[time-nuts] Trimble Resolution SMT - good/bad/indifferent?

[Jim Lux]

On 5/11/12 4:34 AM, shalimr9 at gmail.com wrote:
> Yes, I moved them yesterday
>
> Didier KO4BB
>
> ------Original Message------
> From: Mark Sims
> Sender: time-nuts-bounces at febo.com
> To: Time-Nuts
> ReplyTo: Time-Nuts
> Subject: [time-nuts] Trimble Resolution SMT - good/bad/indifferent?
> Sent: May 10, 2012 11:02 PM
>
>
> Why in the hell would anybody build a 50 channel receiver?  At most you MIGHT see 12 usable GPS sats...  I don't think that I've seen over 10.  WAAS should be fairly useless for a timing receiver.
>
> Supposedly the Nortel NTGS50AA docs and support info (including GPSMONITOR were uploaded to the KO4BB site). 		 	   		
> _______________________________________________
>


"channel" in GPS receiver speak is more than a single satellite..  L1 + 
L2 + L5 would be three channels.

Sometimes the P/Y code is considered a separate channel.

And when you start adding in other constellations and S/Vs (QZSS, 
Galileo, GLONASS), you add channels.


ANd here's another reason to claim "X channels" where "Y<<X" is the most 
you're likely to use.  It gives an indication of processor/FPGA 
resources consumed, and can be used to estimate "margin" in a 
utilization review.

For instance, if I've demonstrated acquiring and tracking 100 "channels" 
in the lab, and I know I'm never going to see more than, say, 12, in the 
field, then it is unlikely that there's some obscure timing/processor 
loading bug that's going to cause a problem.