The tiny 1-inch square Micro-Transcoder module allows glue-less retrofitting of existing GPS equipment by upgrading the customer’s GPS system with secure and assured PNT capability. The Micro-Transcoder is a full-constellation, stand-alone, real-time 10-channel GPS simulator.

The Micro-Transcoder achieves hardening of the customer’s GPS equipment by splicing the unit in-between the existing antenna and the user’s GPS receiver and taking the output of any secure PNT source such as INS, SAASM, M-code, or concurrent GNSS receiver and encoding (RF modulating) the baseband PNT and UTC timing information into a standard GPS L1 RF signal. This RF signal can then be received by any legacy GPS receiver. The unit can act as a GPS Firewall to identify and block jamming and spoofing attempts and to provide an alternate PNT source during fully GPS-denied operation. The unit is based on the popular CLAW GPS Simulator and RSR Transcoder™ technologies. It includes a stand-alone full-constellation 10-channel real-time GPS simulator with integrated high-stability timing reference and an internal GNSS receiver for monitoring the RF output signal for quality and accuracy. The unit will transmit a standard UTC time, position, velocity, and heading GPS L1 RF signal by simply applying 3.3V power.

The Micro-Transcoder can also be operated as a generic high-performance GPS simulator with a built-in GPS Disciplined Oscillator (GPSDO). The Micro-Transcoder is supported by the SimCon software application, which allows control of all the simulation aspects, creates and stores simulation vector commands, and tests user equipment for leap-second and GPS week rollover event compatibility to identify weaknesses in user equipment. The unit does not require an external PC to operate, making embedded operation as easy as applying power and connecting the units’ RF output to the antenna input of any GPS receiver.

The Micro-Transcoder receives baseband NMEA or SCPI PNT information alongside external 1 PPS timing pulses through its two serial and 1 PPS ports and can be directly connected to external GNSS, or INS PNT sources via the serial port. The unit then transcodes these baseband PNT signals into a GPS L1 RF signal with typically less than 100 ms latency. UTC 1PPS timing-transfer accuracy generally is better than 5 ns. The unit requires only 3.3 V to operate, and setup and location information can optionally be stored in internal NV memory.