News | June 29, 2010

New GPS 8-Channel Simulator For In-line Manufacturing Testing Of Navigational Capabilities

An affordable 8-channel GPS simulator provides fast yet comprehensive navigational, position and timing testing for devices with GPS receivers

Spectracom, a company of the Orolia Group and a global provider of time and frequency test and measurement solutions, recently announced its new 8-channel GPS constellation simulator. The Pendulum GSG-54 provides a wide-range of capabilities for in-line production testing of devices integrating GPS receivers due to its ease-of-operation and fast test cycles. Its versatility also supports engineering organizations' efforts for integrating GPS receivers into devices under development.

As more and more electronic devices integrate GPS receivers, manufacturers require instrumentation to fully test the GPS capabilities of each device on the manufacturing floor. According to Staffan Johansson, Spectracom Product Manager, "We understand the need for high-throughput manufacturing testing of GPS receivers. A multi-channel GPS simulator must be easy to use, yet powerful enough to confirm each device's performance under a variety of real-world conditions."

The Pendulum GSG-54 simulates the satellite signals detected by a GPS receiver with exceptional versatility. It comes in a bench-top chassis that is compact, portable, and easy to set up. It offers built-in standards-based test scenarios that can be initiated or modified on the fly from the intuitive front panel interface. Or, use a variety of connectivity options to control and reconfigure test parameters.

The GSG-54 GPS constellation simulator builds on the features available from Spectracom's GSG-L1 single channel GPS signal generator that offers simple but very fast assembly verification for functions such as antenna connectivity, receiver operation, or satellite signal identification. The GSG-54 provides for many more test cases due to its ability to simulate 8 different satellite signals to test position accuracy, sensitivity to loss of satellite signals, timing accuracy, and dynamic range. It can simulate movements and user trajectories, multi-path scenarios and various other atmospheric conditions.

Lisa Withers, President and CEO of Spectracom, adds, "We are pleased to offer a fully functional GPS constellation simulator to the line of Pendulum test & measurement instruments. Like our other products, the GSG-54 offers the lowest cost of ownership for manufacturers and development engineers by providing complete testing of multi-channel GPS performance with high throughput and ease-of-use without unnecessary complexity or expense."

About Spectracom
Spectracom, a company of the Orolia Group, supports a variety of applications in vital communications networks and high throughput test & measurement throughout the world. Our products, systems and services enable our customer's success by Synchronizing Critical Operations. We offer outstanding customer service backed by continuous certification to ISO9001 and other quality programs in locations covering the globe. For more information, visit www.spectracomcorp.com.

About Orolia
Orolia is a high-technology group specialized in precise Positioning, Navigation and Timing. Orolia provides high-precision electronics equipments that generate, distribute, measure and process the High-precision Time & Frequency signals that Critical Operations use to detect, trace, control, analyze or synchronize time and location-critical events. High-precision timing, positioning and synchronization solutions are vital for critical applications in growing markets such as Defense, Public Safety, and Telecom & Broadcasting in land, maritime, air or space environments. Since 2006, the Orolia group has been able to establish itself as one of the leaders in PNT solutions at a global level through five companies: Spectracom, SpectraTime, T4Science, McMurdo and Kannad. Orolia's headquarters are located in Les Ulis, (France). The company also has main offices in Neuchâtel (Switzerland), Stockholm (Sweden), Rochester (New York), Basingstoke (UK), Portsmouth (UK) and Guidel (France).

SOURCE: Spectracom