Efficient GPS receiver DCB estimation for ionosphere modeling using satellite-receiver geometry changes

Abstract

A new and efficient algorithm using the geometry conditions between satellite and tracking receivers is proposed to determine the receiver differential code bias (DCB) using permanent reference stations. This method does not require a traditional single-layer ionosphere model and can be used for estimating DCBs of receivers in a regional network as long as one of the receiver DCBs is already known. The main underlying rationale for this algorithm is that the magnitude of the signal delay caused by the ionosphere is, under normal conditions, highly dependent on the geometric range between the satellite and the receiver. The proposed algorithm was tested with the Ohio Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) sub-network data. The results show that quality comparable to the traditional DCB estimation method is obtainable by implementing this simple algorithm.