Comparative analysis of full GNSS observations from different generation choke ring antennas: LEIAT vs TRM

Riassunto

The national RING infrastructure (Rete Integrata Nazionale GNSS) historically equipped with Dorne-Margolin choke ring antennas, is currently undergoing a significant upgrade of the GNSS equipment, primarily aimed at supporting full multi-constellation GNSS capabilities. Therefore, it is interesting to screen the working, almost 20-year-old, technology with the most up-todate electronic devices in order to establish the pros and cons of those upgrades. We tested two LEIAT choke ring antennae (LEIAT504 and LEIAT504GG), designed originally for tracking only GPS and GPS/GLONASS satellites, by scoring the acquired observations from the fullGNSS constellation. We perform a complete quality check comparing the observations of the LEIAT antennae with those of an up-to-date TRM choke ring antenna used as reference. The test sessions are carried out using the same receiver type (Trimble Alloy). Both LEIAT antennas do acquire full-GNSS observations, although the LEIAT504GG only partially, at a few percent lower rate with respect to the TRM antenna. The LEIAT504GG antenna seems unable to track the L5 band observations of both GPS and GALILEO satellites.