Austin, Tex. — National Instruments has expanded its NI RF PXI platform with the release of its GPS Toolkit for LabVIEW that delivers multi-satellite GPS signal simulation. Using NI LabVIEW software to create waveforms that simulate up to 12 satellites (C/A codes in the L1 band), engineers can test receiver characteristics such as sensitivity, time to first fix (TTFF) and position accuracy with the NI PXIe-5672 RF vector signal generator.
With the new toolkit, engineers can use a combination of simulated and recorded GPS waveforms as a comprehensive, low-cost solution for receiver design validation and verification. By recording live GPS signals off the air with an NI PXI-5661 RF vector signal analyzer and an NI PXI-5690 pre-amplifier (low-noise amplifier), engineers can capture GPS signals with natural impairments that a receiver would observe in the real world. They also can generate both simulated and recorded signals with the NI PXIe-5672 RF vector signal generator, by continuously streaming GPS waveforms from hard disk.
With a 2 TB redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID) hard drive option, engineers can generate up to 12.5 minutes of non-repeating simulated waveform or 25 hours of continuous recorded GPS signal to test how the receiver responds to a broad range of circumstances.
Engineers can combine the GPS Toolkit with the NI Modulation Toolkit for LabVIEW, NI TestStand test management software and PXI RF modular instrumentation for a complete low-cost production test solution, said NI. Because PXI modular instrumentation is purely software-defined, the same PXI system can test wireless devices that use other standards such as RDS, WiFi, GSM, WCDMA, Bluetooth and DVB.
Pricing: The GPS Toolkit for LabView is priced from $1,999.
Product information: GPS Toolkit for LabView, LabView, and PXIe-5672 RF vector signal generator, PXI-5661 RF vector signal analyzer and PXI-5690 pre-amplifier
National Instruments, 1-800-258-7022, www.ni.com
