A to Z GIS | Explore this related guide, featuring updated terms and graphics and developed in coordination with Esri’s GIS Dictionary team.
Learn more about A to Z GIS
GIS Dictionary
Browse dictionary
PRN code
URL copiedShare URL
[remote sensing]
PRN is an acronym for pseudo-random noise. A repeating radio signal broadcast by each GPS satellite and generated by each GPS receiver. In a given cycle, the satellite and the receiver start generating their codes at the same moment, and the receiver measures how much later the satellite's broadcast reaches it. By multiplying that time by the speed of radio waves, the receiver can compute the distance between the satellite's antenna and its own.