SDR-based system for satellite ranging measurements

In this article we describe how we used the pseudonoise (PN) techniques to perform ranging measurements on a geostationary satellite with a low-cost system consisting of a software algorithm, developed by means of an open-source programming environment, and supported by inexpensive programmable hardware. The system is based on software defined radio (SDR), a technique that is becoming more widespread whose use was approved by the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2004 [12]. SDR allows the use of radio transceivers with minimal hardware, by replacing some hardware devices with rewritable software and editable algorithms. The biggest advantage of the SDR is the opportunity to reconfigure and modify the transceiver system characteristics according to the peculiarities of different standards. Examples of use of SDR are Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Global System for Mobile (GSM), Digital Video Broadcast (DVB)-S/DVB-S2/DVB-T, Wimax, etc., where a common hardware is compatible with all of the above Telecommunications Standards.