GPS Receiver Test

National Instruments supplies flexible software tools and modular RF instrumentation for testing global positioning system (GPS) receivers. Design and test engineers can combine these tools to generate coarse acquisition (C/A) codes in the L1 band and perform measurements such as sensitivity, position accuracy, and time to first fix (TTFF). Benefits of using NI GPS tools include:

Record and playback of up to 25 hours of live GPS signals
Low-cost simulation of up to 12 simultaneous satellites
Custom satellite parameter configuration including time of week, location, and receiver velocity
Multiple wireless protocol test with software-defined instrumentation

Technical Resources

Introduction to GPS

This tutorial describes the GPS wireless standard and highlights general test techniques.

Tutorial on GPS Receiver Testing

This application note explains how to test GPS receivers using simulated or recorded GPS satellite signals.

Demo of Software-Defined RF Instrumentation for Multistandard Testing

This demonstration shows NI software-defined instrumentation testing WCDMA, WiMAX, and GPS devices.

Sofware for RF Record and Playback

This reference architecture provides RF resources, including NI LabVIEW code for record and playback of off-the-air RF signals.

Example Systems

NI GPS Toolkit for LabVIEW

Combine the LabVIEW GPS toolkit with NI RF instrumentation to simulate satellite signals and perform many common GPS tests.

Averna GPS Test System

Learn how this GPS test system harnesses the power of NI GPS test tools and offers additional software for terrestrial and satellite radio test.