Rapid acquisition of CM and CL code for GPS L2C software receivers

Abstract

The GPS modernization program offered a new civil signal on the L2 band, and the first modernized GPS Block IIR satellite was launched in September 2005. Currently, eight GPS Block IIRM satellites and two Block IIF satellites transmit L2C signal. The L2C signal contains two codes of CM and CL that are much longer than the L1 C/A code. Thus, the acquisition of the CM and CL codes takes more time compared with that of L1 C/A code. Under the assumption that the L2C signal is strong enough for detection, this paper suggests rapid acquisition methods for the GPS L2C signals for software receivers and compares its performance with that of other methods.