What is SDR

Software-defined radios (SDR) are gradually becoming a practical option for implementing RF communication systems due to their low cost, off-the-shelf availability, and flexibility. Although the analog limitations of the hardware devices in these systems create barriers to some applications, creative algorithms in digital signal processing (DSP) can improve the results. In some cases, this improvement is essential to establishing a robust and reliable communication. The universal software radio peripheral (USRP) is a popular hardware that can be used alongside the SDR. Among many capabilities of USRP and its changeable daughter boards is receiving GPS signals. The GPS satellites transmit data on two main frequencies, L1 (1575.42 MHz) and L2 (1227.60 MHz). In this chapter, the focus is on describing a detailed implementation of the real-time DSP-based algorithm for USRP to detect GPS signal, namely the L1 band that transmits at 1575.42 MHz.