Signal structure of the Chinese Area Positioning System

Proper signal structure is very important in the navigation, positioning, and time services of a satellite navigation system. In this paper, the carrier wave characteristics, ranging code functions, BOC modulation, navigation data rate, the error-correcting methods, and signal channel resource allocation are discussed in terms of the technical characteristics of the transforming satellite navigation system and the resources of communication satellites. The results show that dual-frequency of C band in the Chinese Area Positioning System (CAPS), compound ranging code, a combination of the coarse code and precise code, BOC modulation, separate-channel transmission of different users are compatible with the satellite navigation system at present. The experiments show that the current signal structure can meet the demand of CAPS. Supported by the Major Knowledge Innovation Programs of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KGCX1-21), the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2004AA105030), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10453001), and the Major State Basic Research Development Program of China (Grant No. 2007CB815502)