GPS Tracking with a modified TCXO RTL-SDR

Michele from Michele’s GNSS blog has posted his results with using a modified R820T RTL-SDR with Temperature Controlled Oscillator (TCXO) for GPS reception and decoding. The RTL-SDR is capable of tracking GPS even without TCXO but improved performance can be expected with a more stable oscillator. He notes that the R820T with it’s 3.57 MHz IF is ideally suited for GPS reception when combined with an active GPS antenna. Using this setup he was able to track GPS satellites and the Galileo E1B/C GNSS satellites as well.

Michele modified his R820T RTL-SDR with a 28.8 MHz TCXO he obtained from a friend. It is however possible to purchase modified TCXO R820T dongles directly from the 1090mhz webstore.