Telestream

GNSS Technical Brief

Global Navigation Satellite Systems as a

Master Clock and Reference Signal for
SDI, IP, and Hybrid Media Infrastructures
Introduction
Satellite systems that provide longitude, latitude, and altitude information serve many purposes beyond providing
navigation for your car or airplane. The Global Positioning System (GPS), and other Global Navigation Satellite Systems
(GNSS) around the world, provide an essential fourth measurement - extremely accurate time. Every satellite holds at
least one atomic clock that is used to place tremendously accurate continuous time into the GNSS signals. A GNSS
receiver, like the one in the SPG9000 master timing and reference system, decodes the signal from multiple satellites
and extracts the time data. Essentially each receiver is synchronized to the most accurate known timing source – an
atomic clock. Any business, from high-frequency stock trading to telecommunications, to electrical power grid man-
agement, to broadcasters and media organizations can receive and use time that is accurate to within a few nanosec-
onds. This does not mean that you can time your entire business this accurately. But it does mean that the timing
accuracy you accomplish with the Precision Time Protocol (PTP) is getting its reference time from a very accurate
starting point.

GNSS As a Source for Facility Timing

Global Navigation Satellite Systems can be used for broadcast and media facility synchronization by integrating a
receiver into a synchronization generator. The receiver acquires timing information from several satellites. The first
GNSS was the United States’ GPS system, which was based on 24 orbiting satellites. At least four signals must be
available for the receiver to calculate position and time information. Each satellite transmits messages that provide a
timestamp and the satellite’s position at the time of transmission. The GNSS receiver uses these messages to deter-
mine the transit time for each message. From this, the receiver can compute the distance to each satellite. Thus, the
receiver determines positional information and, specific to our purposes, the time delta between its internal time and
the time provided by the visible satellites.

There is such a GNSS receiver inside the SPG9000 timing and reference system. It is enabled with an optional
software license key. It provides a regular pulse and time-of-day information. That data is used to lock the generator’s
internal system clock and to provide outbound time of day information, such as PTP or time code. With GNSS, many
locations around the globe can be locked to an identical, super-accurate reference. In this way, facilities throughout the
world may be synchronized using the SPG9000 and its GNSS receiver.

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DIAGRAM 1
GNSS
Antenna
RF Cable
Let’s Take a Step Back
We have mentioned both GPS and GNSS, but we have
yet to explain their relationship. Now is a good time to
do that. The GPS system was the first satellite-based
global navigation system but it is not the last. Today,
DIAGRAM 2
America’s GPS is only one of several GNSS satellite
constellations. Hence, “GNSS” refers to a superset of
systems of which “GPS” is but one implementation.
GNSS implementations include GPS, of course, but
also Russia’s Global Navigation Satellite System
(GLONASS), the European Union’s Global Satellite
Navigation System (Galileo), China’s BeiDou Navigation
Satellite System (BDS), and Japan’s Quasi-Zenith
GNSS
Satellite System (QZSS). No matter which GNSS
Antenna
technology is being used in a particular geographic
location, all GNSS satellites provide equally accurate
Booster required to reject interfering signals at other
Cable 1
timing. This is because the trilateration on which
position and time are determined is similar for all
topologies. While implementation details may vary,
position and time of day are set by evaluating time
delay. In other words, all GNSS systems provide roughly
equally accurate clocks.
GNSS Antenna Location
We mentioned earlier that the GNSS receiver is in-built
into the SPG9000 so the required hardware is installed
by default. However, the SPG9000-GNSS optional
software must be licensed to enable it. Furthermore, a
GNSS antenna (such as Option SPG9000-ACC-ANT)
must be attached and located in an area with a clear
view of the sky. Otherwise, it cannot receive signals
from the multiple required satellites.
Telestream
GNSS
Technical Brief
Internal GNSS Receiver
Time Data
1 PPS
SPG9000
If objects like trees and buildings block the antenna’s
view of the sky, the number of satellites available will be
limited. Thus, antenna site selection is crucial. You must
also consider the appropriate antenna, cable length,
and power amplifier (if required) to ensure the GNSS
signal can be decoded by the receiver. Antenna
systems vary depending on the operating environment
and safety / regulatory requirements. Therefore, there
are trade-offs to be made when selecting system
components.
 
GNSS Cables, Filters, and Amplifiers
A GNSS antenna requires appropriate gain and may
need amplification to permit the signal to be driven
along the necessary length of cable. Filtering may also
be Amp
Cable 2
frequencies. The GNSS receiver in the SPG9000 can
provide antenna power at either 5V or 3.3V or can
disable DC power if an external power supply is used.
Care should be taken to ensure the equipment meetsSPG9000
OPTIONAL
the voltage and current requirements of the specific
device.
The length and type of cable used will determine the
attenuation of the GNSS carrier frequencies L1
(1559~1610 MHz) and L5 (1164~1214 MHz) along the
cable length. The SPG9000 requires a received signal
that is greater than 18 dB above the ambient level. So,
for an antenna with 36~43 dB gain (such as the one
offered by Telestream), the allowed cable loss would be
18~25 dB.
2
 RF Cable

SPG9000

Telestream
GNSS
Technical Brief

DIAGRAM 2

GNSS
Antenna

Booster Amp
Cable 1 Cable 2

OPTIONAL SPG9000

Attenuation will also vary significantly depending on

cable type. For example, with a miniature coaxial cable
like Belden 1855, the loss is about 13 dB/100 feet. For
an RG11 Belden 7731 cable, the loss is only 5.5 dB/100
feet. This corresponds to an allowable length of about
130 feet for the Belden 1855 cable, to over 300 feet for
the Belden 7731 cable. So, cable type matters.

When selecting an antenna, it is clearly prudent to

understand its specifications relative to the receiver
threshold and the intended application. Those specifi-
cations will directly influence your operation.
 
Monitoring Satellite Reception using the SPG9000
User Interface
Because the GNSS receiver is built directly into the
SPG9000, it is possible to see a significant amount of
pertinent satellite data directly in the SPG9000 brows-
er-based user interface. For example, without leaving
the UI, a user can see whether the SPG9000 is locked
to GNSS, the quality of the signal, how many satellites
are in view, and essential information on every in-fix and
in-view satellite. This is true not just for GPS, but for
every supported GNSS satellite constellation. For
example, here is a screenshot of the user interface We need not look at all 61 in-view satellites, but, if
showing GNSS status. Note that the GNSS IDs for the we scroll to the bottom of the list, we can see
first 14 satellites indicate that they are GPS satellites but examples of Galileo and GLONASS satellites as
that the following seven are BaiDou (BDS). well.

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 Telestream
GNSS
Technical Brief

Monitoring Satellite Reception from the SPG9000 API In other words, developers and system integrators have
Because the Application Programming Interface (API) is both ready-to-use satellite data through the SPG9000
a straightforward HTTP implementation, the information user interface and an easily accessible way to integrate
available in the SPG9000 user interface is also available that data into their applications and management
in the API. For example, if a program, such as a dashboards.
dashboard queries the configuration of the GNSS
receiver it is possible to see details of the antenna and In the event of a GNSS Signal Loss
understand the cable delay mentioned earlier. Here is No matter how perfect your antenna choice is, or its
an example of the schema for such an API query: location and cabling, there may be times when the
GNSS signal is lost. In such cases, the SPG9000 is
{ unique in its ability to protect your operation from
“antenna-power”: “5v”, sudden sync changes, or “shocks”. There are several
“position”: “fixed”, ways to do this and the user can configure which
“cable-delay”: -0.5, actions will be performed by the GNSS Holdover
“constellation-type”: “gps+galile- Recovery system. These include:
o+beidou+glonass”,
“signal-warning-threshold”: “no-sig- ■ Stay Legal: Adjusts the module timing to match the
nal” recovered GPS signal while staying within the
} specified frequency offset and frequency rate of
change specifications for NTSC and PAL reference
Similarly, other information shown in the UI screenshot signals.
above can also be queried with a simple “GET” ■ Fast Slew: Adjusts the module timing to match the
command and can provide 3rd-party software with the recovered GPS signal at a rate 25 times faster than
same list of, for example, identified satellites. The API the legal rate without jumping.
schema looks like this: ■ Jam Phase: Adjusts the module timing to match the
“satellite-list”: [ recovered GPS signal immediately but will typically
{ cause a sync “shock” to the system.
“satellite”: 5, Stay Legal is ordinarily used by a facility that, in the
“gnssid”: “GPS”,
event of a loss of GNSS lock, prefers to maintain a
“svid”: 31,
“sigid”: 1, reference signal within specified limits to avoid causing
“ss”: 255, a shock to the system when the GNSS signal is
“used”: true, disrupted and restored. Jam Phase may be used by an
“iodl”: null, outside broadcast vehicle or mobile truck to quickly
“health”: 0, establish a GNSS lock when the system is powered up.
“cnr”: 47, In this way, it is possible to quickly establish a lock of all
“health-en”: true, systems within the vehicle and the user need not be
“new-data”: null, concerned about a sync shock to the system as each
“los-warning”: false device is powered up. The Fast Slew mode will rapidly
},
attain synchronization and lock without causing a major
…
shock to the system. These are among the ways that
]
the Telestream SPG9000 can ensure a shock-free
re-alignment of frequency and phase when the GPS
And, as one final example, location information con-
signal is restored. A less sophisticated synchronization
forms to this schema:
generator will return to the internal free run frequency of
“tvp-object-ds”: { its oscillator when the synchronization signal is lost. It
“latitude”: 44.754, will not be able to slowly readjust and will likely cause
“longitude”: -122.79052, exactly the shock we wish to avoid when the reference
“altitude”: 44.754 signal is reapplied. Through its innovative design, the
}, … SPG9000 provides solutions to this type of issue so
that the user is in control of timing behavior, rather than
being at the mercy of it.

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Conclusion
GNSS systems, around the globe, can be used for
synchronization by obtaining timing information from
many satellites orbiting the earth. There are several
satellite constellations, deployed by several different
geo-political entities and the SPG9000 provides access
to them all. The most advanced synchronization
product yet to come from Telestream includes an
integrated multi-GNSS, dual-band receiver, supporting
GPS (USA-based system), GLONASS (Russian satellite
system), Galileo (European-based), BeiDou, (Chi-
nese-based), and QZSS (Japanese-based) satellite
constellations at both L1 and L5 frequencies.
www.telestream.net | info@telestream.net | tel +1 530 470 1300
Telestream
GNSS
Technical Brief
Not only does this provide flexibility in terms of geo-
graphic location and visibility of satellites from any
location, it also means that if one of the two usable
frequencies is un-available (e.g. “jammed”) there is a
redundant communication mechanism to allow the
maximum likelihood of accessing the satellites in view.
The SPG9000 is truly a global solution to reliable,
extreme timing accuracy around the planet.
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