and Bad Geometry
Good geometry gives a good overall position x, however, if one is interested only in one par-
ticular dimension then the criteria for good geometry will change.
e.g. if the navigator in the above example were interested only in the cross track position then
the x from A and B would be acceptable.
A
B
UNCERTAINTY OF POSITION
UNCERTAINTY OF POSITION
A
C
10 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
4. Requirements for an Air Navigation System:
a. Accuracy
b. Integrity
c. Availability
d. Continuity
Accuracy is almost self explanatory and is usually quantied as the magnitude of the
maximumpermissible aircraft position error. This error has two major components: the
system error and ight technical error. Flight Technical Error (FTE) is the difference
between the actual position of the aircraft and the required position according to the
navigation system. This is due to such factors as the pilots skill at following the guid-
ance instruments (or the characteristics of the autopilot), the ight characteristics of the
aircraft and turbulence. The ight technical error affects the requirements for the navi-
gation system since there is not much point in reducing the system error to a level sig-
nicantly less than the FTE.
The total allowable error depends on the phase of ight under consideration.
e. g. for oceanic ight an error of 10 NM might be acceptable but in a busy terminal
area the acceptable error is 0.4 NM. For landing it is in the order of 17.1mlaterally and
4.1 m vertically (Category I)
Note: Category I landing weather limits are 200 Ft. ceiling and 0.5 NM visibility.
Integrity is the ability of the systemto warn the pilot if it has detected that the position
accuracy has degraded below the acceptable level. The minimum time lapse between
the detection of an out of tolerance condition and the receipt of the warning by the pilot
is specied once again according to the phase of ight. In the normal enroute (cruise)
phase it is 10 seconds. In the landing phase it is 6 seconds (Category I) and 2 seconds
(Category II and III)
Availability is the percentage of time that the navigation system is providing in-toler-
ance information. This is obviously related to the probability of failure.
Once again the required availability depends on the phase of ight.
Continuity is the probability that the specied system performance will be maintained
during the specied phase of operation, given that the system was available at the
beginning of that phase of operation.
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 11
5. RELATIVE NAVIGATION SYSTEMS
As the name implies with these systems the aircraft derives its position relative to a ground
station. There is no requirement to know the position (latitude/longitude) of either the air-
craft or the station (or facility as it is usually called). Normally the aircraft is travelling
either to the facility or directly away from it. Thus these facilities are used to dene the
endpoints of airway segments. e.g
.
Figure 5: Airway System Between Ottawa and Toronto
Examples of relative navigations systems are: NDB (Non-Directional Beacon), VOR
(VHF Omnirange), TACAN (Tactical Air Navigation) and DME (Distance Measuring
Equipment) all of which we shall be studying in this course
5.1 NDB/ADF
The oldest radionavigation aid still in operational use is the NDB or non directional beacon. It
could also be called an omnidirectional beacon since it radiates its signal approximately
equally in all directions. The characteristics of the ground equipment are:
Frequency: 200-500kHz (immediately below the AM broadcast band)
Power: 20 Watts to several kilowatts
Modulation: Amplitude Modulated with 1020Hz tone + Morse Code Identier at regular
intervals.
The NDB transmitter is all solid state and is reliable and cheap to install. There are about
500 in Canada at the present time.
The airborne part of this system is the ADF (automatic direction nder). Two techniques
for determining the relative bearing of the station are used: the rotating loop/sense antenna
and the crossed loop/sense antenna.
YOW (Ottawa)
VIE (Coehill)
YSO (Simcoe)
VCF(Campbellford)
YYZ(Toronto)
LANRK
Intersection
12 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
The Loop/Sense Antenna Technique
As the name suggests, this technique uses a loop antenna, which is directional, and a
sense antenna, which is omnidirectional. The loop antenna is mounted on a servo motor
and can be rotated about the vertical axis. This antenna has a gure of eight pattern and
thus has two ambiguous minima. Fortunately, the signal phase is on one side is the
reverse of that on the other and thus the addition of the signal from the omnidirectional
sense antenna resolves this ambiguity. With proper matching of levels, this results in a
composite pattern with no ambiguity and a null in one direction. The output of the
antennas (after ltering, amplication and detection) is used to drive the loop antenna
servo motor to the null position. An indicator in the cockpit is slaved to the servo motor
and indicates relative bearing to the pilot
Figure 6: ADF Antennas and Pattern
+
-
Loop Antenna
Side View
Loop Antenna Pattern
Top View
Loop/SenseCombination
Antenna Pattern
+
Sense Antenna Pattern
Top View
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 13
Figure 7:
Rotating ADF antenna installation on DC-3 aircraft
Crossed Loop/Sense Antenna
Problems associated with the rotating loop implementation are the size of the antenna
housing which produces excessive drag and susceptibility to icing, and the fact that it is a
mechanical system and prone to failure. It is usually preferable to design a system which
has few or no moving parts.
For the ADF this is accomplished by using orthogonal ferrite loop antennas.
Ferrite loop antennas are made of a core of ferrite material around which is wound a coil
of wire. The ferrite, being a magnetic material concentrates the magnetic eld of the RF
signal along the axis of the coil and thus makes it more sensitive than a plain loop antenna
of the same size. For the same reason, a ferrite core antenna can be made smaller than a
loop antenna for the same sensitivity. It has the same antenna pattern as the loop antenna.
Two of these antennas are mounted at 90 to one another. (One conguration has four
antennas arranged in a square with the antennas on opposite sides conected in parallel). In
the example shown in Figure 8, one is aligned with the fore-aft axis of the aircraft and the
other is aligned with the port-starboard or pitch axis of the aircraft. To distinguish the sig-
nals from the two antennas, one is modulated
Antenna
Housing
Loop
14 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Figure 8:
Crossed Ferrite Loop Antenna Patterns
Figure 9:
Signal Processing for Crossed Loop ADF
The signal processing is shown in Figure 9. The magnitude of the outputs of the F/A
and P/S antennas are proportional to the sine and cosine of the relative bearing. To
allow the receiver to distinguish these two signals they are modulated in quadrature
(sine and cosine) at a subaudio frequency ( about 45Hz). The process of modulating
using a balanced mixer (multiplier) removes the carrier frequency
{cos(
c
t)xcos(
m
t)}={cos(
c
t-
m
t)+cos(
c
t+
m
t)}/2 which has no cos(
c
t) compo-
nent. This signal can not be demodulated properly using an AM (amplitude modula-
tion) demodulator and it is necessary to reinsert the carrier. This can not be derived
F/A
P/S
F/A (Fore/Aft) Pattern
= Kcos()
P/S (Port/Starboard) Pattern
= Ksin()
K=scale factor
P/S
L/R
cos(
m
t)
90
Ksin()cos(
c
t)
Kcos()cos(
c
t)
Ksin(){sin(
c
t-
m
t)+sin(
c
t+
m
t)}/2
Kcos(){cos(
c
t-
m
t)+cos(
c
t+
m
t)}/2
Kcos(t+)
SENSE
Amp/Demod
sin()
cos()
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 15
from the either of the loop antennas because their amplitudes can be zero at any given
time. Thus the output of a sense antenna, which is omnidirectional, is used. The sumof the
three antennas is demodulated (which eliminates the carrier) and results in the sum (-
sin()sin(
m
t)+cos()cos(
m
t)) which is cos(
m
t+). This is again mutliplied by the sin
and cos of the modulating signal
m
results in two DC signals. One is proportional to the
sine of and the other is proprtional to the cosine of . Note that the multiplication pro-
cess gives both the differece and sum of the inputs. In this case the sums (cos (2
m
t+)
and sin((2
m
t+)) can be eliminated by averaging. This is the equivalent of low pass fil-
tering
The DC outputs can be converted to digital form by an A/D converter and processed by a
computer.
One form of the pilots display is shown in Figure 10.
Figure 10:
ADF Indicator
The yellow needle indicates the relative bearing from the aircraft to the NDB i.e. it is 60
to the left (330). In this case the scale around the outside of the instrument can be set so
that the heading of the aircraft is at the top of the instrument. When this is done, the needle
points to the magnetic bearing of the ADF as well.
Advantages of NDB/ADF:
Both the ground and airborne equipment are relatively cheap and reliable. The large num-
ber of NDBs installed (over 500 in Canada) and the fact that receivers also cover the com-
mercial AM broadcast band make the system very exible and useful over a large area of
the world.
16 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Disadvantages
Since the receiver gives only relative bearing, a compass is needed to determine the
magnetic bearings required for airway navigation. Also, unless the aircraft has an
instrument called a Radio Magnetic Indicator (RMI) which combines the two types of
data, the pilot is required to do the calculations mentally which adds to the workload.
Even with an RMI it has been difcult until recently to generate an autopilot steering
signal from the ADF output.
The system is subject to low frequency propagation effects such as interference from
distant stations due to hop and refraction when the transmission path includes water
and land
Accuracy
System accuracy is about 4.5 degrees
Integrity
A ag on the bearing indicator is activated if the signal level drops below a specied
level or if the receiver detects a fault in its own signal processing process.
Availability
NDBs are simple and rugged and provide an availability of 99.9%
5.2 VOR (VHF Omnirange)
The name omnirange comes from the old term range (which actually meant bearing)
and the fact that its predecessor the Radio Range produced only four ranges or
courses. The VHF Omnirange is capable of providing guidance along any bearing. A
track with a given bearing from the VOR is called a radial e.g. the 065 radial.
Frequency: 108-112 MHz, 0.2MHz spacing i.e. 108.2 108.4 (the Instrument Landing
Systems (ILS) uses the odd tenths)
and 112 - 118 MHz, 0.1 MHz spacing
General Theory of Bearing Measurement Systems:
If one were looking at the revolving light from a lighthouse the only available
information would be the period of rotation. If, however, the lighthouse were
equipped with, say, a red light which is ashed when the main beam is pointing
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 17
North (or any other reference bearing), then ones bearing to the lighthouse could
be determined. This is the general principle behind VOR and TACAN.
Example: Suppose the period of rotation of the lighthouse beam were 6 seconds
and the omnidirectional red light were ashed at the time that the beam pointed
Magnetic North. Thus the beam rotates 360/6s or at a rate of 60/s. If an observer
measured the time t seconds between the red ash and the white ash of the light-
house beam then the bearing from the lighthouse to the observer would be 60t
degrees magnetic.
In the VOR the part of the main lighthouse beam is taken by a limaon-shaped
rotating antenna pattern, a limaon being the gure generated by the equation
where as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 11:
Limacon Antenna Pattern
This pattern is rotated at a rate of 30 Hz in a clockwise direction.
Thus an observer at a distance from the antenna would measure the carrier ampli-
tude modulated by a 30 Hz signal. This is called the variable signal since its phase
varies according to the relative bearing of the observer.
r a b ( ) cos + = b a <
18 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
e.g. an observer East of the station would see the maximum1/4 period later than
an observer North of the station
The reference signal (the red light) is provided by an audio subcarrier (9960Hz)
which is frequency modulated at an amplitude of 480 Hz and a rate of 30 Hz.
The reference FM signal is in phase with the variable signal when the observer
is north of the facility. The reference north is magnetic in the south and true in
the far north of Canada.
At any bearing other than north, the variable signal lags the reference signal by
a phase difference which is equal to the bearing from the facility.
i.e. bearing = phase
REF
- phase
VAR
In addition to these modulations, a 1020Hz AM Morse code identier (3 char-
acters) is present.
Figure 12:
Spectrum of a VOR Ground Station Signal
Antenna
The VOR antenna array is made up of four elements such as that shown in Figure 3
Figure 13:
VOR Antenna Array
f
C
30Hz 30Hz
1020Hz 1020Hz
Variable
Ident Ident
9960+/-480Hz
Subcarrier
(Reference)
9960 +/- 480Hz
Subcarrier
(Reference)
One Element
Complete VOR Array
Feed
Points
NW NE
SW
SE
(Alford Loop)
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 19
The arms of this antenna are less than /4 in length and are capacitively loaded at the ends
to place the current maximum at the centre of the radiators. Due to the above arrangement
the currents in the arms all rotate in the same direction thus generating an omnidirectional,
horizontally polarized radiation pattern.
Four of these antennas are arranged in a square with diagonal spacing . The array is fed
from a network as shown below: This creates the limaon-shaped antenna pattern rotating
at 30 Hz.
Figure 14: VOR Ground System Block Diagram
Airborne Receiver
A block diagram of an analog airborne receiver is shown below in Figure 5
NW SE NE SW
/2
/2
90
9960Hz
at 30 Hz
30 Hz mod
Transmitter
FM +/- 480 Hz
Mod
Eliminator
CW modulated
with 9960 FM
and 1020Hz ident
CW AM modulated
at 30 Hz
CW AM modulated
at 30 Hz phase shifted
by 90
20 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Figure 15:
VOR Airborne Receiver Block Diagram
The pilot receives the VOR information in two forms:
a. An analog indication of the bearing to the facility
b. An indication of the deviation from a selected course. The desired course is
selected manually by the pilot.
These can be displayed on separate instruments (bearing on an RMI and course devia-
tion on a course deviation indicator (CDI)) or on a multipurpose display called a hori-
zontal situation indicator (HSI)
Error Sources and Characteristics
The measurement of the VOR bearing depends to a large extent on the antenna
pattern being very close to a limacon. Any departure from the limacon pattern
results in a distortion of the sinusoidal 30Hz variable signal which in turn
causes errors in the phase measurement.
Departure from the limacon pattern can result from (1) shortcomings in the
equipment or (2) external environmental factors.
Examples of these are:
(1) Antenna or feed mismatch:
Causes cyclical errors in bearing around the station.
(2) Reections from surroundings e.g. hills, buildings, trees
Depending on the type and location of the reecting surface errors
Tuning
108-118MHz
AM
Detector
10 kHz
Filter
30 Hz
Filter
30 Hz
Filter
Phase
Comparator
Limiter
Frequency
Discriminator
Bearing
Phase
Shifter
(synchro)
Phase Difference
Detector
Course Deviation (DC)
Manual
Control
VARIABLE
REFERENCE
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 21
reections can cause:
a. long period displacement of a radial which an aircraft can follow (called
a bend)
usually caused by extensive reective surfaces at a considerable distance from
the VOR
b. short period displacements which an aircraft cannot follow (called scal-
loping)
usually caused by large reectiing surfaces close to the VOR
c. random displacements which an aircraft cannot follow (called rough-
ness)
caused by small reecting surfaces close to the VOR
22 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
5.3 Doppler VOR (DVOR)
At some sites it is impossible to remove enough of the natural reecting surfaces to per-
mit acceptable performance with a standard VOR. In such cases a Doppler VOR may
be the solution. The tradeoff being that the cost of Doppler VOR is about twice the cost
of a standard VOR.
The effect of reections on an antenna pattern depend somewhat on the size of antenna
i.e. the larger the antenna the smaller the effect of reections. This is shown in Figure
12.
Figure 16:
Effect of Antenna Size on the
Effect of Reflections
In the VOR syatem it is not practical to generate the limacon pattern using a large aper-
ture antenna so another approach is used which makes use of the Doppler effect. Recall
that the aircraft VOR receiver measures the phase difference between the FM subcar-
rier and AM signalto determine the bearing. Thus if we can set up a situation in which
the phase of the FM subcarrier signal is a equal to the bearing of the aircraft and the
phase of the AM 30 Hz signal is constant around the station then the aircraft receiver
will not notice the difference
Thus, in the DVOR, the roles of the FM and AM modulation is reversed.
The reference signal is produced by an omnidirectional antenna radiating the carrier
modulated by a 30 Hz AM signal plus the ident tone
The variable signal is generated by a circular array of Alford loops fed by a capacitive
commutator so that, as in the ADF case, the output is almost the same as that of a single
antenna being rotated at the frequency of the commutator (in this case 30 Hz)
Note that to preserve the correct phase relationship between the two signals, the Dop-
pler array is fed in the counterclockwise direction.
Small Antenna Aperture
Large Antenna Aperture
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 23
VOR as a Navigation Aid
Accuracy: radial alignment error <3 degrees - maximum amplitude of bend: 3 degrees
Integrity:
Ground:
monitors are placed around the site to detect drift in the radiated signal if
signal exceeds tolerance, the transmitter shuts down.
Air
If signal level, and or, if either of the modulation levels falls below a preset
level an error ag signal is sent to the HSI (Horizontal Situor CDI
Availability:
Most sites have dual transmitters so if one fails, the other takes over. Avail-
ability is better than 99.9%
5.4 DME
DME stands for Distance Measuring Equipment one of the few navigation system names
in plain language.
Frequency Band: -
Airborne - 1025 MHz - 1150 MHz (1 MHz spacing)
Ground - 63 MHz below transmit frequency 1025 -1087 MHz
63 MHz above transmit frequency 1088 - 1150 MHz
Note: This scheme gives 126 Channels. However by using pulse pairs of differing
spacing (12 and 30s apart) the number of channels can be doubled. The modes
corresponding to the two spacings are called X and Y respectively.
General Principle
DME determines distance by measuring the time between its transmission of a
pulse and the reception of the reply from the ground station.
The aircraft DME transceiver initiates the process by transmitting a pulse pair (12
or 36s apart depending on whether mode Xor mode Yis being used). The ground
transponder receives the pulse pair and, after a 50s delay transmits another pulse
pair back to the aircraft. The reason for the 50s delay is to permit proper opera-
tion close to the station
24 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Airborne Equipment
The airborne transceiver operates in two modes: search and track. When rst
tuned to a facility the transceiver is in search mode in which it transmits pulse
pairs at an rate of 120 - 150 pp/s. The rate is varied at random to avoid synchro-
nizing with another aircraft.4
Figure 17:
DME Airborne Transmitter/Receiver
Block Diagram
Figure 18:
Second Pulse Half Amplitude
Detection Circuit
Pulse Pair
Generator
Transmitter
Variable
Delay -
Pulse
Stretcher
50s
Delay
Gate
Control
Pulse Width =
Tracking Gate Width (20s)
Receiver
Counter
Pulse
Decoder
Counter
Counter
Gate Width/2
Delay =
Gate Width/2
Delay =
Gate Width/2
Pulse
Stretcher
Pulse
Stretcher
Decision
Gate
Control
Diplexer
Random
Delay
Rate
Clock
~ 150 Hz Search
~ 30 Hz Track
Search/track
Delay
Measurement
EARLY
PROMPT
LATE
Suppression
w
2
----
w
2
---- +
Peak
Detector
Threshold
Detector
2
Delay
12 or 30 s
Mode
Input
Output
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 25
Suppression
Due to the fact that
more than one DME transceiver may be installed on an aircraft (typical installation
is two)
DME shares the spectrum with ATC transponders (secondary radar)
The peak output power can be quite high (1kW)
there is a requirement to protect non-transmitting transceivers from receiver overload. For
this reason, all L-band pulse transceivers are connected together by a suppression coax
cable link. When a transceiver is transmitting, it asserts a signal on the suppression line
and all other transceivers respond by desensitizing their receivers.
Transceiver Operation
In the search mode, as mentioned above, the transmitter is generating pulse pairs at an
average rate of about 135 per second. The gate control varies the pulse delay starting from
zero and increasing at a rate equivalent to 10 NM/s i.e. The full sweep from 0 to 200 NM
takes about 20 seconds.
Since for each transmitted pulse, the gate is open for 20s, and since there is an average of
135 pulses per second, the gate is open for 20x135 = 2.7 ms/s. The ground station trans-
mits 2700 random pulse pairs per second so that an average of 2.7 x 10
-3
x 2700 = 7 pulse
pairs pass through the gate. However, when the gate gets to the delay which corresponds to
the aircraft distance from the ground facility, it receives a pulse pair for each transmission
and thus the rate of detection theoretically increases to 135pp/s. Since the gate is moving
at a rate of about 120s/s the desired reply is in the gate for 20/120 = 1/6 seconds. Thus
the number of pulses detected increases to 135/6 = 22.5. In actual fact some pulses are
missed as will be explained later but in any case there is a sufciently large difference in
rates for the receiver to decide to switch from search to track mode.
In the track mode, the transmission rate is decreased and the gate is kept centred on the
correct range by the use of early and late detection channels. If the pulses start to fall into
the late gate, the delay is decreased and if they fall into the early gate, the delay is
increased. Most DME transceivers keep track of the rate of change of the range gate and
thus can dead reckon through short periods of signal outage.
Timing
The point of reference for the timing is the half amplitude point on the second pulse. As is
shown above in Figure 7. the peak magnitude is measured fromthe rst pulse. Half of this
is then used to set the threshold of the detector. This same scheme is used in the ground
station.
26 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Measurement
Once the round trip time has been measured, the processor computes the range fromthe
following expression:
where round trip time (s)
and c = the speed of light = 0.162 NM/s
Outputs
The typical DME transceiver ouputs distance, speed (rate of change of distance) and
time to go (based on measured speed). Note that the latter two are valid only when the
aircraft is travelling directly towards or directly away from the station.
Note also that the distance measured is slant range distance and must be adjusted to
compensate for aircraft altitude before it can be used for accurate navigation.
Ground Station
The ground station simply detects the incoming signal as described above. It inserts the
50s delay and then retransmits the pulse pair. As a protection against echoes produc-
ing false responses, the transponder inserts about 60s of dead time after each inter-
rogation during which it will not respond to another interrogation.
In addition to replies to incoming pulses the ground station also transmits squitter
pulses to make the total number of pulse pairs per second up to 2700 +/- 90. These
squitter pulses are generated by increasing the sensitivity of the receiver to the point at
which input noise generates a sufcient number of pulses to make up the 2700. If more
aircraft start interrogating, the sensitivity is decreased.
This has the following advantages:
a. The station is automatically maintained in its most sensitive condition
b. The transmitter duty cycle is maintained within safe limits.
c. The airborne receiver AGC has a constant number of pulses to work with.
This simplies design.
d. In case of interrogation by too many aircraft, the nearest aircraft are the last
to lose service.
The ground station also transmits an identier as a 3 character morse code group using
a 1350 prf tone.
D
50
2
--------------
,
_
c =
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 27
Accuracy
The ICAO specication is 0.5NMor 3%of range whichever is greater, however, extensive
tests on Canadian DME station show that the errors are less than 30 m.
Errors result mainly from variation of the 50s delay and from timing variations. Reec-
tions can cause errors but good receiver design can virtually eliminate these. Since any
reected signal will have a longer transmission path than the direct signal, the procedure
of searching from 0 range outward usually avoids reections. However, for further protec-
tion, some receivers periodically do a search sweep to see if they are actually tracking the
direct signal.
Integrity
DME Ground stations are equipped with monitors which can detect degradation of trans-
mitter power as well as errors in the 50s delay. If an out of tolerance condition is
detected, the transmitter is shut down.
DME transceivers contain considerable built in test capability and set a ag on the DME
indicator if they detect a fault.
Availability
DME ground stations have two transmitters which automatically switch over when a fail-
ure is detected. System Availability is usually above 99%.
5.5 TACAN (Tactical Air Navigation System)
General
Tacan is primarily a military system which was developed from the DME system by add-
ing a bearing measurement capability. Because of the frequency used, the antenna can be
made relatively small. Thus a Tacan beacon can be deployed in the eld quite quickly.
Theory
A directional antenna pattern is obtained by adding two cylindrical drums concentric with
the DME antenna. As shown in Figure 8. the inner drum has a single parasitic element
attached to it while the outer drum has nine.
28 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Figure 19:
TACAN Antenna
Configuration (Top View)
Figure 20:
TACAN
Antenna Pattern
This creates the antenna pattern shown in Figure 16. The whole mechanismis rotated at
900 rpmwhich gives an RF signal AMmodulated at 15 and 135 Hz. Instead of using an
FM modulated subcarrier as in VOR, Tacan uses specially coded pulse patterns added
to the DME squitter. The main reference occurs when the maximumof the main (15Hz)
lobe is pointing east. This is because the reference point for Tacan signals is the nega-
tive-going zero crossover. The main reference burst consists of 24 pulses alternately 12
and 18s apart.
The 135 Hz modulation is used to obtain a much ner resolution than is available from
VOR. Once the receiver has determined which 40 degree segment it is in, it renes the
angle by measuring the relative phase of the 135 Hz signal. Thus 8 additional reference
bursts (called auxiliary bursts) are transmitted each consisting of 12 pulses 30s apart
DME
ANTENNA
Parasitic Elements
5 0 5
6
4
2
0
2
4
6
POLAR PLOT
ANTENNA
0 100 200 300 400
1
2
3
4
5
LINEAR PLOT
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 29
The receiver signal processing is relatively simple. 15Hz and 135 Hz lters separate the
two bearing signals. Using the time between the decoded North reference burst and the
negative-going zero crossover of the 15 Hz signal, the 40 degree segment can be deter-
mined. Once this has been established the Auxiliary Reference Burst and the next nega-
tive-going zero crossover of the 135 Hz is used to get the nal bearing.
In the example below (Figure 17), the main reference burst occurs when the phase of the
15 Hz signal is 40. The negative - going zero crossover occurs at 180 and thus the bear-
ing is 140. i.e the negative-going zero crossover occurs 140 after the North (or Main)
Reference burst. Note for conrmation the negative-going zero crossover for the 135 Hz
signal is 180 after the 120 Auxiliary reference burst. Note that 180 of 135Hz signal is
20 of bearing and thus the bearing is 120 + 20 = 140
Figure 21:
TACAN Composite Signal Including
Main Reference Burst and
Auxiliary Reference Bursts
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
TACAN COMPOSITE SIGNAL
ANGLE(degs)
A
m
p
l
i
t
u
d
e
Main
Reference
Burst
Auxiliary Reference Bursts
30 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Figure 22:
TACAN Receiver Block Diagram
The cockpit readouts are the same as those for VOR and DME
Accuracy, Integrity Availability
Accuracy and immunity to reections is better than VOR
Integrity and Availability are about the same as VOR
Comments
Because military aircraft use the same airways as civilian aircraft, Tacans are usually
collocated with VORs to form a facility called a VORTAC
Stand alone Tacans are installed at military bases to provide an approach aid.
Peak
Rider
Phase
Shifter
Phase
Shifter
135Hz
Filter
15Hz
Filter
Comparator
Comparator
9:1 ratio
link
Auxiliary
Burst
Decoder
North
Burst
Decoder
Cockpit Bearing Indicator
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 31
6. ABSOLUTE NAVIGATION SYSTEMS
Denition
An absolute navigation systemis one which provides vehicle position referred to a general
coordinate system. The coordinate system might be local e.g. a locally level cartesian sys-
tem for test purposes or it could be global such as latitude/longitude.
Waypoints
In general the straight segments of a route are called legs and in relative navigation the
endpoints of the legs are determined by the facility on which the route is based (NDB,
VOR or TACAN). In absolute navigation there are no such facilities and the legs endpoints
are dened by waypoints. A waypoint being an imaginary point in space dened in
whatever coordinate system the navigation system is using (usually latitude/longitude).
Waypoints are usually 2 dimensional for enroute navigation by can be 3 dimensional espe-
cially when the navigation system is capable of providing vertical guidance.
Special Requirements for Absolute Navigation
a. Accurate survey of ground stations (if used by the nav system)
b. Accurate survey of Airway waypoints
c. Accurate data base of airway waypoints, facility locations.
Note 1: This last point is extremely important. First of all the size of the
data base determines the area of operation of the navigation system. Sec-
ondly, the data base has to be accurate and up to date. Data bases are usu-
ally updated every 28 days by the national government agency responsible
for air navigation
Good conguration control is mandatory.
Note 2: In addition to the data base received from government agencies,
airlines may generate their own to accommodate any special routings they
may have.
Advantages of Absolute Navigation
a. Airways can be dened in accordance with the requirements of the air
trafc control system without regard to the problems of installing a facility
at the end of a given leg. e.g. over water or in rough terrain
b. Fewer ground based facilities are required therefore less cost in equip-
ment and maintenance.
c. Greater exibility for ight planning. More direct routes. This creates a
problem with air trafc control by making the locations and velocities of
32 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
aircraft more random. The newer automated air trafc control systems
are addressing this problem.
d. Absolute Navigation Systems in Use Today:
LORAN C,INS, GPS, Multi-DME
6.1 LORAN C
General
LORAN C stands for LOng RAnge Navigation version C. This was originally a marine
navigation systemand, up until recently was maintained by the US Coast Guard. About
15 years ago relatively cheap processing capability became available which made
LORAN C viable for air navigation. in 1990 LORAN C receivers were installed in
more than 100,000 aircraft. Most of these were for VFR (Visual Flight Rules) use only.
About 10% of these installations were approved for enroute and terminal navigation
under IFR (Instrument Flight Rules).
Frequency: 100 kHz (all stations)
General Principle:
Each LORAN C transmitter transmits a pulsed wave and the receiver determines a line
of position by measuring the difference in the time of transit between each of two trans-
mitters signals. This is the equivalent of the difference in the distances from the
receiver to each transmitter. The line of position is a hyperbola as shown below:
Figure 23:
LORAN C Geometry
Proof that LORAN C Lines of Position are Hyperbolas
The positions of the transmitters are (-c,0) and (c,0), the difference in the distances
fromthe receiver to each transmitter is 2a since when the receiver is on the base line the
distance to M is a-(-c) = a+c and the distance to S is c-a. Therefore distance = a+c -
(c-a) = 2a
c c
x,y
a
RECEIVER
M
S
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 33
squaring
expanding
Thus
Squaring
Expanding
This reduces to
Setting b
2
=c
2
-a
2
Dividing by a
2
b
2
which is the equation of a hyperbola
One useful property of a hyperbola is that the tangent at any point bisects the angle
between the lines joining the point to the foci which, in the case of LORAN C are the mas-
ter and slave stations.
x
2
c
2
+ ( ) y
2
+ x
2
c
2
( ) y
2
+ 2 a =
x
2
c
2
+ ( ) y
2
+ 2 a x
2
c
2
( ) y
2
+ + =
x
2
c
2
+ ( ) y
2
+ 4 a
2
4 c x
2
c
2
( ) y
2
+ x
2
c
2
( ) y
2
+ + + =
x
2
2xc y
2
+ + 4a
2
4xc x
2
c
2
( ) y
2
+ x
2
2xc c
2
y
2
+ + + + =
4xc 4a
2
4a x
2
c
2
( ) y
2
+ + =
xc a
2
a x
2
c
2
( ) y
2
+ =
x
2
c
2
2xca
2
a
4
+ a
2
x
2
2xc c
2
y
2
+ + ( ) =
x
2
c
2
2xca
2
a
4
+ a
2
x
2
2a
2
xc a
2
c
2
a
2
y
2
+ + =
x
2
c
2
a
2
( ) a
2
y
2
a
2
c
2
a
2
( ) =
x
2
b
2
y
2
a
2
a
2
b
2
=
x
2
a
2
-----
y
2
b
2
----- 1 =
34 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Figure 24:
Property of
Tangent to Hyperbola
Position Fix
Since a position x requires two lines of position, at least two slave stations are
required. In practice there may be up to 4 slave stations.
A master station with its slaves is called a chain and is each chain uniquely dened by
its signal format as described below.
A diagram of the hyperbolas formed by a master and two slaves is shown in Figure 20.
Note that the angle of intersection varies considerably over the coverage area. As an
exercise use the tangent property of the hyperbola to determine where the lines of posi-
tion intersect at 90.
M
S
x
x
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 35
Figure 25:
Two LORAN C Station
Signal Format
The transmitter emits a pulse whose shape is shown in gure 21.
The pulse shape was chosen such that 99% of the energy lies between 90 and 110 kHz
Figure 26:
LORAN C Pulse
The master station transmits a 9 pulse group with 1000s spacing except for the last two
which are spaced at 2000s. The ninth pulse is used to indicate unusable signals from one
of the stations. By blinking the ninth pulse on and off at 12 second intervals using Morse
code letter groups RE, REE, REEE and REEEE to indicate that slaves X,Y,Z and W
respectively are transmitting unusable signals (see Forssell). Subsequently, each slave
M
S
1
S
2
Figure 11
Lines of Position
for Two LORAN C Stations
Figure 11.
LORAN C Pulse
36 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
transmits an 8 pulse group with 1000s spacing. In the event of an error detected by the
monitor, the slave also provides warning by blinking the rst two pulses of each group
at a rate of 0.25s on and 3.75s off. A given slave transmits its group at a specied delay
(called the coding delay or CD) after it receives the group from the master. The coding
delays are designed so that there can be no interference between any of the groups. The
whole pattern is repeated at the Group Repetition Interval (GRI) which is unique for
each chain and is used to identify a particular chain. 40 different GRIs are available to
identify chains.
In addition, stations phase code their pulse groups i.e. the phase of the carrier is shifted
180 for certain pulses. This can be used for further identication and is useful for pro-
tection from sky wave contamination.
Note: some of the energy radiated from the stations follows the contour of the earth
(Ground Wave) and some radiates towards the ionosphere where it is reected (Sky
Wave). Only the ground wave is used for navigation and the sky wave can be a problem
because it can contaminate the ground signal. Receivers can distinguish between them
up to 1000 miles so this is the coverage that can be expected.
LORAN C transmitter
The transmitter emits a peak power of up to 4 MW. This signal is fed into a single ver-
tical tower antenna as high as 1350 ft. An extensive network of wires is buried in the
ground to a radius of 1000 ft. to ensure a good ground plane. This is called a counter-
poiseand is used to make the RF electric eld as close to vertical as possible..
M
X
Z
M
GRI
TDZ
TDX
Figure 13.
Typical LORAN C Group
Signal Format
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 37
The master and slave stations are separated typically by 600 - 800 miles.
Overall timing of the station transmissions is controlled by a monitor station located
within the chain. The monitor station compensates for some of the propagation variations
which change with time.
LORAN C receivers
The receiver must be provided with the coordinates of the stations in each chain as well as
the GRI for each chain.
The receiver must rst of all identify the chain by its GRI. It then locks its reference oscil-
lator to the master signal and then locks onto the slave signals and measures the appropri-
ate phase differences.
In another attempt to reduce the interference from skywaves, only the rst three cycles of
the RF pulse are used.
As the signals may be immersed in atmospheric noise the signal to noise ratio can be
around -20dB. Other interfering sources may add another 35 dB. Also the desired signal
strengths may vary as much as 120dB.
Thus the receiver can not be implemented using conventional lter. Therefore phase
locked loops acting as tracking lters with long integration times (~10 s) are used.
To accommodate aircraft acceleration, such as in turns, the lter bandwidths must be
increased thus reducing sensitivity.
Accuracy
Errors depend on the accuracy of the time delay measurement, the variation in propagation
speed from nominal and the geometry at a given point. Typical errors are in the range of
200m
Integrity
Ground monitors are installed throughout the LORAN C coverage area. In the USA 196
were installed at VOR locations. These monitors communicate directly with the LORAN
C transmitters and correct for changes in propagation conditions. If the corrections are not
adequate, the transmitter starts to blink the signal indicating to the receiver that the sig-
nal is unusable.
Availability:
Above 99%
38 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Future Prospects
Although the US Coast Guard is no longer funding LORAN C and despite the
advent of GPS which provides much superior performance, The LORAN sys-
tem is still growing. The US installed a chain in the central US a few years ago
to accommodate general aviation aircraft and new chains are being built in the
Far East. It is difcult to explain this except that there are many LORAN C
receivers installed in ships, boats and general aviation aircraft and people are
reluctant to invest in a replacement.
Note: Recently LORAN C has been proposed as a backup for GPS in the air navigation
system
6.2 Multi DME
As the name implies, multi DME uses the measured ranges to two or more DME sta-
tions to determine the position of the aircraft.
Figure 27: . Multi DME Geometry
DME3
DME2
DME1
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 39
Two architectures for such a system suggest themselves
1. Two or more standard DME transceivers providing data to a navigation computer.
2. One frequency hopping DME transceiver providing data to the navigation computer.
Figure 28: . Early Multi-DME Architectures
The rst solution was necessary when only standard transceivers were available. This has
the disadvantage of requiring more hardware and more antennas thus consuming more
space, power and weight. One way around this was to tune the transceiver to the necessary
stations in succession. The disadvantage of this technique was that the transceiver had to
be in search mode most of the time and that the dwell time on each station had to be long
enough to achieve lock. Thus it might take a minute or more to get enough data for a x in
which time the aircraft could have travelled 3 or 4 miles. Thus some means of interpolat-
ing the results was necessary. This was sometimes done with an inertial navigation system
but this was expensive.
As multi-DME became more popular, and as better navigation computers became avail-
able, DME transceiver manufacturers started to develop transceivers which were able to
track several stations at the same time. This was done by adding processing channels.
As was mentioned in the section on DME, the signal processing channel has the capability
of remembering the position of the range gate and the rate at which the range gate is mov-
ing so that the system can provide guidance information during short periods of signal
loss. Thus, in a frequency hopping system, each channel tracks the range and range rate
for one DME and is kept up to date when the RF is tuned to its frequency.
Computations
The measured DME range must be converted from slant range to ground range using alti-
tude information input from the aircraft altimeter.
DME
Navigation
Computer
DME#1
DME#2
DME#3
Navigation
Computer
40 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
The navigation computer then solves the set of resulting equations:
Note: Typically these equations are not solved explicitly but are linearized and solved
using an iterative technique.
Note that a position x may be obtained with 2 DME ranges as long as the geometry is
good and provided that the initial position is known. However, if the ight path is
expected to cross the line joining the two DMEs then an additional position data source
will be required until the aircraft reaches a position with better geometry.
Figure 29:
Baseline Geometry
Another option is to select another DME if one is available.
Accuracy
Accuracy depends on the number of DME stations being interrogated and their geome-
try. With 3 stations and reasonable geometry the accuracy would be around 100m.
Integrity:
The integrity system for the normal DME provides integrity for that part of the system.
The navigation computer monitors the number of station and their geometry and pro-
vides a warning if these are not adequate.
x x
DME1
)
2
y y
DME1
( )
2
+ R
DME1
2
=
x x
DME2
)
2
y y
DME2
( )
2
+ R
DME2
2
=
x x
DME3
)
2
y y
DME3
( )
2
+ R
DME3
2
=
DME1
DME2
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 41
Availability:
Availability is slightly less than for stand alone DME because more stations are required
but it is still around 99%.
6.3 GPS
GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It is also called Navstar (Navigation System
with Timing and Ranging)
Basic Principle
The basic principle of GPS is the same as for multi-DME. i.e. in three dimensions, if the
distances of the vehicle from three known points is known then the position of the vehicle
can be determined.
Figure 30:
Principle of GPS
In the GPS system the known points are the satellites (or space segment) and the ranges
are determined by measuring the time of travel of an electromagnetic wave from the satel-
lite to the receiver. Note that the navigation equipment is not required to transmit as is the
case with DME. Thus the number of users is unlimited. The system is designed to give
world-wide, all-weather coverage.
The GPS is arbitrarily divided into three segments: the space segment, the control segment
and the user segment
42 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Space Segment:
The space segment naturally consists of the satellite constellation.
The specication calls for 24 satellites (21 + 3 active spares) arranged in 6 orbital
planes. As of 06/01/17 there were 29 satellites in orbit of which 28 were operational.
Note: The satellite designations are block II and IIA for the satellites which formed the
original operational constellation. As these failed they were replaced by block IIR
(replenishment) satellites.
When the supply of block IIRs has been exhausted they will be replaced by block IIF
(Follow-on) satellites.
Satellite Characteristics:
Weight: 1667 kg
Design Life:(II/IIA) 7.3 years (IIR) 7.8years (IIF) 10years
Frequency Standards:(II/IIA) 2 Cesium Beam, 2 Rubidium, 1 TCXO (Tempera-
ture Controlled Crystal Oscillator):
(IIR) 3 Rubidium.
L Band Transmitters (Navigation Signal):
1575.42 MHz (L
1
)
1227.6 MHz (L
2
)
S Band Communications:
1783.7 (Uplink)
2227.5 (Downlink)
Orbit Characteristics:
To specify an orbit, 6 parameters are required. For GPS these are:
a. semimajor axis(actually the square root) a
b. eccentricity
c. argument of perigee
d. inclination at reference time (Reference time provided by satellite data message)
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 43
e. mean anomaly at reference time
f. longitude of the ascending node at weekly epoch. (Midnight Saturday)
GPS satellite orbits are all circular (or as close to circular as possible) i.e. eccentricity = 0
The semimajor axis is 26609 km making the orbit semi synchronous. i.e. the period is 12
hours and thus the satellite passes over the same track every other orbit.
The orbit inclinations are all 55. and they are arranged so the longitudes of the ascending
nodes are 60 apart.
The constellation is designed to give the optimumcoverage and geometry on a world-wide
basis.
Control Segment
The control segment consists of tracking stations around the world and a control station at
Falcon Air Force Base in Colorado with a backup at Vandenburg Air Force Base in Cali-
fornia.
The purpose of the tracking stations is to measure the satellite orbital parameters and to
send this information to the control station. These are spread around the world, close to the
equator
The control station transmits updated orbital and clock correction data to the satellites and
performs orbital corrections
User
The user segment is simply a name for all of the receivers which are using the system for
their own purposes.
Satellite Position Determination
The position of each satellite is derived fromthe ephemeris (plural: ephemerides), or set of
orbital parameters, and the GPS system time obtained from the position x calculation
described above. As with many of the computations involved in the GPS system this is a
chicken and egg situation. i.e. the satellite position calculation requires system time
which, in turn depends on the position solution, which depends on the knowledge of satel-
lite position. Fortunately these problems can be solved by iterative computations which
converge rapidly. Thus rough satellite positions can be used to determine an initial posi-
tion x which in turn can be used to obtain an approximate clock bias which can then be
used to rene the estimate of the satellite positions.
Satellite position is rst computed in the orbital coordinate system. The x and y axes lie in
the plane of the orbit with the x axis passing through the perigee (point P) which is the
point at which the satellite is closest to earth. The x and y coordinates of the satellite in
44 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
this coordinate system are determined from true anomaly and the distance ( and r in
Figure 2.1). x being and y being . and r are calculated as follows using
Keplers laws of orbital motion which are:
a. The orbit of a satellite about the earth is an ellipse with the centre of
the earth as one of its foci.
b. A line joining the satellite to the earths centre sweeps out equal areas
in equal times.
c. The square of the orbital period is proportional to the cube of the
mean distance from the satellite to the earths centre
.
Figure 31:
Determination of Satellite Position
in Orbital Plane Coordinate System
One consequence of Keplers second law is that, if the eccentricity of the ellipse
( ) is not 0 i.e. the ellipse is not a perfect circle, then the rate of change
of is not a linear function of time. In order to simplify the position calculation, it is
convenient to develop a variable which is a linear function of time. This is done
through the angle E in Fig. 2.1 which is called the eccentric anomaly and is related to
through the equation
In turn E can be determined from M, the mean anomaly, which is a linear function of
time, specically
r cos r sin
a
s
b
s
E
r
s
P
x
y
s
a
s
2
b
s
2
a
s
-------------------------- =
1
s
2
E sin
E
s
( ) cos
------------------------------ atan =
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 45
where n is the mean motion or average angular velocity over an orbital period, t
p
is the
time of perigee passage i.e. the time at which the satellite passed point P in Fig. 2.1, and t
is the current time.
In the GPS implementation, the navigation data message gives Mfor a reference time (M
r
) as well as the reference time itself (t
r
) thus the mean anomaly for any time t can be deter-
mined from the equation where n
m
is the mean motion modied
by a correction factor which is also included in the navigation message.
Once the satellite coordinates have been determined in the orbital plane they must be con-
verted to the GPS coordinate system
The satellite orbit is (relatively) xed in inertial space and is dened relative to the ECI
(earth centred inertial) coordinate system. As the name implies, the origin of this systemis
at the centre of the earth and its orientation is xed relative to inertial space which may be
taken as dened by the positions of the xed stars (stars which are so far from earth that
they exhibit no relative motion). The x axis is the line of intersection of the plane of the
earths orbit (the ecliptic) and the plane of the equator. The positive x direction is dened
as the direction of the earth-sun vector at the vernal equinox. The z axis is the mean orien-
tation of the earths spin axis and the y axis is dened so as to forma right hand orthogonal
system
The GPS coordinate system is ECEF (earth-centred earth xed). That is, its origin is the
centre of the earth as with the ECI system, however it rotates with the earth and thus
appears xed to it. The x axis is dened by the line joining the origin with the intersection
of the equator and the prime meridian i.e. the meridian which passes through Greenwich,
England. The z axis is the same as the z axis of the ECI systemsince this is the axis abnout
which the coordinate frame rotates and the y axis is dened so as to form a right hand
orthogonal coordinate system. The transformation from ECI to ECEF is a rotation about
the z axis by an amount where is the earths rotation rate (7.2821151467 x 10
-5
rad/s) and t is the time since the two coordinate systems concided which occurs once each
sidereal day.
The transformation from orbital coordinate system to ECEF coordinate system is done in
three stages. First the orbit coordinate system is rotated about its z axis by an amount
equal to the argument of the perigee. This places the x axis in the plane of the equator
M E
s
E sin n t t
p
( ) =
M M
r
n
m
t
r
t ( ) + =
n
46 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
.
Figure 32:
Rotation of x Axis into the Equatorial Plane
Then the orbital Plane is rotated about the transformed x axis by an amount equal to the
inclination angle i.
Figure 33:
Rotation of y axis into Equatorial Plane
The nal transformation into the ECEF coordinates is a rotation about the z axis. The
amount of rotation is made up of two components. One is the angle or longitude of
the ascending node and the other is the angle between the ECEF x axis and the ECI
x axis which, as mentioned above, is a function of time. To simplify the receiver calcu-
lations, these two components are combined as follows.
y
x
P
argument of
perigee
Ascending Node
Descending Node
x
y
y
z
z
y
Equatorial Plane
O
r
b
i
t
a
l

P
l
a
n
e
i
x
er
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 47
As mentioned above the angular difference between the ECI and ECEF coordinate sys-
tems is where t is the time referred to the instant the two systems coincided. The time
determined by the GPS receiver is GPS time which is referenced to the start of the GPS
week which is Saturday/Sunday midnight. In order to be able to use GPS time to deter-
mine the amount of rotation required, it is necessary to compensate for the offset between
the two time references which results in an angle offset equal to the ECI angle of the
Greenwich meridian at the beginning of the GPS week (angle in Figure 2.4).
Angle which combines the longitude of the ascending node and the angle offset
resulting from the time offset, is transmitted as part of the Navigation Message. Thus the
amount of coordinate rotation is
Figure 34:
Rotation from ECI
to ECEF coordinate system
Signal Format
Spread Spectrum Systems
Spread Spectrum techniques were developed by the military primarily to reduce the prob-
ability of interception of communications (LPI - low probability of intercept) and to
reduce the effect of jamming. One by-product of the spread spectrumtechnique is commu-
nication by code division multiple access (CDMA). In this system, all communication
takes place on the same carrier frequency with each individual user or channel being dis-
tinguishable by its pseudo random code. Two major approaches to spread spectrum are
frequency hopping and direct sequence.
t
t
er

e
t
GPS
=
Ascending
Node
x
Vernal Equinox
Greenwich
Meridian
x
at GPS time t
GreenwichMeridian
at beginning of GPS week
(x axis of ECI
system)
er
e

48 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Frequency Hopping (FH),
As the name suggests FHinvolves the shifting of the carrier in a randomfashion
through a given set of frequencies. Since the carrier is at any given frequency
for only a short time, it is difcult to detect. Also, since, for maximum effect, a
jammer tends to concentrate over a small part of the spectrum, the desired com-
munication link is jammed for only a small proportion of the time.
In recent commercial applications, frequency hopping is applied to situations
where severe multipath fading occurs (such as a cellular phone moving through
a building). Since the amount of fading, (or destructive interference) at any
given point depends on wavelength (hence frequency), by hopping the fre-
quency, as in the case of jamming, the fading is effective for only a small part of
the total time.
The pattern of frequencies for hopping is a pseudo-random sequence (also
called a pseudo-noise or PN sequence). These are called pseudo-random
because they are, in fact, deterministic since they are generated by a dened
mechanism, and also because they are periodic. The receiver is able to complete
the link because it also knows the sequence and, by shifting its detection
sequence in time and measuring how often it receives a valid signal, it eventu-
ally locks on to the transmitted sequence.
Direct Sequence (Used in GPS)
Figure 35:
The Direct Sequence Code/Decode Process
Symbol
PN Sequence
Tx
Stored
Reference
Despread
d
Data
Sequence
Rx DELAY
+1
-1
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 49
In the direct sequence technique, the data sequence is multiplied by a PN sequence
whose bit length (
c
above) is considerably shorter than that of the data (
d
above).
c
is usually called the chip width and its inverse is called the chip rate. The ratio of
chip rate to data rate is called the processing gain (measured in dB) and is a mea-
sure of the advantage of the system over a jammer.
Autocorrelation and Spectral Density
The autocorrelation function of a random sequence is the correlation of the
sequence with itself i.e.
For a random sequence of square pulses as shown above this is:
Figure 36:
Autocorrelation of a Random
Sequence of Square Pulses
From the Einstein -Wiener -Khinchin theorem (from stochastic processes) the
power spectral density of such a signal is the Fourier transform of the autocorrela-
tion process and in this case is:
or the sinc
2
function
Note that the bandwidth (to the rst null where ) is inversely proportional
to the bit or chip width and that the peak amplitude is directly proportional to chip
width. Thus the higher the frequency of the spreading code, the lower the peak
power and the wider the spread of its spectrum.
F ( ) f t ( ) f t + ( ) t d

c

c
A
c
A
f
c
( ) sin
f
c
-----------------------------
,

_
2
f
c
1 =
50 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Thus, by using a high chip rate the signal energy is spread across the spectrum
and the maximum amplitude can be pushed down below the noise, thus making
it difcult to detect.
Detection and Time Synchronization
As in the frequency hopping case, the receiver carries a means of replicating the
code and thus uses a correlation process to decode the signal.
Note that by locking on to the transmitted signal, the receiver synchronizes
itself to the clock of the transmitter and thus providing a means by which time
can be determined accurately.
PN Code Generation
Digital code generation is usually done using linear shift registers with some type of
feedback as shown in Figure 10. Mathematically this is described by a polynomial
whose coefcients are either 1 or 0; a 1 indicating that there is a tap at that location in
the register.
Figure 37:
Linear Feedback Shift Register
for Pseudonoise Code Generation
The maximumperiod of the sequences generated by a linear shift register of length n is
2
n
-1 (the all zeros state is not admitted because it is stable and creates a constant output
of zero), however most polynomials produce sequences whose periods are less than the
maximum. The maximumlength sequence is called an m-sequence and is generated by
a polynomial called a prime polynomial. Prime polynomials are available in tabulated
form for given register lengths.
e.g. For a sequence of length 8 the taps for an M-sequence are at (4,3,2) and (6,5,1)
or
4
+
3
+
2
+ 1 and
6
+
5
+ + 1.
+
7
f =1 +
3
+
7
+
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 51
Figure 38:
M-sequence Autocorrelation
The autocorrelation of a m-sequence is as shown in Figure 34. This shows that, away from
the correlation point, the number of -1s is always one greater than the number of +1s. The
peak value depends on the number of bits being considered, N in this case.
Although they have good autocorrelation characteristics, m-sequences fromthe same shift
register length (there are 16 prime polynomials for a shift register of length 8) have poor
cross correlation properties. This makes them unsuitable for CDMA applications because
cross correlation peaks create the likelihood that one code will lock on to another,
unwanted, code.
Thus for GPS, Gold codes are used for the C/A (Coarse/Acquisition) code which is used
for most civilian applications. These are generated by adding the outputs of two m-
sequences together. The two polynomials must have a specied relationship to each other.
Gold codes have good auto- and cross-correlation properties
Figure 39:
Gold Code Autocorrelation
Figure 40:
Gold Code Cross Correlation
-1
N
-1
N
>26dB
-1
52 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
GPS Codes
The GPS L
1
frequency is BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying) modulated with two
codes: the C/A code and the P (precision) code. These codes are in quadrature with
each other. The C/A code is a Gold code of length 1023 chips and the chip rate is
1.023MHz i.e. this code repeats every 1ms. The P code is a long (264 days) m-
sequence with a chipping rate of 10.23MHz. Each satellite uses a different, one week
long segment of the code. They are reset every week at midnight on Saturday.
The original purpose for the C/A code was to provide a means of directing the military
receivers to the correct part of the P code. Since a 1 ms code can be locked onto
quickly, it can be used to transfer information on the phase of the P code. It was deter-
mined fairly early by civilian users that the C/A code could also be used for range mea-
surements.
The GPS L
2
frequency is BPSK modulated with the P code only. Thus, with the two
frequencies, the military receiver can measure the extra delay due to the ionosphere
since this delay is inversely proportional to the square of the carrier frequency
In addition to the two spreading codes, the GPS signal is modulated with a Data Mes-
sage which provides the receiver with information by means of which it can determine
its position and the status of the satellites in the GPS constellation.
The message is sent at a data rate of 50 bits/sec is 1500 bits long and is divided into 5
subframes of 300 bits each.
Each subframe includes a Handover word (HOW) which tells P code receivers the
approximate phase of the P code to permit easy acquisition. It also includes the time for
the start of the next frame. The telemetry word (TLW) includes frame identier and a
Barker code for determining the bit polarity for synchronization.
The Clock Correction contains the corrections to the satellite clock and also the param-
eters for the Ionospheric delay model
The Ephemeris contains the data describing the satellite orbit.
The Almanac contains rough ephemeris and status data for all of the other satellites in
the constellation. This allows the receiver to acquire other satellites quickly after the
rst on has been acquired (since it can determine a good estimate of the code delay and
the doppler shift
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 53
Figure 41:
The GPS Navigation Data Message
Position Calculation and Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP)
GDOP provides a numerical measure of the effects of the spatial distribution of satellites
on the accuracy of the position x. Although, theoretically, four satellites can provide a
position x, the accuracy of the x can be quite poor if two or more of the satellites are
close together.
The basic range equations for 4 satellites are:
Where x,y and z are the user position coordinates (unknown) and t is the user clock bias
(also unknown)
0 30 60 300
300 330 360
600
600
630 660 900
900 930 960
1200
1200 1230 1260
1600
SUBFRAME 1
SUBFRAME 2
SUBFRAME 3
SUBFRAME 4
SUBFRAME 5
TLM HOW CLOCK CORRECTION/IONOSPHERIC MODEL PARAMETERS
EPHEMERIS
MESSAGE (MULTIPLEXED THROUGH 25 FRAMES)
EPHEMERIS
ALMANAC/HEALTH/STATUS (MULTIPLEXED THROUGH 25 FRAMES)
50 BITS/SECOND DATA RATE
TLM HOW
TLM HOW
TLM HOW
TLM HOW
TLM: TELEMETRY WORD
HOW: HAND OVER WORD
x x
1
( )
2
y y
1
( )
2
z z
1
( )
2
+ + ct + R
1
=
x x
2
( )
2
y y
2
( )
2
z z
2
( )
2
+ + ct + R
2
=
x x
3
( )
2
y y
3
( )
2
z z
3
( )
2
+ + ct + R
3
=
x x
4
( )
2
y y
4
( )
2
z z
4
( )
2
+ + ct + R
4
=
54 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
and x
i
,y
i
and z
i
are the coordinates of satellite i (known)
R
i
is the pseudorange to satellite i (measured)
Note: pseudorange is the sum of the actual range and the offset due to the user clock bias
The above four equations are to be solved for the four unknowns, however the equa-
tions are nonlinear and a receiver will usually use a simpler, linearized version of the
equations.
Let x
n
,y
n
,z
n
,and t
n
be (a priori) best estimates of x,y,z and t (nominal position)
x,y,z and t be the corrections to these positions
R
ni
be the nominal (a priori) pseudorange to the ith satellite
i.e. the distance between the assumed position and the satellite
R
i
be the difference between the actual and nominal measurements
Hence:
x = x
n
+x
y = y
n
+y
z = z
n
+z
t = t
n
+t
R
i
=R
ni
+R
i
and (2)
Substituting into equation 1
i = 1,2,3,4
Expanding and ignoring second order terms:
:
R
ni
x
n
x
i
( )
2
y
n
y
i
( )
2
z
n
z
i
( )
2
+ + ct
n
+ =
x
n
x x
i
+ ( )
2
y
n
y y
i
+ ( )
2
z
n
z z
i
+ ( )
2
+ + R
ni
R
i
ct
n
ct + =
x
n
x
i
( )
2
y
n
y
i
( )
2
z
n
z
i
( )
2
2 x
n
x
i
( )x 2 y
n
y
i
( )y 2 z
n
z
i
( )z + + + + +
R
ni
R
i
ct
n
ct + =
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 55
Gathering terms
Using on the second term
(3)
From (2)
Substituting into (3)
These four equations (for i=1,2,3,4) are the linearized equations relating pseudorange
measurements to the desired user navigation information and the users clock bias.
The known quantities (RHS) are the differences between the measured pseudoranges and
the values predicted on the basis of the assumed position and clock bias and the known
satellite positions.
The quantities to be computed, x,y,z and t are corrections that the user will make
to the current estimate of position and clock bias.
Note: the coefcients of the quantities on the LHS are the direction cosines of the lines
joining user to the satellite projected on the x, y and z axes.
Writing these equations in matrix form:
x
n
x
i
( )
2
y
n
y
i
( )
2
z
n
z
i
( )
2
+ + [ ] 1
2 x
n
x
i
( )x 2 y
n
y
i
( )y 2 z
n
z
i
( )z + +
x
n
x
i
( )
2
y
n
y
i
( )
2
z
n
z
i
( )
2
+ +
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- +
R
ni
R
i
ct
n
ct + =
1 + 1

2
--- +
x
n
x
i
( )
2
y
n
y
i
( )
2
z
n
z
i
( )
2
+ +
x
n
x
i
( )x y
n
y
i
( )y z
n
z
i
( )z + +
x
n
x
i
( )
2
y
n
y
i
( )
2
z
n
z
i
( )
2
+ +
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ +
R
ni
R
i
ct
n
ct + =
x
n
x
i
( )
2
y
n
y
i
( )
2
z
n
z
i
( )
2
+ + R
ni
ct
n
=
x
n
x
i
R
ni
ct
n
--------------------- x ( )
y
n
y
i
R
ni
ct
n
--------------------- y ( )
z
n
z
i
R
ni
ct
n
--------------------- z ( ) ct + + + R
i
=
56 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Where
ij
= direction cosine of the angle between the line to the ith satellite and the jth
coordinate
Let
and
Therefore
Ax=r or x = A
-1
r
This last equation compactly expresses the relationship between pseudorange measure-
ments and user position and clock bias. Since the relationship is linear, it can be used to
express the relationship between the errors in pseudorange and the errors in user-mea-
sured ranges. This relationship may be expressed as follows:
where
r
represents the pseudorange measurement errors and
x
the corresponding
errors in user position and clock bias.
Let us now consider the covariance matrix of the expected errors in pseudorange mea-
surements and the covariance of the measurement quantities. The rst is 4x4 array
composed of the expected values of the squares and products of the errors in the pseu-
11

12

13
c
21

22

23
c
31

32

33
c
41

42

43
c
x
y
z
t
R
1
R
2
R
3
R
4
=
A
ij
[ ] =
x
x
y
z
t
=
r
R
1
R
2
R
3
R
4
=
x
A
1
r
=
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 57
dorange measurements. The diagonal terms are the variances, i.e. the squares of the
expected 1 values of the pseudorange errors. The off-diagonal terms are the covariances
between the pseudorange measurements and reect the correlations to be expected in
these measurements. Likewise, the covariance matrix for the user quantities is composed
of the expected values of the squares and products of the errors in the user quantities. The
diagonal terms are the variances or the squares of the 1 errors in user position and time,
while the off-diagonal terms reect the correlations in these errors. These covariance
matrices are given by
and
where the symbol E{} designates the expected value of the quantity inside the braces.
From the relationship between the covariances just developed, it should be noted that the
relationship between the pseudorange measurement and the users position and clock bias
errors is a function only of the solution matrix A which, in turn is a function only of the
direction cosines of the lines-of-sight from the user to the satellites along the axes of the
coordinate systembeing used. In other words, the error relationships are a function only of
the satellite geometry. An important consideration in the proper usage of GPS is that the
geometry of the four satellites being employed possess good geometric properties. In
this context good indicates that, because of satellite geometry, a given level of pseudor-
ange error results in small user position errors. This leads to the concept of Geometric
Dilution of Precision (GDOP), which is a measure of how satellite geometry degrades
positional accuracy.
The following assumption regarding pseudorange measurements errors provides a method
of determining quantitatively whether a particular four-satellite geometry is good or bad:
Assume that the individual pseudorange measurement errors are equal and that the mean
error is zero. Also assume that the correlation of errors between satellites is zero. In this
case then the covariance matrix for the errors in the pseudorange measurements becomes a
4x4 diagonal matrix.
cov r ) ( ) E
r
r
T

' ;

=
cov x ) ( ) E
x
x
T

' ;

=
cov x ( ) A
1
cov r ( ) A
1
( )
T
=
58 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Thus, for this case the covariance matrix for user position and clock errors is given by
the following:
The GDOP is dened as the square root of the trace of cov(x) when cov(r) is the iden-
tity matrix. (V
R
)=1)
NOTE: the TRACE of a matrix is the sum of the diagonal elements.
Therefore:
Letting V
x
, V
y
, V
z
and c
2
V
t
be the variances of the user position and time we have:
As an alternative to GDOP as the criterion for selecting satellites or evaluating satellite
constellations, only some of the variances of the user position and time might be used.
These are dened as follows:
- Position Dilution of Position - The square root of the sumof the squares of the
three components of user position i.e.
- Horizontal Dilution of Precision - The square root of the sumof the squares of
the horizontal
components of the position error i.e.
V
R
0 0 0
0 V
R
0 0
0 0 V
R
0
0 0 0 V
R
V
R
1 0 0 0
0 1 0 0
0 0 1 0
0 0 0 1
=
cov x ( ) V
R
A
T
A ( )
1
=
GDOP TRACE A
T
A ( )
1
[ ] =
GDOP V
R
V
x
V
y
V
z
c
2
V
t
+ + + =
PDOP
V
x
V
y
V
z
+ +
V
R
------------------------------------- =
HDOP
V
x
V
y
+
V
R
------------------------ =
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 59
- Vertical Dilution of Precision - The altitude error i.e.
NOTE: PDOP
2
= HDOP
2
+ VDOP
2
Example:
Because matrix inversion for matrices larger than 2x2 is time-consuming, an example for a
2 dimensional case will be given. Except for the number of dimensions, the principles are
the same as for the GPS case.
Consider the case shown in Diagram 1
The nominal position of the aircraft is 0,0
The direction cosines for DME A are
and
and for DME B are
and
Thus the A matrix is
VDOP
V
x
V
R
----------- =
20NM
30NM
Diagram 1
A
B
0 0
20
------------ 0 =
20 0
20
--------------- 1 =
30 0
30
--------------- 1 =
0 0
30
------------ 0 =
0 1
1 0
60 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Coincidentally the A
T
is also
Therefore A
T
A is
and (A
T
A)
-1
is where D is the determinant of A
T
A (=1 in
this case)
Note: for the 2 x 2 matrix TRACE(A
T
A)
-1
is 1 + 1 = 2
and GDOP (or HDOP in this case) is
Now consider the case in Diagram 2
The direction cosines for DME A are and
and for DME B are and
0 1
1 0
1 0
0 1
1
D
----
1 0
0 1
2 1.414 =
20NM
30NM
Diagram 2
A
B
20NM
20 0
28
--------------- 0.707 =
20 0
28
--------------- 0.707 =
30 0
30
--------------- 1 =
0 0
30
------------ 0 =
0.707 0.707
1 0
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 61
The A
T
is therefore
Thus A
T
A is
The determinant is 1.5 x .5 - .5 x .5 =.5
Therefore (A
T
A)
-1
is
Note: for a 2x2 matrix
TRACE((A
T
A)
-1
)is therefore 3+ 1 = 4
Note that these calculations can accommodate any number of facilities or position lines:
For Example Diagram 3
0.707 1
0.707 0
1.5 0.5
0.5 0.5
1 1
1 3
a
11
a
12
a
21
a
22
1
1
D
----
a
22
a
21
a
12
a
11
=
4 2 =
20NM
30NM
Diagram 3
A
B
20NM
C
20NM
10NM
62 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
The direction cosines for DME A are
and
and for DME B are
and
and DME C are
and
The A
T
is therefore
Thus A
T
A is
The determinant is 1.7x 1.3-.9x.9= 1.4
20 0
28
--------------- 0.707 =
20 0
28
--------------- 0.707 =
30 0
30
--------------- 1 =
0 0
30
------------ 0 =
10 0
22.3
--------------- 0.45 =
20 0
22.3
--------------- 0.9 =
0.707 0.707
1 0
0.45 0.9
0.707 1 0.45
0.707 0 0.9
1.7 0.9
0.9 1.3
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 63
Therefore (A
T
A)
-1
is
TRACE(A
T
A) is therefore.92+ 1.2= 2.1
Thus adding more information (in the formof another DME range) improved the accuracy
of the position x
6.4 Receivers and Signal Processing
Antennas
The signal is circularly polarized and is received at a level of about -125 dBm (-130dBm
minimum) from a 0 dB gain antenna. Due to the low signal level most antennas include a
Low Noise Amplier (LNA) with a gain of about 30 dB to compensate for antenna cable
losses. The Carrier to Noise ratio (C/N
0
) is between 30 and 50 dB-Hz which, when
divided by the typical LNA bandwidth of 2 MHz (63dB) gives a signal to noise ratio (S/N)
of -13 to -33 dB. The processing gain of the C/A code correlation is about 43 dB which
results in a nal S/N of 10 to 30 dB
Receivers
The rst function of the receiver is to convert the signal to a lower frequency. This is done
for several reasons. Firstly, it is easier to build A/D converters which operate at lower fre-
quencies. Secondly, ampliers are more readily available and cheaper and thirdly, it is eas-
ier to build narrow band lters at lower frequencies. The practical lower bandwdth limit
for lters is about 1% of centre frequency. At lower bandwidths, the insertion loss is too
high.
Note: Almost all GPS receivers convert the signal to digital form as soon as possible after
the antenna.
0.92 0.64
0.64 1.206
2.1 1.45 =
64 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Figure 42:
GPS Receiver RF Processing
The processor performs the following actions:
a. Acquisition of (locking onto) the spreading code
This involves generating the code for the desired SV, correlating it with the
input signal and tracking it.
This also requires generating a duplicate of the IF signal as shifted by the Dop-
pler effect (due to the radial velocity of the satellite)
b. Reading the Navigation Data Message which gives the orbital parameters.
c. Measuring the time between the transmission and reception of the signal
d. Calculation of position.
The main processor tells each processing channel which SV signal to look for.
Since the data sequence is unknown, it is necessary to regenerate a phase coherent rep-
lica of the intermediate frequency to decode it.
Virtually all GPS receivers today use digital processing after the IF has been produced.
That is, the output of the mixer is applied to an A/D converter which provides the data
LNA
LO
Filter
1.57542GHz
1.55542 GHz
20MHz
ADC
2MHz BW
Digital IF
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 65
stream to the receiver computer.
Figure 43:
Delay Locked Loop (DLL) for One Processing Channel
Correlation with C/A code
Correlation
The basic circuit for the correlation process is the delay locked loop (DLL). The
main components of this circuit are a PN code generator which generates a replica
of the code to be detected, a numerically controlled oscillator which controls the
rate of the PN code, and a delay element which provides three ouputs each delayed
by the period of its input clock The delay element (a shift register) is thus clocked
at a rate which determines the spacing of the correlators (Early, Prompt and Late)
i.e. if the correlator width is 1/n chips, the delay element will be clocked at n times
the chip rate.
As was described previously, the correlation function of a PN code is a triangle as
shown below.
In order to lock on to the code, three replicas of the PN code are generated, but
shifted in time by an amount . Both are correlated with the incoming signal and
the resulting outputs are passed on to the discriminator. The discriminator calcula-
tion can have any of several forms depending on the memory and speed of the pro-
cessor. One such calculation is:
which uses only the early and late samples
This gives a response characteristic as shown in the diagram. Note that the nal
response is a function of the relationship between T (the chip period) and
I
ES
2
Q
ES
2
+ I
ES
2
Q
ES
2
+
I
ES
2
Q
ES
2
+ I
ES
2
Q
ES
2
+ +
-------------------------------------------------------------------
66 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
The output of this phase comparator is then fed through a low pass lter to a
voltage controlled oscillator which determines the rate at which the PN code
generator is clocked. Thus if the code starts to fall behind the incoming signal,
the VCO frequency is increased so that the code is forced to the null (locked)
position.
Note that both the in-phase and quadrature values are generated. This is to
ensure that the signal can be processed regardless of the phase relationship
between the incoming signal and the replica
The input to the correlator has been multiplied by a signal whose frequency is
equal to the IF frequency, and is thus proportional to cos
2
(
IF
t). This is neces-
sary because the input to the integrators must have a non-zero average value and
the average value of cos(
IF
t) is zero.
Thus the receiver has to regenerate a phase-coherent copy of the carrier (or IF)
-T- T+
-
Detector Characteristics for

various values of
C
/2
C
/4
Late
Early
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 67
.
Figure 44:
Carrier Lock Circuit
Due to the Doppler shift introduced into the received signal by the relative velocity
of the satellite and receiver, there is an uncertainty of about t10 kHz in the fre-
quency of the signal fromany given satellite. Thus, in addition to searching for the
correct time alignment (phase) of the code in the Code Loop, the receiver also
must search for the correct frequency offset in the Carrier Loop.
Thus a two dimensional search is required.
Note: If the approximate position of the satellite is known (fromthe almanac) then
the Doppler shift can be calculated and the search time reduced considerably. Thus
a receiver will gather almanac information during operation and store it in non-vol-
atile memory in preparation fo the next time it is turned on. (this is feasible
because the almanac changes very slowly and the satellite position does not have
to known very accurately.
GPS Errors
Ionospheric
GPS signal must pass through the ionosphere to reach terrestrial receivers and thus
the effects of the ionosphere must be taken into account.
The ionosphere is the upper part of the atmosphere which is affected to a very large
degree by the solar wind or stream of atomic particles and ionizing radiation pro-
duced by the sun. It consists of a large volume of ionized particles and, more
importantly for radio wave propagation, their dissociated electrons. The effect of
the free electrons is to slow the speed of electromagnetic waves passing through
them. Since GPS receivers measure the time delay and assume a constant speed of
light to determine the pseudoranges, any slowing of the signal results in a delay
and hence a measurement error.
68 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Because the number of ions and hence free electrons varies considerably with
the time of day, the season, solar activity (ares and sunspots) the resulting
delays are irregular and impossible to predict to any degree of accuracy.
The C/A code receivers have an algorithm which can compute the delay to an
accuracy of about 4m. The coefcients for this algorithm are transmitted by the
satellites as part of the navigation message.
P code receivers operate on two frequencies and can take advantage of the fact
that the ionospheric delay is inversely proportional to the square root of the fre-
quency and can compute the correct range from the equation
where is the range measured on frequency
and is the range measured on frequency
Selective Availability (Removed 1 May 2000)
When GPS was designed it was expected that the range errors for receivers
using the C/A code would be about 10 times those for receivers using the P
code. The US military apparently felt that this was sufcient advantage.
However, in the early days of GPS development, even when only a few satel-
lites were available and periods during which the GDOP was favourable were
very infrequent, the surveying community saw the possibilities of such a sys-
tem. For example, it was much easier to install GPS receivers at each end of a
10 km base line and wait for them to record enough data to make a measure-
ment than to, for example, have to use transits and have to cut 10 km of sight
lines through the bush.
R
TRUE
R
1
f
2
f
1
------
2
R
2
1
f
2
f
1
------
2
---------------------------------- =
R
1
f
1
R
2
f
2
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 69
Other errors are less signicant and are included in the table below for information
LDGPS/WAAS
As was mentioned above, the major source of error in the GPS is the unknown ionospheric
delay.
One way of getting around this problemis to install a receiver at a location whose position
is known very accurately. (The error of the nal results includes the errors in this position).
This reference can now measure the pseudoranges and, because it knows its own position
it knows the true ranges to the satellites and therefore can determine the total error in each
of the pseudoranges. Once this has been determined corrections can be broadcast to
receivers in its vicinity and they can apply them to achieve a much higher accuracy.
Note that in most cases the satellite pseudorange errors are used rather than the actual
position error of the station. This is due to the fact that the receivers may not be using the
same set of satellites as the reference station in which case the reference station position
error would be different from that of the airborne receiver.
There are two main approaches to this idea: Local and Wide Area Differential GPS
Local Differential GPS (LDGPS)
As the name suggests LGPS involves a differential service which serves a
restricted area. The data link, which is the key to differential systems is usually a
VHF communications channel or a radar data link. In either case the range of the
corrections transmission is line of sight.
Also limiting the range of effectiveness of LDGPS is the fact that the ionospheric
errors decorrelate with distance i.e. the ionospheric errors 100 miles away are dif-
ferent fromthose at the reference site. A typical rate of degradation for this error is
1 part in a million or 1mm per km of distance.
Although S/A does not change with distance, it is a dynamic error and thus the rate
Table 1:
Error Source Error Magnitude (C/A Code, 1 sigma)
Satellite Clock Errors 30m (with S/A) (bias) 2m (without S/A)
Ephemeris Errors 4m (bias)
Ionospheric Delay 4m (bias)
Tropospheric Delay 0.5m (random)
Noise and Quantizing in Rx 0.2m (random)
Multipath 0.2m (random)
70 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
at which errors are measured and transmitted has an effect on the system accu-
racy. An estimate of this error is
2 x 10
-3
t
2
metres.
where t is the time between updates
INTEGRITY
An additional function which DGPS can perform, which is vital to aircraft nav-
igation, is integrity. The reference receiver can monitor all of the satellites in
view and warn aircraft if any show degraded performance.
The accuracy of LDGPS can be as good as 20 cm in real time. In fact, Novatel
is advertising a system capable of 2 cm accuracy in real time.
There are now commercial DGPS services which broadcast the corrections on
unused parts of FM radio transmissions e.g. in Ottawa, CBOF.
Wide Area Augmentation (WAAS)
As mentioned above, LDGPS is limited in range.
In order to overcome this and hence reduce the number of reference stations
required to service all of the airports in the USA, the FAA is planning to intro-
duce a Wide Area GPS Augmentation System.
This system will have reference stations located at approximately 500 NM
intervals across the US.
Instead of broadcasting the corrections directly the stations transmit the errors
to a master station presently located in Atlantic City NJ.
The master station combines the information to generate a two dimensional
model of the pseudorange errors. It then computes the pseudorange errors for
the intersection points of a 5 degree grid. Finally it formats these into a message
which is sent up to an INMARSAT satellite.
The satellite simple rebroadcasts the message to the North American Continent
on the GPS frequency using one of the unused C/A codes.
Thus a separate data link system is not required.
The airborne receiver, knowing its apporoximate position, can select the four
nearest grid point and interpolate the errors estimates to get the appropriate
value for its position.
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 71
6.5 INS
Advantages
instantaneous output of position and velocity
completely self contained
all weather global operation
very accurate azimuth and vertical vector measurement
error characteristics are known and can be modeled quite well
works well in hybrid systems
Disadvantages
Position/velocity information degrade with time (1-2NM/hour).
Equipment is expensive ($250,000/system) - older systems
had relatively high failure rates and were expensive to maintain
newer systems are much more reliable but still expensive to repair
Initial alignment is necessary - not much of a disadvantage for commercial
airline operations (12-20 minutes)
Usage
most long range aircraft have at least 2 INS installations and many have triple(vot-
ing) systems
have been used for many special uses such as aerial photography/remote sensing and
aerial spraying programs - also extensively used as part of position reference
systems for the all-weather calibration of ground based navigation aids
Prime source of navigation information (i.e. no other nav system is required)
(Oceanic and Remote Areas )
Accuracy/Integrity/Availability
accuracy - 1-2 NM/hour
integrity - extensive BIT (built-in test) capability
a. - in multi system installations - intercomparison
72 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
b. with hybrid systems and ight management systems - comparison
availability
c. current systems MTBF (mean time between failures) as high
as 20,000 hours
Principle of Operation
Basic
measurement of acceleration (two or three dimensions)
integration to get velocity (doesnt work for vertical)
second integration to get position
if initial position and velocity are known can determine current position
and velocity
Main Problem
- accelerometer can not distinguish between vehicle acceleration and gravitational
acceleration - thus it is necessary to implement a means of eliminating the effect of
gravity on the acceleration measurement.
- this is usually done in one of two ways:
- keep the accelerometers perpendicular to the gravity vector (i.e per-
fectly horizontal) - this eliminates the effect of gravity
(Stable Platform Implementation or Mechanization)
- by measuring the angle between the accelerometer and the gravity vec-
tor and computing the necessary correction.
(Strap Down Mechanization)
Secondary Problems
- isolation from (or compensation for) vehicle attitude changes (rotations)
- compensation for earth rotation
- compensation for motion over ellipsoidal earth surface
Stable Platform INS
Isolation from changes in vehicle attitude
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 73
gimbal system (see diagram)
Rotation of platform is detected by gyroscopes (spinning mass) which provide an
error signal to servomotors at appropriate gimbal pivots which rotate the stable
platform back to its null position - thus the gyroscope is a sensor in a feedback
mode
This implementation was popular because it provides a wide dynamic range which
was not available using spinning mass gyroscopes in a strap down implementation
Note: On a stable platform mechanized INU, synchros mounted on each gimbal pivot pro-
vide a direct measurement of aircraft attitude (heading, pitch and roll)
Alignment
Stationary
- entry of position coordinates
- coarse alignment
- ne alignment
- gyrocompassing (see below)
NOTE alignment at high latitudes (>70 N) is difcult
Moving alignment
- not done in commercial aviation
74 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
- required for such applications such as aircraft on aircraft carriers
Gyrocompassing
Figure 45:
Geometry of
Gyrocompassing
NOTE: In Figure 39 the wander angle is dened in accordance with the navigation con-
vention i.e. clockwise from True North. Later in the course we shall consider a wander
angle which is dened in the mathematical system i.e. counterclockwise from the x
axis.
During alignment the stable element is levelled by rotating the gimbals so that the out-
puts of the horizontal accelerometers are zero. Since the gyroscopes are trying to main-
tain the platform at the same attitude in inertial space and the earth is rotating, it is
necessary to insert signals into the gimbal control loops to accomplish this. This is
known as torquing the gyros. The rate of rotation around a given axis necessary to
maintain the platform level can be determined by the amount of torquing required.
The rotation necessary to keep a platformhorizontal at latitude can be determined by
resolving the earths rotation vector into two components, one vertical and the other
horizontal in the direction of True North. Note that the horizontal vector must be point-
ing True North because it must lie in the same plane as the earth rotation vector and the
platform vertical vector. The intersection of this plane and the earths surface is a
meridian whos orientation, by denition, is True North. i.e. all meridians are great cir-
PLATFORM
VERTICAL AXIS
PLATFORM
VERTICAL AXIS
PLATFORM
NORTH AXIS
sin
cos
X
Y
NORTH
= Earth rotation rate

= latitude
= Wander angle
PLATFORM TOP VIEW
cos
coscos
cossin
PLATFORM SIDE VIEW
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 75
cles which pass through the North and South poles.
As is shown above, the required rotation about the vertical axis is sin and about the
North axis is cos
During alignment the X axis of the platform is oriented at a random angle from True
North.. Some INS mechanizations force this angle to zero so that the platform x axis is
always pointing North. This has disadvantages when navigating in polar regions since the
angles of the meridians are changing rapidly. Most IN systems use a wander azimuth
technique in which the wander angle is measured during alignment and, in ight, is
computed. Thus the direction of True North can be can determined.
The wander angle can be calculated during alignment by resolving the North axis rotation
rate into components along the platforms x and y axes as shown above. Thus by knowing
the rotation rates about the x and y axes, both wander angle and latitude may be measured.
e.g.
R
x
is the angular rate about the x axis
R
y
is the angular rate about the y axis
Navigation
Once the platform has been aligned the system can be put into the navigation
mode.
One consequence of alignment and the necessity to compensate for the earths curvature
during horizontal motion .is the so-called Schuler oscillation. This expained as follows
R
X
cos cos =
R
Y
sin cos =
R
Y
R
X
-------- atan =
R
X
cos
----------------- acos =
76 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
:
Figure 46:
Initial Conditions for
Schuler Oscillation
At the end of the alignment procedure, the accelerometer above has a tilt of
0
radians.
. When the INS enters the navigation mode it senses, due to gravity, an acceleration in
the x direction of magnitude -g sin .
Since the misalignments are always small, this may be approximated by -g.
Therefore
Even if the system is actually stationary, the navigation system assumes this to be sys-
temacceleration and propagates systemposition and velocity accordingly. However, in
order to compensate for the perceived motion over the earths curved surface, the sys-
temrotates the platformthrough an angle s/R where s is the computed distance and
R is the earths radius. Thus
or
X
0
a
a g =
t
2
2

t
2
2
d
d s 1
R
---
a
R
--- = =
a R
t
2
2

=
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 77
Therefore
or
The general solution to this equation is
C
1
cos t + C
2
sin t
since at t = 0, =
0
C
1
=
0

0
cos t
where
2
g/R
Thus the apparent acceleration of the system will oscillate with a period of about 84 min-
utes. Since the position is obtained by double integation of the acceleration, the position
error will also oscillate with the same period
R
t
2
2

g =
R
t
2
2

g + 0 =
78 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Accelerometers
Requirements
- high dynamic range (10
-4
g to 10g)
- low cross coupling
- good linearity
- little or no asymmetry
- use of proof mass
Types: -Pendulum
-oating
-exure pivot
- Vibrating String or Beam
- MEMS (micro electromechanical systems)
Basic Principle of Inertial Grade accelerometers
- force rebalance (nulling)
-required for wide dynamic range
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 79
Floating pendulum
- proof mass is oated in a liquid and arranged such that the pivots are
at the centre of buoyancy
- provides good damping
- possibility of leakage
- potential for misalignment leading to cross coupling
Figure 47:
Floating Pendulum Accelerometer
80 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Flexure pivot
- exible support
- support must have stable characteristics (beryllium copper)
- susceptible to damage in shipping or in removal/installation
Figure 48:
Flexure Pivot Accelerometer
Pendulum Equation
Where:
= residual torque applied to the pendulumby friction in the supports and connecting
wires, and by electrical forces (dynes)
= spring stiffness, (dyne-cm/radian)
= pedulosity, (gm-cm
2
)
= moment of inertia of pendulum about pivot axis (rad/sec
2
)
= angular deviation of the case about the pivot axis (rad)
T
R
k mb f
y
mb f
z
+ I
t
2
2
d
d
d
d
+
= =
T
R
k
mb
I
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 81
If damping is neglected, the deection in the steady state is:
is the angular acceleration of the case around the pivot axis, which is negligible in
stable platform systems but can be considerable in strap down systems
mb
k
-------
f
y
T
R
I
mb
-------
t
2
2
d
d
+
1 mb f
z
+
------------------------------------------- =
t
2
2
d
d
82 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Vibrating String or Beam
Principle
Figure 49:
Vibrating String Accelerometer
The proof mass is supported by two strings (or beams) usually made of quartz
or a dimensionally stable metal. If the case is accelerated, the tension of one
wire is increased and the tension in the other is decreased. The natural fre-
quency of oscillation of these strings is proportional to the square root of their
tension and thus
and
Equation of operation
If T
0
is large in comparison with the maximum acceleration load mga then the
difference frequency will be proportional to the acceleration
Not used very much
Proof Mass
T
0 T
0
acceleration
f
1
f
2
f
1
k
1
T
0
mga + =
f
2
k
1
T
0
m ga =
f
1
f
2
k
1
mga
T
0
-----------
1
8
---
mga
T
0
-----------
,
_
3
+ +
=
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 83
- problems with supporting the proof mass
MEMS Accelerometers
Typical MEMS accelerometer design:
Proof Mass is suspended from the body of the accelerometer
Fingers on both the body and proof mass form a set of capacitors
Some of these are used to sense movement of proof mass (S)
Others are used to apply force to push proof mass back to nominal position
i.e. a voltage is applied to opposite sides of the capacitor and the resulting electrostatic
force moves the proof mass back to the nominal position
PROOF MASS
S
S
S
S
F
F
F
F
Spring
84 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Testing and calibration
- Dividing head (precision tilting machine)
- requires a gravimetric survey
- limited to 1 g
- Centrifuges for higher g levels
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 85
Gyroscopes (Greek gyros = ring/rotation, scope= observe)
Three main types
a. Spinning Mass
b. Ring Laser (not really a gyroscope)
c. MEMS
Spinning Mass Gyroscopes
Principle of operation
These derive their usefulness fromtheir rigidity in space i.e. their tendency
to maintain their orientation with respect to inertial space (what is inertial
space? Theory of relativity?)
Rigidity
rigidity is proportional to the moment of inertia and the rate of rotation-
INU gyroscopes usually rotate at about 25000 rpm
The main useful property: Precession
If a torque is applied perpendicular to the axis of rotation the gyro will precess,
about an axis which is perpendicular to both the applied torque and the axis of
rotation
86 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
2 Degree of Freedom gyro (TDF)(see diagram)
Usually oated (at neutral buoyancy) in case lled with uid to keep the
load on the
pivots to a minimum. The uid should be of high density and low vis-
cosity. Neutral
buoyancy is usually achieved at temperatures in the neighbourhood of
170 degrees Fahrenheit. and is maintained by close temperature control
Note: Only two TDFs are required for a three axis system and one gyro axis is
redundant.
Figure 50:
Schematic Diagram of Two Degree
of Freedom Gyro
1 Degree of freedom gyro
As the name implies this gyro has only one sensitive axis. Kayton and Fried
mention that they are more difcult to manufacture than TDF gyros but give no
explanation.
Three are required for a three axis system
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 87
Gyro Error
Due to unavoidable extraneous torques, all gyros tend to precess slowly (called
drift). Some of the gyro drift can be calibrated out during each alignment proce-
dure but there is always some residual. This causes the platform to develop an
increasing tilt which in turn causes an exponential increase in position error.
Note: Although the error increases exponentially, it is essentially linear over the
normal periods of INS operation
A typical drift rate for an Inertial Grade Gyro is.02 degrees/hour
Mass imbalance in the gyro will cause drift under high g loads but this is not sig-
nicant in civilian applications
88 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Ring Laser Gyro (RLG) - First operational service 1986
This is not really a gyroscope but a device for measuring angle of rotation
Advantages:
more rugged than spinning mass gyros
- inherently digital output
- large dynamic range
- good linearity
- short warm up time
Figure 51:
Physical Layout of
Ring Laser Gyro
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 89
As shown in the above diagram, a triangular cavity is bored out of a block of glass
and is lled with a mixture of Helium and Neon (approximately 10%He and 90%
Ne). When an electrical discharge (generated by the anode and cathode above) is
passed through the gas mixture, conditions for amplication of light waves (laser
action) become favourable. The light so produced is constrained to travel in a trian-
gular path by means of very high quality mirrors at each vertex. The frequency of
the light generated is determined mainly by the quantum characteristics of the
medium but partly by the length of the path. This is because, to maintain oscilla-
tions, there must be an integer number of wavelengths around the path i.e. there
can not be any phase difference between waves travelling on their second or subse-
quent orbit and those on their rst orbit. Because the system is symmetrical, light
waves are propagated in both directions around the triangular path.
In the absence of rotation, the two beams form a standing wave pattern as shown
below. Note for simplicity the path is shown as circular, however the same situa-
tion will exist for any closed path.
Figure 52:
Standing Wave Pattern
in Ring Laser Gyro
If the RLG is rotated about its axis, then the path for one beambecomes effectively
longer and thus the frequency of oscillation decreases. Likewise the frequency of
the other beam increases. This causes the standing wave patter to rotate. The rate
of rotation is exactly equal and opposite to the rate of rotation of the RLG and thus
4
3
2
0
2
3
4
Photodiode Detector
90 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
the standing wave pattern stays xed in inertial space. By observing the relative
motion of the fringes with a photodiode array, the amount and direction of rota-
tion can be measured directly.
Problems
Lock-in
Two resonant systems, if they are loosely coupled have a tendency to
assume the same frequency of oscillation when difference between their
own natural frequencies is small.
The coupling mechanism in a ring laser is the backscatter from the mir-
rors.
The result is a phenomenon exactly analagous to static friction in a
mechanical system i.e. the standing wave pattern appears to stick to
the body of the gyro
This effect is reduced by applying an oscillating rotation to the gyro
(called dithering). Typically with an amplitude of a fewminutes of arc at
a frequency of a few hundred Hertz.
Bias
Motion of the HeNe in the laser cavity can give rise to extraneous
Doppler shifts and non-zero outputs at rest
Reduced by careful design
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 91
RLG Errors
Undetected pulse outputs cause an accumulative error similar to the drift in the
spinning mass gyro
This is an example of the familiar random walk problem
Random walk is concerned with the sum of periodic discrete increments of equal
size which have a known or estimated probability of occurrence.
e.g. If one were to toss a coin and take one step to the left of the result is heads and
one step to the if the result is tails, what is the probability of being 6 steps to the
left after 20 tosses of the coin? What is the most likely position after 20 tosses?
RLG errors depend on the probability of missing a pulse (a function of the signal
to noise ratio) and the rate of rotation of the gyro.
Fibre Optic Gyro (FOG)
The principle of the FOG is similar to that of the RLG except that the optical path
is dened by an optical bre which is wound about a coil. The readout is the fringe
pattern caused by the interference of the two beams.
It is potentially more rugged than the RLG and does not suffer from the lock-in
effect It is also easier to manufacture and hence cheaper. However, in spite of these
advantages FOGs have made little or no headway in the commercial aviation eld.
92 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
MEMS Gyroscopes
MEMS gyroscopes use the phenomenon of Coriolis acceleration to detect rota-
tion.
When an object is moving in a rotating coordinate system (such as the earth), it
appears to undergo an acceleration perpendicular to its velocity vector. This
acceleration is proportional to the speed of the object and the rate of rotation of
the coordinate system. A good example of this is the fact that, in the Northern
hemisphere, air travelling from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure,
is deected to the right which causes it to rotate counterclockwise about the
area of low pressure.
In a MEMS gyroscope, the tines of a tuning fork are the moving object and are
deected from their nominal path if the gyroscope is rotated. A capacitive
detector is used to measure this deection.
MEMS gyroscopes are small, rugged and cheap but are much less sensitive than
ring laser or FOG gyroscopes
L
H
H
H
H
Nominal Path
Deected Path
Capacitive Detectors
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 93
INS Errors and Effects
where
s
is the Schuler radian frequency
g is the magnitude of gravity
a is the earths radius
t is the time in Navigate mode
Table 2:
Error Effects
Initial Position x
0
x=x
0
Initial Tilt
y0
x=a
y0
(1-cos
s
t)
Initial Azimuth
z0
x=y
y0
+a
z0
Accelerometer bias A x=a(A/g)(1-cos
s
t)
Gyro Error - Constant Drift,
x= a(t-
s
-1
sin
s
t)
94 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
INS as a Navigation System
Accuracy:
1 to 2 nautical miles error for each hour after alignment
Integrity
Extensive internal monitoring in individual units.
Cross-checking among units in multi-unit installations
Availability (Reliability)
RLG INUs provide MTBFs of up to 20,000 hours
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 95
7. Navigation Fundamentals
7.1 General Outline.
Figure 53:
Block Diagram of a
Navigation System
Position Fix (radio, radar, GPS)
Dead Reckoning (Inertial, Doppler, Air data/Heading)
Computation of Most Probable Position
Course Line Computation
Data to Pilot
range/bearing to waypoint
steering signal (HSI/Autopilot) to keep aircraft on selected course
7.2 Geometry of Earth
The Geoid (Mean Sea Level)
The gravitational equipotential surface
i.e. normal to the gravity vector at all points
Position-Fix
transformations
Dead-
reckoning
calculations
Most-probable
position
calculations
Course-line
computer
Destinations
Range, bearing
to displays
Position,
Velocity
Radio, radar,
GPS
Inertial, doppler
Air data
Heading
96 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Figure 54:
Relationship Between The Geoid
and an Ellipsoid
Ellipsoid
Since the Geoid is complex in shape, a simpler model is chosen as a reference
for navigation and surveying purposes. This is an ellipse rotated about the
earths spin axis.
Its formula is:
The variables to be chosen are:
- semi - major axis (a)
- eccentricity () or attening (f)
VOLUME OF
HIGH DENSITY
GEOID
ELLIPSOID
g VECTOR DEFLECTED
DUE TO HIGHER DENSITY
NORMAL TO
ELLIPSOID
x
2
a
2
-----
y
2
a
2
-----
z
2
b
2
----- + + 1 =
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 97
- coordinates of centre (x, y, z)
National Ellipsoids (NAD 27, NAD 83)(North American Datum)
designed to minimize (on a root sum square basis) the difference between the
geoid and the ellipsoid over the area of interest e.g. North America. Europe.
Figure 55:
Examples of Local Ellipsoids
World Ellipsoid (WGS 84)
Due to the advent of satellite navigation (primarily GPS) a world-wide ellipsoid
was required. This was designated WGS (World Geodetic System)
Dimensions of the WGS coordinate system
a
2
b
2
a
--------------------- = f
a b ( )
a
---------------- =
GEOID
ELLIPSOID 1
ELLIPSOID 2
98 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
a = 6378137 m
f = 1/298.257
2
= 2 f - f
2
standard g = 9.78049(1 + 0.00529 sin
2
) m / s
2
Figure 56:
Illustration of Geocentric and
Geodetic Latitude
C

T
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 99
Denitions of Latitude
Geocentric Latitude (
C
) is the angle between the x y plane and the line joining
the centre of the ellipsoid to the point in question. This is not observable
Geodetic Latitude (
T
) is the angle between the x y plane and the normal to the
ellipsoid at the point in question.
Radii of Curvature
In order to convert linear measurements of motion to angular speeds and displace-
ments, local radii of curvature are used. The radius of curvature being simply the
constant of proportionality between differential linear displacements and the corre-
sponding differential angular displacements.
Prime Radius of Curvature
The radius of the best tting circle to a vertical east - west section of the
ellipsoid at the point under consideration
Meridian Radius of Curvature
Radius of the best tting circle to the vertical north - south (meridian) sec-
tion of the ellipsoid at the point under consideration
P
a
1
2
T
( )
2
sin ( )
1
2
---
---------------------------------------------- a 1

2
2
-----
T
( ) sin
2
+ =
100 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Gaussian Radius of Curvature
Radius of the best tting sphere at the point under consideration.
Thus the rate of change of latitude and longitude are
and
where
V
E
= easterly component of velocity
V
N
= northerly component of velocity
h = altitude above ellipsoid
= latitude of aircraft
Coordinate Frames
ECEF (Earth - Centred Earth Fixed)
M
a 1
2
( )
1
2
T
( ) sin
2
,
_
3
2
---
---------------------------------------------- a 1
2 3
2
---
T
( ) sin
2
1
,
_
+ =
G

P

M
a 1

2
2
----- 2
T
( ) cos
,
_
=
V
N
M
h +
----------------- =
T
( ) cos
---------------------
V
E
P
h +
---------------- =
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 101
So-called because it rotates with the earth and it is a cartesian coordinate system
with origin at the earths centre
The x axis lies along the line joining the origin and the intersection of the prime
meridian (which, by denition, passes through Greenwich England, just east of
London) and the Equator. This intersection is located in the Gulf of Guinea, off the
west coast of Africa.
The z axis coincides with the earths spin axis
The y axis completes the right - handed orthogonal system and crosses the earths surface
in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of India
Geocentric Spherical
z
1
- longitude, z
2
- geocentric latitude, z
3
- radius
Geodetic Spherical
z
1
- longitude, z
2
- geodetic latitude, z
3
- height above reference ellipsoid
Generalized Spherical
Direction cosines of a locally level set of z
i
relative to y
i
Transverse pole Spherical Coordinates
102 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Variation of Geocentric Spherical Coordinates
Locally Level Coordinate System
Useful only within a short distance of the point of tangency
(Distance depends on altitude accuracy requirements)
Derivation of Generalized Spherical Coordinates
Transformation Matrices for Rotational Displacement
In two dimensions, coordinate transformation for rotation requires the follow-
ing equations:
or, in matrix form:
where
Three dimensional rotational transformations are done by combinations of two
dimensional transformations. with each rotation being about one of the three
orthogonal axes as follows.
1
x
1
cos x
2
sin + =
x
2
' x
1
sin x
2
cos + =
X' CX =
C
cos sin
sin cos
=
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 103
Rotation about x axis:
Rotation about y axis:
Rotation about z axis:
Derivation of transform matrix from ECEF to generalized spherical coordinates
Note: the order and angles of rotation are not unique for a given location. One common
example is:
a. rotate about z axis by an angle of 90 +
b. rotate about x axis by an angle of 90 -
c. rotate about z axis again by an angle
In matrix form this is:
With substitutions for the (90 - ) and (90 + ) this becomes:
The same Transform Matrix is used for Tangent Plane coordinates except latitude,
longitude and wander angle are xed for the point of tangency.
1 0 0
0
1
cos
1
sin
0
1
sin
1
cos
2
cos 0
2
sin
0 1 0
2
sin 0
2
cos
3
cos
3
sin 0
3
sin
3
cos 0
0 0 1
( ) cos ( ) sin 0
( ) sin ( ) cos 0
0 0 1
1 0 0
0 90 ( ) cos 90 ( ) sin
0 90 ( ) sin 90 ( ) cos
90 + ( ) cos 90 + ( ) sin 0
90 + ( ) sin 90 + ( ) cos 0
0 0 1

( ) cos ( ) sin ( ) sin ( ) sin ( ) cos ( ) ( ) cos ( ) cos ( ) sin ( ) sin ( ) sin ( ) ( ) sin ( ) cos ( )
( ) sin ( ) sin ( ) cos ( ) sin ( ) cos ( ) ( ) sin ( ) cos ( ) cos ( ) sin ( ) sin ( ) ( ) cos ( ) cos ( )
( ) cos ( ) cos ( ) ( ) cos ( ) sin ( ) ( ) sin ( )
104 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
If the above matrix is designated as [C
ij
] then, given the elements of the matrix
one can compute Latitude Longitude and wander angle as follows:
Note for GPS HDOP and VDOP calculations:
Since the GDOP equation provides coefcients for the position errors in ECEF coordi-
nates it is necessary to transform them to a locally level coordinate system to relate
them to local horizontal and vertical errors. i.e.
where the C
i
are the coefcients, in ECEF coordinates, of
2
C
x
, C
y
and C
z
must be converted to locally level coordinate systemby way of the above
matrix.
C
33
asin =
C
32
C
31
--------- atan =
C
13
C
23
--------- atan =
A
T
A [ ]
1
C
x
0 0 0
0 C
y
0 0
0 0 C
z
0
0 0 0 C
T
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 105

Although this may seemformidable, in actual fact the wander angle is usually zero. i.e the
y axis is pointing north and the x axis is pointing east. This simplies the calculations con-
siderably.
Conversion from Geodetic to ECEF Coordinates and Vice Versa
Geodetic to ECEF
where = geodetic latitude, longitude and height above the ellipsoid
= ECEF cartesian coordinate
= the prime radius of curvature
=semi-major earth axis
=semi-minor earth axis
= attening
= eccentricity squared
x N h + ( ) cos cos =
y N h + ( ) sin cos =
z N 1 e
2
( ) h + ( ) [ ] sin =
h , ,
x y z , ,
N ( ) a 1 e
2
( ) sin ( )
2
,
_
=
a
b
f
a b
a
------------ =
e
2
2 f f
2
=
106 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
ECEF to Geodetic
where
and the remainder of the variables are as dened above.
Dead Reckoning Computations
(Dead Reckoning is actually a short form of deduced reckoning_
Flat Earth form uses Groundspeed and True Track
z e'
2
b sin ( )
3
+
p e
2
a cos ( )
3
-------------------------------------
atan =
y
x
---
,
_
atan =
h
p
cos
------------- N ( ) =
p x
2
y
2
+ =
za
pb
-------
,
_
atan = e'
2 a
2
b
2
b
2
----------------- =
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 107
Groundspeed and True track are derived as the vector sum of (Heading/True Air-
speed and (Wind speed/Wind direction)
Heading is the Best Available True Heading (BATH).
This will depend on the data available:
Magnetic Compass: Magnetic heading + east variation
Inertial: heading relative to platform + wander angle
in actual fact, if an inertial system is available it will provide Groundspeed
and True Track directly
NOTE: input of heading and true airspeed allows INS to determine wind
velocity
108 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Figure 57:
Illustration of Factors
Involved in Horizontal Navigation
Figure 58:
Illustration of Factors
Involved in Vertical Navigation
V
E
= earthspeed
V
g
= groundspeed
= pitch angle
TRUE
NORTH
True Heading (
T
)
=sideslip angle
Wind Vector
True Track
V
g
=
groundspeed
vector
V
TAS
=
airspeed
vector
(T
T
)
Drift Angle
()
A
irc
ra
ft c
e
n
tre
lin
e
V
g
Airspeeed
V
w
V
E
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 109

angle of attack (not wander angle in this case)
= drift angle (=T
T
-
)
NOTE: Sideslip angle is usually negligible except under asymmetrical thrust conditions (engine failure)
General Equations for Velocity Components in a moving air mass.
V
north
= V
g
cos (
+) V
g
cos
T
V
east
= = V
g
sin (
+) V
g
sin
T
Since the groundspeed vector is not generally observable and since the air mass in which
the aircraft is ying is usually in motion, more general equations are:
For an aircraft in level ight is zero (pitch angle equals angle of attack) so that in this
case
= True airspeed
Iterative Methods of Determining Position
General Procedure
1. Obtain sufficient radio observations to form a position fix
y y
0
V
north
t d
0
t
=
x x
0
V
east
t d
0
t
=
V
north
V
TAS
( ) cos
T
+ ( ) cos V
wind north
+ =
V
east
V
TAS
( ) cos
T
+ ( ) sin V
wind east
+ =
V
north
V
TAS

T
+ ( ) cos V
wind north
+ =
V
east
V
TAS

T
+ ( ) sin V
wind east
+ =
V
TAS
110 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
2. Estimate position (lat/long)
3. Calculate predicted radio observations for the estimated position.
4. Form difference between predicted and actual radio observations
5. From known relationship between rates of change of position and observations
and position, calculate estimated error in position
6. Compute new position (Original +correction)
7. Go to 3 and repeat until difference between predicted and actual observations are
less than a specified value.
LORAN C
1. Get Time Differences for master and slave (
and
)
2. Estimate position and calculate predicted time difference from
where
S
and
T
are the estimated and ranges to the slave and master stations
L is the baseline distance between the master and slave
D is the coding delay
is the index of refraction over local terrain
is the secondary phase factor correction (an a priori estimate)
3. Calculate difference between predicted and actual time difference
4. Compute new coordinates from
where
and
5. Repeat from 1 until difference in 3. is less than required value
GPS
The estimated corrections are computed from the range equations:
T
T
c
---
,
_
=
S

M
( )
S

M
( )
L
c
------- D
S
+
,
_
+ +
T
A
T
TA
T
OA
=
T
B
T
TB
T
OB
=
2
c
---

S

M
2
----------------------
,
_
sin =
NEW

OLD
1
aD
------- T
A

B
T
B

A
( ) ( ) + =
NEW

OLD
1
aD
------- T
B

A
T
A

B
( ) ( ) + =
i

SMi
( ) sin =
i

SMi
( ) cos =
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 111
1m
x +
1m
y +
1m
z = R
m
and then are used to improve the position estimate and the process is repeated
Error Sources in LORAN C Fix
1. Geodetic Error
Errors in the surveyed positions of the LORAN transmitters
Errors in the surveyed positions of departure point and destination
Note: these errors will probably decrease as better surveys become avail-
able as a result of GPS (especially those errors resulting from changes in
reference ellipsoid.)
2. Receiver/transmitter Error
Rx - typically 0.1s (rms)
Tx - typically 0.03 to 0.3 s
3. Geometric Error
Analogous to GDOP in GPS
Note: most accurate fix occurs when hyperbolas intersect at 90 degrees
(on the base line between two slaves)
Variance:
and Cross Covariance:
The covariance matrix of position errors due to time delay noise is:
N ( )
2

t
2
D
2
-------
1
2
smA
( ) cos
2
2
2
smB
( ) cos
2
+ ( ) =
E ( )
2

t
2
D
2
-------
1
2
smA
( ) sin
2
2
2
smB
( ) sin
2
+ ( ) =
N ( ) E ( )

t
2
D
2
-------
1
2
smA
( )
smA
( ) sin cos
2
2
smB
( )
smB
( ) sin cos + ( ) =
112 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
Method of Steepest Descent (for non linear cases e.g. GPS pseudorange equations)
1. Set up a function of the sum of the squares of the errors resulting from the initial
position estimate
2. Find the partial derivatives of this function with respect to the position variables e.g.
x and y.
3. Change the original position estimate amounts proportional to the partial derivatives.
i.e. choose a step size and multiply it by the partial derivatives to get the next incre-
ments. Note, the step size can be changed from iteration to iteration depending on the
strategy being used.
4. Generate a new sum of squares and compare it to the previous one. If it has
decreased, compute new position estimate and go to 2. If it has increased, decrease the
step size and try again from
step 3.
5. Continue until criteria are met.
Example
Multi-DME fix (3 stations)
Get measured ranges from the 3 DMEs R
1
,R
2
and R
3
. (R
mi
).
Estimate position x
n,
y
n
C [ ]
N ( )
2
N ( ) E ( )
N ( ) E ( )
E ( )
2
=
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 113
Compute estimated ranges
Form error function
compute partial derivatives
compute estimated changes in x and y
where s is the current step size
then
x
n
(new) = x
n
(old) + x
and
y
n
(new) = y
n
(old) + y
R
ni
2
x
n
x
i
( )
2
y
n
y
i
( )
2
+ =
F x y , ( ) R
ni
R
mi
( )
2
=
x
F
and
y
F
x
x
F
s and y
y
F
s = =
114 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
BEST ESTIMATE OF POSITION
PROBLEM:
In multi-sensor navigation systems there can be many different estimates of the
aircraft position. (see cocked hat) Since the idea is to use as much informa-
tion as possible some means of combining data formvarious sources is required
SOLUTION: (See also Forssell Appendix 5 for a full description of least squares meth-
ods and optimum weighting)
The solution is to use a weighted sum of the position estimates using a priori
knowledge of their accuracies
In 1 dimension:
where the w
i
s are the weighting functions as follows:
and
x w
1
x
1
w
2
x
2
w
3
x
3
+ + =
)
w
1
2
2
3
2
D
---------------------- = w
2
1
2
3
2
D
---------------------- = w
3
1
2
2
2
D
---------------------- =
D
1
2
2
2

1
2
3
2

2
2
3
2
+ + =
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 115
where
2
is the variance of the measurement x
i
Example from assignment:
Q
Consider three independent position sensors. The rst two have zero mean error
with standard deviations of 1 and 4 NM respectively. The third has a 2NM bias
(reads higher than true position) and a 6 NM standard deviation.
What is the form of the equation for the best estimate of position in terms of the
three measurements? Show the weighting functions numerically
A.
s
1
2
= 1 s
2
2
= 16 s
3
2
= 36
D = (1)(16) + (16)(36) + (36)(1) = 628
x w
1
x
1
w
2
x
2
w
3
x
3
2 ( ) + + =
w
1
2
2
3
2
D
----------------------
16 ( ) 36 ( )
628
--------------------------
576
628
--------- = = =
w
2
1
2
3
2
D
----------------------
1 ( ) 36 ( )
628
-----------------------
36
628
--------- = = =
116 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
w
1
+ w
2
+ w
3
= 1 therefore w
3
= 1 - (w
1
+ w
2
) =
therefore
DETERMINISTICALLY BIASED SENSORS
These sensors have errors whose form but not magnitudes are known
e.g. Position Error of an Inertial Navigation System
where the errors are initially unknown but are constant during
ight
Assume all xed sensor errors have the form:
where
x
T
= true position
x
iD
= deterministic error
x
iR
= random error
16
628
---------
x
576
628
--------- x
1
36
628
--------- x
2
16
628
--------- x
3
2 ( ) + + =
x x
0
x
0
t a t
1
S
-------
S
t ( ) sin
,
_
,
_
+ + =
x
0
x
0
, and a
x
i
x
T
x
iD
x
iR
+ + =
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 117
and the randomerrors are stationary, that is, their statistics do not change with time
Then the optimum position estimate is:
Notes:
Inertial sensor errors can be measured using other position xing sensors
Thus the accuracy of the inertial dead reckoning data is improved
The amount of data required to get a good estimate depends on the correla-
tion
time of the noise.
If the correlation time is long then a longer time is required to get a good
measurement.
Course Computation
Although the best estimate of position is very useful information, it is quite dif-
cult
for the pilot to use in its raw form (Lat/Long or x,y)
The pilot wants to know such information as:
x x
1
x
1D
w
2
x
2
x
1
x
2D
x
2D
+ ( ) w
3
x
3
x
1
x
3D
x
3D
+ ( ) + + =
118 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
What is the direction to my destination?
What is the distance to my destination?
How far off track am I and in what direction?
When will I reach the destination (or next way point)?
Answering these questions is the responsibility of the course computer
Range and Bearing Calculations (unsubscripted variables refer to the aircraft position,
variables with subscript T refer to the destination or target)
Flat Earth Approximation
Range
Bearing (True)
Bearing (Relative)
NOTE: If and are less than 1/3 radian, the plane triangle solution
exceeds the spherical triangle solution by a range where
and are in nautical miles.
R x x
T
( )
2
y y
T
( )
2
+ [ ]
1
2
---
=
B
T
y y
T
x x
T
---------------
,

_
atan =
B
R
B
T

T
where
T
is the aircraft heading =

R
x
2
y tan
6880R
---------------------- = x
y
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 119
For More Accurate Requirements (at Longer Distances)
Use Spherical Trigonometry
Range
Bearing
Note that Gaussian radius of curvature is used for range calculation
For the Applications Requiring the Most Accuracy (e.g. iterative computations of LORAN
C position)
where
R
G
-------
,
_
cos ( ) sin
T
( ) sin ( ) cos
T
( ) cos
T
( ) cos + =
B
T
( ) sin
T
( ) cos
T
( ) sin
R
G
-------
,
_
sin
------------------------------------------------------- =
R a
af
4
------ mu nv + ( ) =
120 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
This is accurate to 10m on any reference ellipsoid.
Note: the subscripts i denote the variables associated with the transmitter (in
LORAN C) or the target (destination)
( ) tan
C
2
( ) cos C
1
( ) sin +
C
3
----------------------------------------------------------------- =
C
1

i
( ) cos
T
( ) sin =
C
2
( )
i
( ) sin cos ( ) sin
i
( ) cos
T
( ) cos =
C
3
( ) sin
i
( ) sin ( ) cos
i
( ) cos
T
( ) cos =
( ) tan 1 f ( ) ( ) tan =
i
( ) tan 1 f ( )
i
( ) tan =
m ( ) sin
i
( ) sin + ( )
2
=
n
( ) sin
i
( ) sin +
( ) sin
----------------------------------------
,
_
2
=
u
1 ( ) cos
( ) sin
-------------------------
,
_
( ) sin
( ) sin
-------------------------
,
_
=
v 1 ( ) cos + ( ) ( ) sin + ( ) =
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 121
Course Computation
There are two main modes of steering: Direct and Airway. In the direct mode the
aircraft is steered directly towards the destination from its present position. In air-
122 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
way steering the aircraft is own along a predetermined track over the ground.
Figure 59:
Definitions for Course Computation
Direct Steering
The course computer calculates the ground speed V
1
along the direction to the
destination and V
2
normal to the great circle track to the destination. The objec-
tive is to maintain V
2
as close to zero as possible.
The lateral steering command in an aircraft is the bank angle which determines
the rate of change of heading through the formula:
where is the rate of change of heading is the airspeed and is the bank
angle.
The bank command to the autopilot for direct steering is
Note:
The second term is included to allow some anticipation when the aircraft
approaches the correct course.
g
V
a
-------
,
_
tan =
V
a

c
K
1
V
2
K
2
V
2
+ =
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 123
The bank angle is also limited to about 15 to avoid violent maneuvers when V
2
is
large
V
2
is computed as the dot product of the aircraft velocity and the unit vector nor-
mal to the great circle route connecting the aircraft position to the destination. The
latter is:
Airway Steering
In airway steering, the navigation system attempts to drive the cross track error (L
in the above diagram) to zero using a version of the following equation:
The angle to go to Waypoint 2 is computed in angular form as
The distance and time to go are computed as above
The across track deviation in angular form is
u
R
2
R
3
R
2
R
3
---------------------- =
c
K
1
L K
2
L
K
3
L t d
+ + =
R
3
R
1
R
3
R
1
---------------------- asin
R
3
R
3
---------
R
1
R
2
R
1
R
2
----------------------
,

_
asin
124 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
APPENDIXAPPENDIX I
LEAST SQUARES SOLUTION
- GPS POSITION CALCULATIONS FOR MORE THAN 4 SATELLITES
Original Range Equations
Residuals are the difference between the calculated range and the measured range
Differentiaing and setting to zero
Solve for delta x:
Which works for any number of satellites
x A
1
r =
R x ( ) Ax p ( )
2
x ( )
T
A
T
A x ( ) 2 x ( )
T
A
T
p p
2
+ = =
R 2A
T
Ax 2A
T
p 0 = =
x A
T
A ( )
1
A
T
p =
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 125
APPENDIXAPPENDIX II
DOPPLER SHIFT
If a transmitter of a periodic wave of frequency (whose speed in the medium is ) is
moving with respect to the receiver of the wave, and the relative speed between them is
then the frequency of the signal as observed by the receiver is the original frequency
shifted by approximately This is shown by the following development:
and
from gure above
inverting
therefore
f
0
c
v
f f
0
v
c
-- =
Position of
radiator at
t
0
Position of
radiator at
t
0
+T
0
c/f
0
D

0
- vT
Receiving Antenna
0
c
f
0
------ = T
1
f
0
------ =
D

0
vT =
c
f
0
------
v
f
0
------
,
_
=
1
D
------- f
0
1
c v
----------- =
126 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
expanding,
but since (usually)
but where is the observed Doppler frequency.
The Doppler shift is the observed change in frequency
and (for )
c
D
------- f
0
c
c v
----------- = f
0
1
1
v
c
--
----------- =
1
1
v
c
--
----------- 1
v
c
--
v
c
--
,
_
2
v
c
--
,
_
n
+ + + + + =
v
c
-- 1
c
D
------- f
0
1
v
c
-- +
,
_
D
------- f
D
= f
D
f
D
f
0
f =
f f
0
v
c
-- =
v
c
-- 1
navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06 127
APPENDIX III
PHASE LOCKED LOOPS (PLL)
The phase locked loop is a very useful circuit in modern communications systems and can
be used as FMand PMdemodulaters, tracking lters and as the integral part of frequency
synthesizers.
The PLL consists of three main parts: a voltage controlled osecillator (VCO), a phase
detector (PD) and a loop lter (LF).
The VCO is simply an oscillator whose frequency can be varied by an external voltage.
The ouput of the phase detector is a function of the phase difference between two input
signals. Two examples are the diode mixer and the Gilbert multipier
The Lop Filter is a low pass lter whose characteristics almost completely determine the
performance of the PLL.
These are connected as shown below:
Thus if there is a phase difference between the RF input and the VCO output, the error sig-
nal produced by the PD will change the frequency of the VCO such that the phase differ-
ence is reduced. In the steady state case, the frequency of the VCO is exactly the same as
that of the input signal although there may be a small phase offset voltage.
If RF input is phase modulated, and the LF has a low frequency cutoff, the VCO output
will be at a constant frequency and the output of the PD will be proportional to the modu-
lating signal. Because of the low pass lter u
2
will be almost DC.
Thus the PLL is a PM demodulator
If the RF input is frequency modulated and the loop lter has a cutoff frequency above the
modulating frequency, the error signal will pass throug the lter and the VCO will track
VCO
LF
RF IN
PD
u
1
u
2
128 navnotes_2006.mif 1/31/06
the input signal with some phase delay. Thus the input to the VCO u
2
will be propor-
tional to the modulation frequency.
This PLL is a FM discriminator
The overall loop bandwidth is usually much less than the bandwidth of the LF and thus
it is possible to make loops with very long time constants. In this case the PLL ca be
made to track intermittent signals such as LORAN C pulses or signals with low signal
to noise ratios.
Another application is in frequency synthesizers. These are circuits which can produce
signals at accurate frequencies over a very wide range.
As shown, the VCO frequency is divided by n and compared to the reference signal
which, in this case is 1 MHz. The loop will lock when the VCO output frequency is n
MHz.
Thus this circuit can synthesize signals with frequencies of multiples of 1 MHz with
accuracy comparable to that of the reference.
Note:
The above descriptions are very simplied. For more detailed information consult ref-
erencees such as:
A.Blanchard, Phase Locked Loops. New York: Wiley, c1976
D. Wolaver, Phase Locked Loop Circuit Design. Englewood Cliffs NJ, 1991
Accurate
Reference
Signal
VCO
n
e.g. 1MHz
nMHz
1 MHz

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Detector Characteristics for

= Earth rotation rate

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