7:00 - 9:15 pm, Monday, String 5
530: Comm Theory Basis of GPS, DGPS and Nav/Comm Systems

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In order to gain an understanding of GPS design principles, and optimize the benefits of integrated navigation and communication system architectures, GPS engineers and project managers need to understand the basics of modern communications theory. It provides the basis for GPS link budget analysis, RF interference assessment, and integrated architectures where GPS is incorporated in, or associated with, a communications system.
This course provides an overview of the key concepts of probability theory, modulation/demodulation, coding and data compression and link budget analysis. Key principles are illustrated with practical GPS and communication system examples.

Dr. Stephen Heppe
The Insitu Group

Fundamentals
• Key definitions and distributions
• Derivation based on probability theory
• Communications capacity calculations

Modulation and Detection Theory
• Survey of popular modulation techniques for GPS and communication 
   applications
• Receiver design principles and optimum decision rules for data
   detection (GPS and generalized communications systems)
• Derivation of bit error rate (BER) and examples

Link Budget Analysis and Case Studies
• Impact of waveform, coding, diversity, error sources
• Link budget examples: GPS downlink; line-of-sight DGPS data link,
   repeatered link, processed two-way data link

Level: Basic knowledge of algebra and trigonometry is assumed.