[IGSMAIL-5632]: RINEX 3.00 Initiative

[Richard B. Langley]

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IGS Electronic Mail      20 Aug 11:27:17 PDT 2007      Message Number 5632
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Author: Richard Langley
        Rodrigo Leandro

Since October 2005, the IGS has been running an L2C test, with a number of
organizations submitting data from L2C-capable receivers to a special
directory at CDDIS. The preferred data format to be used for these
submissions, thus far, is RINEX 2.11, which has the capacity for an explicit
C2 observable.

However, even RINEX 2.11 is incapable of supporting all of the data types
currently available from some L2C-capable receivers. Only the new RINEX 3.00
format <http://igscb.jpl.nasa.gov/igscb/data/format/rinex300.pdf> can handle
all of the available observables. At UNB, for example, we are currently
generating RINEX 3.00 files from Trimble NetR5 data with GPS C1C, C2P, C2X,
L1C, L2P, L2X, S1C, S2P, and S2X; i.e., we have code, phase, and C/N0
measurements from both L2C and P(Y) tracking for the Block IIR-M satellites!

And in any case, RINEX 3.00 will eventually become the de facto IGS data
Standard (see IGSMAIL-5506:
<http://igscb.jpl.nasa.gov/mail/igsmail/2006/msg00229.html>).

Therefore, in an effort to stimulate early interest in the IGS community to
exchange data files in RINEX 3.00 format, so people writing code to create
and/or read these files can improve their software and also to encourage the
possible exchange of RINEX 3.00 support tools, such as converters, etc., we
are setting up a RINEX 3.00 test area on the CDDIS server, with the kind
support of Carey Noll. The directory can be found at
<ftp://cddis.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/gps/data/test/rinex3/>.

If sites wish to submit 3.00-formated files along with 2.11 files from the
same receiver, even though the 2.11 files would be going to a different
directory, they may wish to consider using a minor (and temporary)
modification to the IGS/RINEX file-naming convention. At UNB, we decided to
use the session index "3" to differentiate our 3.00 files from the 2.11 ones
(which use 0, a-x indices), to clearly indicate they are 3.00-formatted files
without the need to open them up to find this out. So, for example, we would
have unb32310.07o for the daily 2.11 file and unb32313.07o for the daily 3.00
file. Clearly, this proposal cannot be used to differentiate hourly files
which would require a more radical change to the file-naming convention.

Files should be compressed using the latest Hatanaka compression routine (see
IGSMAIL-5542: <http://igscb.jpl.nasa.gov/mail/igsmail/2007/msg00022.html>)
along with Unix compression.

Contact Carey Noll if you would like to submit RINEX 3.00 data to the test
directory. Initially, it is suggested that a few test files could be archived
here. However, we have the option to continuously submit daily files here too.

Thanks to Lou Estey, Werner Gurtner, and Angie Moore for useful discussions
concerning this initiative.

-- Richard Langley
   Rodrigo Leandro

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 Richard B. Langley                            E-mail: lang at unb.ca
 Geodetic Research Laboratory                  Web: http://www.unb.ca/GGE/
 Dept. of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering    Phone:    +1 506 453-5142
 University of New Brunswick                   Fax:      +1 506 453-4943
 Fredericton, N.B., Canada  E3B 5A3
     Fredericton?  Where's that?  See:
http://www.city.fredericton.nb.ca/
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Rodrigo Leandro
Trimble Geomatics and Engineering Group
Trimble Terrasat GmbH
Haringstr. 19 - 85635 Hoehenkirchen - Germany
Tel.: +49 (0) 8102 7433 0 - Fax: +49 (0) 8102 7433131
E-mail: Rodrigo_Leandro at trimble.com
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