Jul 16, 2009
Application Note Page 1 of 2
NovAtel Inc. 1120 – 68th Avenue N.E. Calgary, AB, Canada T2E 8S5
Tel: (403) 295-4500
Fax: (403) 295-4501 Internet: http://www.novatel.com Email:
gps@novatel.com
GPS L5 Tracking
1 Introduction
The first GPS satellite with the L5 safety-of-life signal was launched in March 2009, and the signal is now
available for tracking. In OEMV-3 firmware version 3.700, NovAtel is introducing L5 support,
specifically L1-assisted L5 tracking. This means that before L5 can be tracked, the receiver must already
be tracking L1. If L1 is lost, however, the receiver will continue to track L5.
2 Tracking and Logging L5
You can track L5 signals using the following OEMV-3 models:
OEMV-3 Model Channels
OEMV-3-L1L5 0 to 13 GPS L1
14 to 19 GPS L5
20 to 21 SBAS
OEMV-3-L1L2L5 0 to 13 GPS L1/L2
14 to 19 GPS L5
20 to 21 SBAS
Use the ASSIGN command to turn on L5 tracking, as shown in the following example:
ASSIGN 14 1
In this example, channel 14 will track the L5 channel on PRN 1. Once you are tracking L5, you can output
the information to the appropriate log, for instance, TRACKSTAT or RANGE, as shown in the following
examples, in which the logs for the L5 signal are shown in red:
#RANGEA,COM1,0,63.5,FINESTEERING,1533,460334.000,00000000,5103,4349;
25,
1,0,21617023.671,0.038,-113598256.712967,0.009,2248.891,49.6,6014.310,98109c04,
1,0,21617020.520,0.068,-88518125.596773,0.009,1752.379,44.4,5995.180,91309c0b,
29,0,24516209.518,0.066,-128833561.168401,0.013,3184.453,44.7,1452.680,08109c24,
29,0,24516207.924,0.173,-100389778.735033,0.015,2481.391,36.4,1258.660,01309c2b,
.
.
.
2,0,20361456.804,0.031,-107000210.464072,0.004,638.387,51.4,9991.760,18109d84,
2,0,20361451.928,0.051,-83376765.562276,0.005,497.441,47.0,9933.380,11309d8b,
1,0,21617223.824,0.016,-84830632.714179,0.013,1679.238,43.8,1359.720,89c03dc4
*da29b559
#TRACKSTATA,COM1,0,63.5,FINESTEERING,1533,460334.000,00000000,457c,4349;SOL_COMPUTED,
SINGLE,0.0,36,
1,0,98109c04,21617023.671,2248.891,49.575,6014.310,0.000,BADHEALTH,0.000,
1,0,91309c0b,21617020.520,1752.379,44.399,5995.180,0.000,OBSL2,0.000,
29,0,08109c24,24516209.518,3184.453,44.712,1452.680,0.217,GOOD,0.240,
NovAtel Application Note
29,0,01309c2b,24516207.924,2481.391,36.397,1258.660,0.000,OBSL2,0.000,
.
.
.
2,0,18109d84,20361456.804,638.387,51.360,9991.760,-0.257,GOOD,0.249,
2,0,11309d8b,20361451.928,497.441,47.000,9933.380,0.000,OBSL2,0.000,
0,0,080081a0,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,NA,0.000,
0,0,012081a8,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,NA,0.000,
1,0,89c03dc4,21617223.824,1679.238,43.827,1359.720,0.000,UNKNOWN,0.000,
0,0,89c021e0,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,NA,0.000,
0,0,89c02200,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,NA,0.000,
0,0,89c02220,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,NA,0.000,
0,0,89c02240,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,NA,0.000,
0,0,89c02260,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,NA,0.000,
0,0,0c022280,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,NA,0.000,
0,0,0c0222a0,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,NA,0.000*117d7417
To cancel L5 tracking in our example, you must issue one of the following command:
ASSIGN 14 idle
Note:
The ASSIGN “auto” option is not available for GPS L5.
3 Customer Service Contact Information
If you require any further information regarding the topics covered within this application, please contact:
NovAtel Customer Service
1120 – 68 Ave. N.E.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2E 8S5
Phone: 1-800-NOVATEL (in Canada or the U.S.) or +1-403-295-4500
Fax: 403-295-4501
E-mail: support@novatel.ca
Website: www.novatel.com
APN-055 Rev 1 GPS L5 Tracking page 2 of 2
