Validação de um Monitor GPS de Baixo Custo para Monitoramento de Sinais de Satélites na Banda L1

Abstract

There are many environmental factors that can affect GPS (Global Positioning System) performance, but ionospheric scintillation is one of the most significant phenomena. They result in rapid changes in the amplitude and phase of the GPS signal that crosses the ionosphere, which can, in extreme cases, even interrupt the receiver's communication with the satellite and vice versa. Faced with this problem, ionospheric scintillation has become a frequent target of study and investigation in recent decades. In Brazil, for example, there are four centers or research laboratories that carry out the monitoring of ionospheric scintillation events through the radio signals emitted by the satellites of the GPS constellation. Since the ionospheric scintillation monitor used by monitoring stations is a very expensive piece of equipment, costing up to US$20,000, several studies have been carried out to develop low-cost equipment to monitor ionospheric irregularities. These low-cost receivers must meet minimal technical requirements and have a total cost of up to US$100.00. Thus, the purpose of this work is to propose and validate the operation of a low-cost GPS satellite signal monitor, using the GPS Breakout Adafruit Ultimate v3 in conjunction with the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B platform.