Evaluating Common-View Time Transfer Using a Low-Cost Dual-Frequency GNSS Receiver

Published

February 15, 2024

Author(s)

Aidan Montare, Andrew Novick, Jeffrey Sherman

Abstract

Common-view time transfer can be performed using either single (L1) or dual (L1/L2) frequency global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals. Using dual-frequency receivers for common-view has advantages but has historically been of significantly higher cost. In this work we evaluate the performance of a common-view time transfer system based on a new low-cost dual-frequency GNSS receiver. The receiver features built-in time-tagging capabilities, reducing overall system cost by eliminating separate time-interval counter hardware. We compare this system to an existing common-view system that uses external time-interval counters and a single-frequency receiver. Based on prior work, we expect short-baseline common-clock measurements to have a time deviation statistic evaluated at 1 day of less than 1 ns, and that the increased short-term noise of integrated time-tagging functionality versus a dedicated time-interval counter will become inconsequential at averaging intervals of 5 minutes or more. We compare the systems in terms of both position determination and time transfer performance, including diurnal variations. We also compare integrated versus separate time-interval counter functionalities over various averaging intervals. We evaluate time transfer performance in a variety of scenarios, including common-antenna common-clock, short baseline common-clock, and medium-to-long baseline with different clocks. In these experiments, we aim to demonstrate that modern systems can achieve equivalent performance at lower cost, providing a robust foundation for future measurements.

Proceedings Title

Proceedings of the 55th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting

Conference Dates

January 22-25, 2024

Conference Location

Long Beach, CA, US

Conference Title

Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting

Pub Type

Conferences

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.33012/2024.19586

Local Download

Keywords

gnss, common-view, time transfer, dual-frequency, tmas

Citation

Montare, A. , Novick, A. and Sherman, J. (2024), Evaluating Common-View Time Transfer Using a Low-Cost Dual-Frequency GNSS Receiver, Proceedings of the 55th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting, Long Beach, CA, US, [online], https://doi.org/10.33012/2024.19586, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=957345 (Accessed October 17, 2025)